by Jemya Lucas

The Easter holiday has just passed and I started thinking about the true significance of it and how people celebrate it. When people think about Easter, they most likely think of the Easter egg hunts, chocolate and the Easter bunny, but how many people associate it with its true meaning, the resurrection of Jesus? I think people sometimes get caught up in the festivities and gifts of holidays and forget what they are really about.

Since Easter is about the resurrection of Jesus, where did the egg hunts and Easter bunny come from? What does that really have to do with God? Based on research, Easter eggs represent Jesus’ resurrection and his emergence from the tomb, and the Easter bunny stems from the pagan tradition Eostre, a goddess of fertility whose animal symbol was a bunny.

What about all the festivities that do not seem connected with the meaning of the holiday? Are these just catered to younger kids as a fun way of celebrating and the holiday’s meaning is not actually forgotten? For example, there are people who attend church on Easter, so there are people that are aware of the holiday’s meaning. Churches do host Easter activities for the younger kids that attend their Sunday school, as well.

I think the same concept can be applied to Christmas as well. Tons of people think of Christmas as the time of year to give and receive gifts, with Santa Claus climbing down chimneys putting presents under the trees for kids. While I enjoy the gifts, sometimes I just sit and wonder where all of the superstitions and materialistic things come from and what they have to do with the significance of Christmas, the birth of Jesus.

Sometimes I even feel guilty because I know that Christmas is not about gifts. Honestly, material things do not satisfy me, and I do not mean that in an ungrateful manner. What I mean is that material things do not make me happy and I do not identify that as a gift. In my opinion, I classify a gift as having a family, a home, friends, love and just being able to wake up and see another day – life is my gift. That is what truly makes me happy.

I also know that people are different and the way holidays are celebrated is really dependent on a person’s religion and culture. What are holidays to you? Are you big on the gifts and festivities of it all or are you more into the fellowship?