Christians are the only major religious people to have a symbol of death represent them. Comments on the holiday? What it means to you and/or what you think it means to others? Questions you have?
Having grown up in the Northern hemisphere, I've always associated Easter with new life, but I was reminded by someone over the weekend that it is fall in the southern hemisphere. What do you think about that?
*new 3Apr13* Also, consider this essay about maintaining one's Catholic identity:
http://nyti.ms/14waFGx
Can reflective and honest intellectuals actually believe in the church’s teachings?
Easter, to me, is a time to reconnect with God. I grew up Catholic, and don't necessarily plan on converting to any other religion, but am always open to learning about other religions and trying to see what/who 'god' is to them. (I think the movie, Life of Pi, represents that very well in the beginning with the main character experiencing several different religions and consequently trying them all). I went to mass with my family on Sunday and enjoyed how bright and cheerful/happy the entire congregation seemed to be and how the whole feel of the mass had changed from what it was during the Lenten season. But this year, I felt somewhat like an outsider. I'm not sure if it is because I have been away from the church for such a long time that I wasn't ready to come back and rekindle a relationship with God or if I was just not paying attention and giving God myself in its entirety.
ReplyDeleteI think Easter has a different meaning to each person because we all may be apart of a certain religion or mindset, but we all see the religious holiday as something different. My boyfriend's side of the family got together like it was Thanksgiving or Christmas and had a big dinner and spent time together. I have no idea if any of them went to some sort of church service. I don't really care either. To each their own.
What do some of you do for Easter? Do you simply go to church and do family activities afterwards or do you make it a week long thing in accordance with the Holy Week services?
I find it really interesting that different regions of the world find different meanings in Easter or other religious days, due to whatever season it may be. Does this mean that Easter is equivalent to our Thanksgiving in terms of a family gathering and going to church? I think it would be a neat and interesting experience to celebrate religious holidays in different hemisphere's of the world where the seasons are different from our own. It gets us out of our comfort zone and allows us to experience culture at a different angle besides the overall general culture shock.
Having grown up in the Northern hemisphere, I've always associated Easter with new life, but I was reminded by someone over the weekend that it is fall in the southern hemisphere. What do you think about that?
ReplyDeletePeople – myself included – have a tendency to associate certain holidays with given parts of the year, but then forget that these timeframes are not universal, hence why it is so unsettling to think of how, say, Christmas in Australia comes in the dead of summer. This is especially the case with Easter, because as the prompt points out, this is generally a holiday that is associated with a kind of rebirth. This sense of the holiday is obviously because of the Biblical and religious aspect of the celebration, but I think that it also has to do with how plants and animals come out of the dormancy of winter and seemingly are brought back to life. It would feel so unnatural, then, to think of Easter as occurring with fall – a more death-like season – when trees shed their leaves and seemingly die and animals disappear into dormancy. That all just seems so contrary to the nature of the holiday.
Christians are the only major religious people to have a symbol of death represent them. Comments on the holiday? What it means to you and/or what you think it means to others? Questions you have?
I disagree that Christians use death as a representative symbol and would instead argue that the Easter holiday and, really, the Christian tradition is more appropriately represented as a conquering of death. Humanity is mortal as a result of sin (beginning at the beginning of humanity with Adam and Eve), but with the death and resurrection of Christ, both sin and death were conquered. I think that action of redemption and defeat of death are more illustrative of what Christianity stands for.
I have always associated Easter with rebirth. Based on the biblical story, the time of year--even the hallmark-inspired pastel colors that go hand-in-hand with this holiday. I never actually considered the possibility that Easter occurs during the fall in the Southern hemisphere. Having grown up in this tradition, I think Easter would have a much different meaning during that part of the year. I grew up in Atlanta and spend every Christmas there--so my idea of Christmas does not include snow, but rather dead grass and fallen pine needles. Everyone's perspective is different.
ReplyDeleteI can't help but wonder what effect that time of the year would have on people--seeing plants dying and everything turning to brown, as opposed to new buds and new growth. It almost seems "wrong" in accordance to the biblical story!
Like Michael said, I have always associated this holiday with conquering death opposed to actual death. I think Jesus' actual death is far overshadowed by the joyous miracle that is proclaimed to be his resurrection. I am around Christians of all sects, and I feel as though that regenerative miracle is also the forefront of the tradition of Easter. Not so much attention is given to his death as to his new life.
I didn’t grow up in a very religious family, so when we celebrate holidays such as Easter or Christmas we do not focus or talk about the religious aspect behind them. In my family we used to celebrate Easter every year when I was younger. My mom’s side of the family would all come to one of our houses and we would have lunch and an Easter egg hunt for the kids. As I got older (I am one of the youngest of all the cousins) we stopped getting together on Easter. However, last year we decided to get together because some of my cousins have had children now and we thought it would be fun to set up an Easter egg hunt for them. It was really fun and it was nice to see all of my family. Sadly, my grandmother died a week later (it was unexpected). We were all grateful that we had gotten together that Easter because we were all able to spend time with my grandmother before she passed. Looking back at pictures from that day you can see how happy my grandmother was because she loved spending time with everyone. This Easter, being the first one after my grandmother’s death, was a sad day and my family did not get together. I feel that at this time every year it will be a sad time and I’m not sure if my family will start getting together on Easter again or not, but if so I don’t think that it will be anytime soon.
