Hopping down bunny trail away from Easter?

Chocolates+and+jelly+beans+are+taking+center+stage+over+the+Easter+Vigil+and+the+Risen+Christ.

Eunbee Lee

Chocolates and jelly beans are taking center stage over the Easter Vigil and the Risen Christ.

Whenever Easter is mentioned, people usually think of the Easter Bunny delivering chocolate covered eggs or marshmallow Peeps that are so jam packed with sugar they are bound to cause some form of diabetes. Since when was Easter thought to be a holiday that focused solely on food and a mythical creature that brought goodness and prosperity to the world? Easter is supposed to be centered on Jesus’ resurrection and the lamb that is crucified and revived. All around the world people are celebrating the misconceptions of the holiday and do not even notice that they are completely missing the point! Every year the White House has the audacity to host an Easter Egg Roll that includes shrieking children attempting to push an egg through the long-bladed grass with a spoon that resembles a ladle.

It is also a bit ironic that the attendance of Christians at church drastically increases on Easter Sunday. A majority of Christians simply do not feel the need to take part in any other Mass of the year and for some reason feel compelled to listen to the priest’s liturgy on this specific holiday. It is the one Sunday of the year that has an increased participation of believers of Christ. Besides the astonishing number of people who choose to be followers of Christ one day of the year, Easter has become secularized for the sake of businesses and profit. Candy store manufacturers have complete control over the holiday and make billions selling their chocolate eggs and sweets. The biblical meaning of Easter will be pushed aside when April 16th comes around, and egg hunts and Easter chicks will become more important. Easter is a time when Christians should reflect on what it means to be a true believer and not a time to worry about buying an overpriced chocolate bunny.

So I encourage my fellow Christians and non-Christians to stop looking at Easter as if it were a time to celebrate the Easter Bunny’s coming and to look deeper into the true meaning behind the holiday.