WHY’S IT EASIER TO BELIEVE IN JESUS, BUT NOT HIS DEATH, RESURRECTION?

TARA COLLUM | Contributing columnist

In a shopping mall in Sydney, Nova Scotia, I saw something I’ve never seen before. Kids lining up for pictures with the Easter Bunny. At least I don’t think I’ve seen that before?

In a dollar store I found some buttermilk biscuit mix. Would a dollar store in Ontario sell that?

I’ve for sure never seen an airport that sold fresh lobster, heard so much fiddle music, or met so many people who can play the fiddle. In Ontario I believe this instrument is mostly referred to exclusively as the violin?

When I was small there were no Easter parades, but my Cabbage Patch dolls always received new Easter dresses. New Easter dresses I suppose were traditionally worn where you would wear your Sunday best, at church.

All the non-Christians who celebrate Christmas have done a pretty good job of at least acknowledging the manger story and the birth of Christ.

Easter, however? I hope I’m not the only one who thinks of Easter as a fun long weekend where we have silly traditions like looking for hidden chocolate eggs and being happy for the coming of spring.

For too long I thought the Passion of Christ was the name of Mel Gibson’s film about Jesus. Fun fact, actor Jim Caviezel was struck by lightning multiple times while on the cross.

People around the world call it the Passion! Now I’ve seen two passion plays, one a theatre production that took place both outside in a park and indoors on stage, and one at a church.

At L’Arche a foot-washing service is part of the Easter celebration. At first, I wasn’t sure what foot-washing had to do with Easter. For those as clueless as me, Mary Magdalene washed Jesus’ feet and dried them with her hair. The drying part isn’t now traditionally practised, and at our service if you didn’t want to have yours washed or wash others, you could wash hands instead.

I wonder why it’s easier for a non-Christian society to acknowledge the birth of Jesus, but not the story of his death and resurrection? While the cross is a common religious symbol, the story of his sacrifice and what we were meant to gain from it is not easily understood. I’m not sure if I fully understand it right now. The closest I came to making sense of it was watching the Chronicles of Narnia when Aslan the lion sacrificed himself for the kid who was tricked into eating some kind of British sweet.

Whatever the reason we celebrate, and whatever the origin, it’s a nice weekend to hopefully enjoy the weather, have a nice meal with family and friends, and get a day off work.

One thing that is thankfully the same here down East, is that we’re having ham and scalloped potatoes for dinner.