It’s that time of year again when as Christians we ignore the truly religious traditions of Easter, specifically Passover, and instead embrace the pagan rituals of Spring. We ignore the rites of Christ’s last supper and instead gleefully pursue the pagan traditions of egg-hunting and large rabbits. But hey, who am I to be the party-pooper?

I found myself in the difficult position of having to explain the Easter bunny to Lucy this year. I didn’t realize how ill-prepared I was for the inquisition-like questioning I received. “Does he come INTO the house? How does he get in? How does he carry the toys and eggs? Does he REALLY hop?” It suddenly occurred to me that the Easter bunny is a very strange thing. We’re telling children that a giant rabbit exists and that while you are asleep, when you are your most vulnerable he is going to come hopping into your house and leave you toys and eggs. But why? Why would he do this? Wouldn’t he leave a mess? Honestly, I don’t know how my parents managed to keep the myth alive for so long.

This was Max’s first year to dye eggs and really the only thing that mattered to him was pouring all the dye into one cup which made all the eggs a lovely brown color. Lucy liked the idea of different colored eggs but not the idea of using a spoon or the ridiculous tiny wire holder thingy that every dye-kit known to man comes with. As a result, she used her hands. I instantly realized why young girls used to wear white gloves to Easter church service — it was to cover up the purpled-dyed hands underneath.

In a couple of weeks we will be celebrating Passover. Unfortunately Easter is a tough act to follow, especially if you are a holiday that is completely based on a really long, ritualistic dinner that includes a variety of strange foods that no 4 year old would ever eat and absolutely no chocolate eggs. Oh well, I guess that answers the question why the Christians kept the pagan rituals and not the Jewish ones.