In an attempt to explain the nonexplainable, religion was created. The God/man spiritual connection was taken out of the intangible ethos and was plunked down to earth in the form of ritual. I love rituals. Family holiday meals, the care with which I prepare my giant colorful salad everyday, the hot steaming cup of coffee or tea after my first round of daily supplements, high school graduation pomp and circumstance…all of these make me feel more secure, more rooted. These are familiar, repeated rituals that have a positive place in my life.

Then…there are the Easter bunnies, dyed eggs, and candy in the shape of bunnies and eggs. Fake grass in a brightly colored plastic basket house these symbols at times carried by a person in a giant bunny suit. I don’t see any possible connection to the basic Christian tenet of Christ’s resurrection. Christianity has all sorts of rituals to remember and outwardly express what must be believed to belong to the ‘faithful.’ So where did the whole bunny and egg thing come from? Surely didn’t originate when Jesus appeared on the scene.

Without getting into the weeds, pagan beliefs that preceded the time of Jesus have been woven into the fabric of our Easter celebrations as Christianity began to take root and continued through the centuries to now. It’s very well documented that the early church fathers borrowed common symbols of the masses to attract the folks of that historical time to worship the true Messiah. It was a marketing tool, and a very effective one. The pagans felt more at home worshiping a ‘new’ God with some of their time honored icons all scooched in the mix. So it was a win-win for pre- and post- Christ Christians. Pretty soon the Easter bunny and his eggs were elevated to cult status right along with Santa and every one of his elves (ok…and the reindeer too).

Is this bad? Not to little kids who love any kind of offering by adults that includes candy and toys, as well as all of the adults who cherish an excuse to eat marshmallow chocolate crap food or disgusting multi-colored ‘peeps.’ What exactly are those fake little chicks made of? Nevermind! Don’t want to stay up at night worrying about it.

At 30 years old I left the secular music business with a broken marriage and a broken spirit. Religion met me in the form of a youthful, exuberant, gloriously musical Orthodox church waiting to help me mend. The little Presbyterian church that I attended in my youth was no match for the beautiful comforting liturgy and rituals of the Orthodox Church. The smell of the swinging incense, graceful sacred dance, our Bishop spontaneously singing parts of the ceremonial language in observance of the historical service, fed the senses and assisted in meditative prayer which promoted mental and spiritual healing as well as contributing to a strong community. Isn’t that what we need to look for in our rituals? Connection to the higher source and to each other in ways that are nourishing to our soul is more fulfilling in the long haul and leaves out one of the very components that promotes mental, spiritual and physical ill health: bad candy in the shape of pagan symbols that have nothing to do with Jesus Christ.

By the way, my personal beliefs have grown and matured from the mystical Evangelical Orthodox Church of the early ’80’s. But as I remember there wasn’t a bunny in sight…except in Bishop Ken’s back yard. He raised rabbits.

Tagged: Bunnies, Bunny, Candy, Christianity, Easter, Pagan, Peeps, Rabbits, Toys