Easter, Candy, and Ham
I sort of get why lamb is a popular Easter dish -- spring lambs, etc. But what's the deal with ham? I grew up in an Easter ham household, and I don't see the connection. Is this Christians' way of saying to the Jews, "Nyah nyah, Jesus saved us, so now we can eat all the pork we want?"
This year, a smaller-than-usual number of people wished me a happy Easter, for which I am grateful. I realize that Easter is a part of mainstream American culture, as evidenced by the massive amounts of candy bought and sold. (I think that's why Arbor Day has never taken off. Where's the candy?) But as someone who grew up religious, Easter still signifies as a very powerful -- and guilt-inducing -- religious occasion, not a secular one. So now that I'm a heathen, I think, "Easter? Why would I celebrate Easter? Why are you wishing me a happy one?" It's just confusing.
Maybe if there were better candy. It's hard for me to get excited about Peeps and jelly beans and cheap milk chocolate eggs with foil embedded in them. When I was a kid, my parents always gave me a giant chocolate-covered coconut egg in my Easter basket. The thing was so sweet it made my teeth hurt, and I could make it last a month. That was as good as it got.
For the record, I still hope to have a happy Easter, insofar as tomorrow is Easter and I hope to have a happy day. But I'd just as soon be wished a happy April 12.
This year, a smaller-than-usual number of people wished me a happy Easter, for which I am grateful. I realize that Easter is a part of mainstream American culture, as evidenced by the massive amounts of candy bought and sold. (I think that's why Arbor Day has never taken off. Where's the candy?) But as someone who grew up religious, Easter still signifies as a very powerful -- and guilt-inducing -- religious occasion, not a secular one. So now that I'm a heathen, I think, "Easter? Why would I celebrate Easter? Why are you wishing me a happy one?" It's just confusing.
Maybe if there were better candy. It's hard for me to get excited about Peeps and jelly beans and cheap milk chocolate eggs with foil embedded in them. When I was a kid, my parents always gave me a giant chocolate-covered coconut egg in my Easter basket. The thing was so sweet it made my teeth hurt, and I could make it last a month. That was as good as it got.
For the record, I still hope to have a happy Easter, insofar as tomorrow is Easter and I hope to have a happy day. But I'd just as soon be wished a happy April 12.