xeryfyn's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Easter Bunny Whippings?? So here's something that i came across last weekend for Easter and although the holiday itself has passed, I can't get this article or its images out of my mind. I completely understand not wanting to get caught up in holiday comercialism and I do agree that often in our society more emphasis and time is spent on the commercial aspects of holidays rather than the meanings behind them or even the reason they exist at all. Now, being a secular kind of person, this often doesnt concern me to the extent that it might, but I still do think about it. After all, knowing the stories behind the holidays, whether or not you agree with the truths behind them or the meanings themselves, make it more meaningful to celebrate them at all. Otherwise we may as well just celebrate every day as "something" day. I agree that commercialism has taken its toll on society, what with stores putting out enticing merchandise with which people can get into the "swing of the season" no matter how far away from the actual season it appears to be. Every year it seems, Christmas items hit the shelves in iincreasing numbers and with increasing consumerism. Things that were once considered "extras" to the family centred holidays now seem to overshadow the holiday itself. Times that are intended to bring people together to relax and enjoy one another now seem to produce paroxysms of anxiety and worry over being "ready" for the holiday. As though having oodles of commercially available items will make peace and joy appear in one's Christmas stocking, or bring you closer to the meaning of Life. Now don't get me wrong, I love celebrating the seasons just as much as any other person, but I also feel put upon by the society we have created to make holidays more grandiose and expensive than they need to be. And I am unsure how to break that cycle. Every year I vow to only spend X amount of dollars on gifts, or only get X amount of chocolate for Easter, or expect nothing more than hugs and kisses from my hubby on Valentine's day, but somehow I am always a bit shy of my goal and feel a mixture of disappointment and, I dont know, shame maybe?, that i didn't have a picutre perfect holiday. Now given all of that, I understand that some people want to get "back to the basics" as it were, with regards to holiday celebrations, and Easter this year was no exception...BUT this takes the cake for ridiculous extremes. When I read the article I understood it to be a fairly large production and was having some diffiuclty first with the obvious violent act of whipping the Easter bunny and smashing of Easter eggs as a way to teach children about the "true" meaning of Easter--that is, the crucifiction of Jesus on the cross--but also with the fact that so many parents had brought their families, some obviously with small children to this pageant of violence in the name of religion. Why weren't the parents made aware of the graphic violence that was to be portrayed so that they could at least make informed choices about what they exposed their children to and at what age? How could this be a major production, with the Easter bunny being played by the church's youth pastor of all people not have let their church members know what the intention of their pageant was? I have to say, I only know the details that were printed in this article and knowing media, it was a slanted and biased vantage point, but still. Gah. And people wonder why secular folk like myself dont understand organized religion. Sigh. 6:35 p.m. - 2004-04-18 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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