Getting a few things out of the way first: if your calendar places Easter on a different day of the year, consider this greeting early. If you don’t celebrate any religious aspect to Easter, I hope you have a wonderful day today and that any celebratory aspects observed are simply pleasant reminders of hope for rebirth and growth.
Because “rebirth” is what it’s all about. Easter is the holiest day of most Christian faiths, recognizing the resurrection and subsequent ascension of Christ following his torturous murder. If a particular faith allows celebrations, Easter is celebrated. The importance of the day has bled over into secular and non-Christian lives, with the incorporation of things like Easter egg hunts, days off from school and work, and baskets of rabbit themed candy.
This is a political site, but it was designed around principles. For that reason, I’m going to strongly encourage everyone not to play the tawdry and vaguely blasphemous game of conflating Easter’s celebration with contemporary political events. There are going to be plenty of places where people are attempting to frame Biden’s new Presidency in the context of an Easter hope, or to promise the resurrection of Trump’s political career.
For the non-Christian, this day is mostly an entertaining day to celebrate along with others; a St. Patrick’s Day for the non-Irish, with a little less of a focus on carousing. There is no need to draw politics into the mix and stoke divisiveness on a day where people are trying to come together. For the Christians, Easter is a call to act responsibly and follow long-established rules not to gain any sort of Earthly power or influence but to earn a place with God after one’s mortal time is through. It is as pure a spiritual holiday as exists, and drawing worldly parallels is, if not profane, at least tacky.
So, please… celebrate with me today, whether it be from the religious, secular, or religious-but-not-your-religion viewpoints. If your Easter falls in a month or so, remind me, and someone will write a similar piece for that day. The upshot is that many people have been given hope for a higher purpose in their lives, and that should fill everyone with cheer. If you can’t be happy about that… at least you have some cheap and tasty candy available.
