Easter was always a time of renewal, a time to recommit to the positive changes we had vowed to make to the world in our thanksgiving resolutions. It was a sort of six-month check up with God, see how we were doing.
Easter was my favourite of all the holidays. After all, there was chocolate! It was the chance to feel as Charlie Bucket must have for a day or so, as if the Easter bunny had brought a golden ticket and my lifetime supply had begun.
Easter was a more relaxed affair than Christmas. It was a holiday of family, friends and good food for sure. On Easter Sunday we'd get the chocolate eggs, oftentimes a bunny too. We knew the stories of Jesus and the resurrection, and though the way he died was too grisly for my heart, that he came back made it at least a little better. It felt good to celebrate that. Plus it was the springtime, a time of new flowers and lambs. Instead of getting cozy for the winter days ahead, we were opening up the windows to the seasonally warming air.
I was born at Easter time. There were years when my birthday was Easter Sunday - presents and chocolates! I enjoyed that. I suppose being born at Christmas must suck a little - I knew kids that were and got just the one gift for both. That wasn't the case at Easter though. It was all a giant bonus to me!