ReplyDeleteI also did not grow up with a religious family (immediate atleast). Although my family would always celebrate on the holidays (Easter, Christmas, etc.) To us it was a time for love and family joining together. I learned to recognize the death of Jesus and rebirth on Easter later. To me Easter always seemed to be of appreciation. Our family would come together for dinner and allow the kids to hunt for eggs. There would also always be an easter basket for all the children but we rarely attended church. We would appreciate the family and life we had/ have and celebrate. I still consider Easter a day of appreciation and also recognize it as the rebirth of life.
DeleteI was raised Catholic in this area, but my family was never seriously or deeply religious. We were more of that family that went to mass just to teach the younger kids (my brothers and I) about Jesus and right vs wrong etc etc. I've never really associated Easter with any sort of rebirth or new life at all. I've never associated with things in my life religiously for the most part, thus, to me and my family Easter was just another reason to dress up nicely and have a big family dinner. To me, growing up in the northern vs southern hemisphere wouldn't really affect how I viewed things then just because of how I was raised.
ReplyDeleteI think this is really interesting. I remember coming home from elementary school after learning about different hemispheres experiencing a different season than mine and asking my mom what people did for Christmas. Sure we've had Christmas up here in the northern hemisphere without snow, but I couldn't imagine it during the summer months... I think then at the time I was beginning to have a grasp on the idea that there are other people in the world experiencing other things than me... As for Easter and associating the emotion of the holiday with spring flowers and going outside to play again, I would have to agree it does have the meaning of 'new life' as you said.
ReplyDeleteI never understood Easter and its traditions in sense of the Catholic church, where I began my religious track-record. But I was too young to embrace or understand what was being taught for the most part. Just as I was starting to understand the church, we were kicked out of it, so that ended that learning. We still celebrated with Easter baskets, eggs and chocolate bunnies and we still dressed up in our Easter dresses and went to religious family gatherings... but no meaning.
Today, I understand the holiday, but it doesn't mean much to me in a religious context. I attend Easter mass sometimes, but honestly it's just something to do. More importantly its a time for the whole family to spend together and that's really all the meaning I need.
Because I have grown up in the Northern Hemisphere, I have associated Easter with spring and life also. I have never considered the fact that Easter holiday occurs in the fall for the Southern Hemisphere. But even though the seasons are different and the life around them is dying, I still believe Easter is of rebirth and appreciation. It is the rebirth of Jesus that needs to be recognized.
ReplyDeleteI was raised in a Catholic family and every year we celebrate Easter as a family. Every Easter Sunday my mother and I watch the ten commandments together and on Good Friday we watch the passion and we go out as a family for brunch or have brunch at my mother's house and of course go to mass. When we are together as one big group we do not discuss the meaning behind Easter , we just celebrate life together and being a family. My mother, aunt, and I are the ones who really discuss religion and what happened on those days leading up to Easter. In my eyes I do not see Christians having death as a major symbol but instead its life. Its about the rising of Christ from the dead. That is what we celebrate.
ReplyDeleteI have always viewed Easter as celebrating new life and the resurrection of Christ. I never once have thought about how Easter occurs in the fall within the Southern Hemisphere. It would be interesting to speak with someone who lives in the Southern Hemisphere (or in any hemisphere) about not only Easter but all of their holidays.
ReplyDeleteI have been involved in the Catholic Church for many years and our family celebrates the whole week, and we use this time to be with each other. When I was younger I thought of the Easter season as a time to reflect on Jesus' life, because I've heard the stories every year,and I was very into catholicism when I was younger. Now that I'm in college, have a job, and live on campus, I haven't been able to go to church as often as I used to, nor have I really practiced as much as I used to. Since I've heard all the stories before, I just go through the notions of a Catholic and continue along with my week. Now, I would say that I view Easter as more of time I can spend with my family because I know they really do appreciate this time that I have with my family, and we would talk about the resurrection and Jesus's life while we eat dinner together so I guess that brings religion into the mix too!
ReplyDeleteEaster to me is simple. It is about two things.
ReplyDelete1. The death and rise of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
2. Great home cooking from my momma.
I always went t my great grandma's but never knew what the holiday was until I asked my mom later and I thought it was crazy. I was not raised with a religion so it was all confusing to me. I was and still am the kid who just goes for the food and answers the awkward "so what church did you grow up with" questions. I don't have questions anymore just more so looking for the answers at this point just lost in the world.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up in the area, my family has also celebrated these beliefs. We always attended Christmas and Easter mass. I was raised in a very 'liberal' home where my parents also offered us the choice to go to Catholic schools, the choice to go to mass, and the choice to practice a religion as we desired. At some point in time, my parents begin asking if we would like to go to church. Some times I replied yes, and sometimes I relied no. My mother's family is all Catholics; even through marriage. My father's family is Christian, but has never regularly practiced with the exception of celebrating holidays-however, they've never been a religious celebration. All of the family holidays are more a chance to see family and spend time together; there is never a reference to the religious event. I actually enjoy this more than i used to enjoy the religious experience because there is no expectation of how the event should go and I look at it as more of celebration of life and my family as a pose to the actual event of the rebirth of Jesus. That sounds bad as a Catholic, but I don't feel a connection to my religion any longer. This could also be a result of my family not forcing me to participate in religious events.
ReplyDelete