For several years now Christians have been making a big deal about the so-called "War on Christmas" as part of their effort to assume control or ownership of the holiday. But what about Easter? How likely are we to start seeing a similar treatment -- Christians attacking secularists over a phony "War on Easter"?
OZ Atheist writes:
we have Easter on the horizon, and no doubt Christians will be claiming ownership of this festival also. I had a brother, (a born again Christian), who was obsessed by the fact that the "true" meaning of Easter had been lost and the Easter Bunny had hijacked the limelight. As with Christmas however it was the Christian missionaries who hijacked Easter and not the other way round.
The ancient Saxons celebrated the return of spring at this time of year paying homage to the goddess of springtime Eastre. Eastre's earthly symbol was the rabbit and hence the modern Easter Bunny's ancestor. Easter eggs are the symbol of new life or rebirth (of the land after winter) and were customarily exchanged for centuries before Christianity came on the scene.
[original post]
As with Christmas, most of the popular Easter traditions, activities, and symbols that are most common in the general American culture are more secular, commercial, or non-Christian than explicitly Christian. Thus there is an awful lot about Easter that a non-Christian can enjoy; an awful lot of things to do during Easter that a non-Christian can participate in.
You don't have to be a Christian to observe Easter in some fashion, but what are the chances that conservative Christians will admit and allow that?
No comments:
Post a Comment