Happy Easter!

Easter is a large celebration in the Christian community, therefore as our country is nominally of Christian background, a national holiday is observed.

Some people feel that this holiday has lost its religious significance in today’s society. They feel that as society has developed moving from theocracy, the focus on religion in our lives has become less of an issue whilst we live in such a multi-cultural society. Therefore the development of society has managed to overlook the religious significance of this holiday in our lives. They feel that as Easter is not as widely spread as Christmas, it does not get across the message of Jesus’ victory over death and so consequently people misunderstand the reason for their holiday. They also argue that Easter has become a highly commercial event, by which, people exploit the season and misled as to the real meaning of the event, replacing the joy of Christ’s resurrection with chocolate eggs and bunnies. They also feel that as our world today become a multi-cultural society supporting many different religions, the message of God’s love for us may only be confined to those who have a belief in Christ so that certain beliefs and opinions are not forced on other sectors of the community to which the festival has no significance. Why then should these people share in a Christian holiday to which they bear no loyalty, gaining no knowledge of Christian principles and values?

Others feel that the message of Jesus’ resurrection is brought across to the most people during the Easter season. For practicing Christians there are no qualms as the celebrations is at the pivotal point of their faith. They can take comfort in the fact that Jesus has secured a place for [us] in heaven through his triumph in resurrection. There are number of non-practicing Christians, many of whom make an extra effort to go to church at crucial times in the churches year such as Easter and Christmas. To them, Easter and Christmas represent something to believe in, a real event, which they can celebrate, rather than any other ordinary mass, which is why they make a special effort on these particular occasions. By attending church and celebrating Easter of the right reasons, Christians are setting an example to others by the way they act and live. The season of spring is actually representative of the season of Easter. We can see in our physical environment many signs of new life, which is an important aspect of the Christian festival of Easter. It is true that Easter is a very profitable to many, but all these commercialisms such as eggs, bunnies of chicks have their origins lying in true religious meaning of Easter. The hollow egg represents an empty tomb from which Christ has risen after his victory over evil. The bunnies or chicks are both symbols of new life, which Christ has made possible for us. So with all these physical and commercial factors, how can the real meaning of the festival in Easter be lost?

I feel that there are many ways in which today’s society has developed and declined, therefore making the message of a religious festival in which only a certain amount of people are involved increasingly hard to spread. The message cannot though, be oblivious to all as at this time there are many different factors holding that message. I feel that to a faithful Christian, this message is at the heart of their spiritual life and so cannot be lost, and as they act as they do when they have received the message of humanity’s salvation, they are a constant reminder to others of Jesus’ love for us.