Resurrection Apostasy?

A recent visit to the library with a Christian friend inspired this weeks' blog post.

In the weeks before Easter, my thoughts turn to decorating my home to celebrate this upcoming holiday.  Then, I decide on a menu for the day.  This menu invariably includes the traditional lamb, ham in some form, and spring vegetables such as carrots and asparagus.  Somewhere in the scurry of activities there is always Easter egg decorating.

Over the years, I and my children have done everything that can possibly be done to an egg.  We have  dyed them with vegetables, bedazzled, decoupaged, and tried the traditional Ukrainian decorating technique with wax and stylus to create "pysanka."  As a Christian, I have always been mindful to remind my children of the meaning of the holiday, emphasizing the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as propitiation for us all.  In age appropriate ways, I also made them aware of the pagan background of many of our current Easter customs.

When you decide to live the Christian life, you will begin to see the constant confrontation of pagan context to your daily life.  No where is the war more prevalent than in our life celebrations.  This war was again brought to mind when a Christian friend saw me peruse a book at the local library about Easter egg decorating.  Perhaps not in a library voice he opinied that, "no Christian should be decorating Easter eggs or having Easter egg hunts."  He also has let me know on a number of occasions that he would prefer to call it, "Ressurection Day" instead of "Easter."  My first thought was here we go again, it's the holiday wars!  We could equally be talking about Halloween or even the traditions of Christmas.

Of course my friend is probably correct in his assertation that the name "Easter" derives from the name of a goddess figure from German culture named Ēostre.  (Although scholars have argued for centuries that a goddess by that name never existed.) My friend further correctly points out that the Easter egg itself is rooted in ancient pagan beliefs.  The egg represented the rebirth of the earth in spring to many a culture who had cold and snowy winters.  It was a reminder that just as the egg broke forth with new life (chick), that the earth would burst forth with the new life of spring.  It goes well beyond that of course with worship of the sun and fertility practices associated with these beliefs.

When Christianity came into many of these cultures it tried to appropriate the words and symbols of the various Spring festivals to point to the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Did these Christians ever completely succeed in dispelling ancient pagan practices and beliefs?  I believe the answer is no.  The traditional Ukrainian Easter egg tells the story.  In it you will see symbols of its' ancient religion as well as Christianity.  What are some of the things that we have come to mix-in with this Christian celebration? For starters, there is a mythical gift giver called the Easter Bunny.  Then chocolate, jelly beans and ham.  As we approach the holiest day on the Christian calendar we find ourselves hiding eggs with gifts inside or organizing masses of hysterical children into relay teams trying to pass eggs from one to the other via a spoon.  Does this seem right?

Yet, I have been hesitant to completely stop the cultural practices just described.  Every year I ask myself if it is possible to have Jesus' death and resurrection as the defining core of my existence and still give a nod to prevalent cultural practices.  Most people don't even know who the ancient goddess Ēostre is, let alone worship her.  If the theory that there never was a goddess with that exact name is correct, what are we even arguing about?  Can we as Christians just enjoy decorating eggs or our homes to celebrate the joys of the spring season for fun without compromising our walk with the Lord?

The only churches that have successfully excised all ancient pagan spring practices from their midst seem to be those who have cut themselves off from the greater culture in some huge way.  Yet, the Bible tells us to "be in the world and not of it."  I think we do have to work really hard to make sure that God is the center of all our celebrations.  We can not afford to be naive about how what starts out as an innocent game or tradition might compromise our faith in God.  So, be careful and be aware that we as Christians walk on a narrow path.  The Bible is the story of people who had these very dilemmas.  People who lived in cultures which were in opposition to our God.  They had to say no to some things, they had to fight for their beliefs and so must we.  I pray that Almighty God strengthens each and every one of us.
Next Week : Continuing thoughts on Easter.