The Bunny Easter

My kids tended to screw up nouns with two words when they were younger.  Not sure why – it just happened.  Two that remain are “belt seat” and “Bunny Easter”.  So around our house, the Bunny Easter made an appearance last week providing a basket full of candy for each child (who of course had to endure a house-wide search to find it).

I started thinking about the Bunny Easter (or Easter Bunny as some of you more sophisticated readers probably know him).  What the heck is the deal? Why would we celebrate Easter with an egg delivery rabbit? I then started thinking about the relationship between Santa and the Bunny Easter and wondered why our culture has chosen to couple the two most religious days with two gift bringing characters.

The cynic in me would attribute it to some cigar smoking industrialists who deviously introduced a way to hawk more of their collective wares on an ignorant and unsuspecting public… 
“Sales are flat people.  We need new ideas – big ideas – on how to improve sales or there’s going to be more than a few heads that will roll.  How can we sell more toys and candy?”

“Why don’t we try to introduce the tradition of giving freedom toys on Independence Day?”

“That’s crap. – but wait a minute you might be onto to something…”

“Why don’t we invent some characters who bring our products on days people celebrate most…like Christmas…”

So that was one theory that probably has some merit but I think there must be some deeper reason that reflects some collective dysfunctional behavior on the part of everyone.  Why would everyone chose to go along with a tradition that undermines the meaning of the two most important days of the year? 

I wonder if we were and are afraid of coping with the real meaning of the days as a group.  Maybe we have trouble expressing to friends and acquaintances the true meaning and importance of the days so we came up with a lived cartoon we use to mark the significance of the days.  We all agree the day is special but we don’t really want to confront this reality forthrightly with one another so we have created diversions to cope.

I think it would be a broach of personal space to say to an acquaintance that you are looking forward to celebrating Christ coming to the world and giving all new hope, it’s easier to buy a toy and wish them, “Happy Holidays.”  We are afraid of talking even with fellow Christians of importance and meaning of Christ dying and rising so we scatter some M&Ms around the house and head to brunch.  We all know these days are very important but somehow we’ve decided we can’t deal with their meaning head-on as a society.

I guess I don’t have any answers I sure is heck am not going to serve my kids stewed rabbit next Easter and tell them things are going to be different from now on.  I do think we must be very careful in not becoming a completely secular society when so many people are Christians and believers in other faiths.  Maybe we should change our language a little to send a subtle reminder of the true importance of these days.  How about, ‘Christ is risen’ instead of Happy Easter or ‘Christ is coming’ instead of Merry Christmas.

I suppose we should also take some comfort that we don’t have Thomas the Turkey bringing candy corn and sleds to most grateful boys and girls on Thanksgiving.  Just you wait though.

Tags: Christmas, Dysfunctional society, easter, Easter Bunny