Here comes a long post. Stick with it. It's good :)
This Easter season has been a wonderful time.
I don't think I have ever really thought about the meaning of Easter before. I mean, I have always known it's about Jesus Christ and His resurrection, but it just hasn't really been a big holiday for me. Definitely not as big as Christmas. After this year, I decided it should be.
What is Easter really about?
Well, what it comes down to is love.
Christ, in His infinite love for us, suffered and died for our sins and pains. This merciful act satisfied the demands of justice that would otherwise constrain us from coming back to live with our Father in Heaven. If not for Christ, we would have no hope for eternal life. We would be stuck in endless misery because we are not perfect. If we come unto Him and try to live our lives after the pattern He has set, we can gain eternal life.
Because Christ was resurrected, we too can be resurrected. This is also a symbol of Christ and Heavenly Father's love. We can be resurrected and have perfect bodies and be with our families in eternity.
Now, this is about to be a slight change of thoughts. As I was thinking about the meaning of Easter, I wondered why we have the Easter bunny and candy and eggs and stuff. How does that relate to the real meaning? It feels sacrilegious to celebrate the holiday both ways (I also have opinions about Santa too that I struggle with around Christmastime). Anyway, I grew up with the Easter bunny coming on Saturday so it didn't distract the real meaning on the Sunday. Ben grew up with it on Sunday, so it's been a little debate as we try to decide what to do with our own family.
It hit me today, that if we can tie the elements of the world's way of celebrating to the Christian way, it works. So, as I was pondering, I decided at least for this year that I am hiding Ben's Easter basket and celebrating with candy and eggs today because I LOVE HIM. I have been so excited to hide his basket and watch him search for it because I love him and it's a fun thing to do. So, we did do that today.
Ben, knowing that I wanted it to be spiritual, planned a great thing for my basket (which I wish I had thought of myself). While he did have candy in there for me (and a necklace with an infinity loop on it), he also had an egg with a scripture in it. We read the scripture together, then there was a keyword that led me to where another egg was hidden with another scripture and so on until I found a letter with his testimony of Christ in it. YES, LADIES, HE IS TAKEN. It was beautiful. The most beautiful Easter-egg hunt I have ever experienced.
He found his basket...
A spider-man yo-yo? Seriously.
Yes, Ben. I did put that in it :)
I found mine too!
The infinity necklace and my first scripture clue.
I also want to share this thing that my grandma gave me today that explains how the worldly things fit in to Easter.
"The word Easter comes from Eastre, the name of the Anglo-Saxon goddess of Spring, also meaning 'to rise.' Her symbol was the hare. Rabbits are known for the many babies they bare. They remind us of new life. This explains the custom of the Easter bunny delivering Easter eggs. What the rabbit is really delivering is the message of Christ's rebirth.
"The egg is a symbol of the tomb where Jesus laid. So it was on that glorious Easter morn, the stone was rolled away, and from the tomb Jesus arose from the dead. The miracle of Jesus rising from death to new life is the great message of Easter.
"The Easter basket symbolizes Christ carrying our burdens, our sins. If we just repent and follow Him.
"A beautiful part of Easter are the flowers. A lifeless looking bulb is buried in the earth. Soon a lovely white Easter lily grows and blossoms. Any flower that grows from a bulb such as a tulip or daffodil is a symbol of the resurrection. The bulb stands for the tomb of Jesus, the blossom--His life after death.
"A new bonnet or new clothes for Easter Sunday has meaning also. When people were baptized long ago, they wore a new fresh robe afterwards. Wearing a new Sunday outfit is a symbol of taking off the old and putting on the new.
"Painted eggs, bunnies, new born chicks, lambs, white lilies, and new clothes. All these stand for Easter, each in a different way. And they help us to remember that all of the beautiful things of spring and new life point tot he testimony of Christ's rebirth.
"Let us all rejoice in His resurrection by living a life of happiness and joy which we can have as we share our love for one another by being kind, loving and doing service for others."
When I read this, I was in love. I don't know where it came from or if the goddess thing is true. I didn't research it. But it makes sense, and it makes me feel better about the world-traditions for Easter when I understand the symbolism behind it. Even though many people probably forget the symbolism, this will stick with me, and I hope to teach my kids the real meaning of Easter. I hope they can understand it and love it as much as I do.
I loved thinking about Christ so much, and I really internalized the hymns and stuff we sang. I can't wait for most Easters like this one.
Happy Easter, everyone!
