Not all holidays are equal; we all know that. Some are just a day long, while others are celebrated for an extended time. 

Easter is kind of an odd holiday. Today I was wondering why it is not like the other holidays we have during the year. We don’t do all the normal holiday things at Easter. 

No one strings little lights on the outside of their houses. You don’t see little white lights in the shape of crosses adorning eavestroughs.

There are no inflatable tombs with attached inflatable big, round stones on people’s front lawns. … At Halloween some people put tombstones on their lawns, but that’s a completely different thing.

At Easter no one cuts down a tree, takes it into their shop, planes the logs and cuts them into big beams. No one sets up a big, wooden cross in their living room. 

There are no presents under that cross for weeks before Easter. No one anticipates opening those presents when the holiday arrives. 

There is no big lead up to Easter, like there is something to look forward to. Every year Easter seems to come upon us suddenly. It’s not usually something that is on our minds. 

Easter really is an odd holiday when you think about it. We don’t give it the high profile some other holidays get.

There isn’t a special meal that’s associated with Easter. The obvious choice should be lamb, but lamb has never really caught on like turkey or chicken or steak. Sure, sales of lamb are up around Easter, but you are probably more likely to find families gathering around a meal featuring ham or turkey. 

Lamb is expensive and if not cooked just right … well, I’m not a big fan of it. 

Ham at Easter is a strange choice though, especially since the holiday originates from Israel. Ham is not exactly kosher!

Easter just doesn’t match up to the other holidays of the year. 

Maybe it’s because we have to look up the date every year on a calendar. With other holidays we know when they are, we’ve memorized the dates in our heads. But Easter, is it in March this year, or is it in April? Is it early or late? We have to get out the calendar to find out. Two months out we don’t know when Easter will fall. 

At least we know that it’s always a Friday and a Sunday. But that also makes it a different kind of holiday. There is a sad part of Easter and a happy part. What other holiday has us crying and laughing during the same time?

Easter really is an odd holiday … but, for Christians, it’s the most holy and important holiday of the year. 

I just don’t know why it doesn’t get more attention and love.

Here’s the thing: At Christmas we celebrate Christ’s birth, His coming into the world. That’s amazing and it should be something we celebrate. It shows us that God is thinking about us. But Easter, that’s when God really shows He loves us. Christmas would mean nothing to us without Easter. At Easter we celebrate that God loves us so much that He sent His Son to die in our place to pay for our sins. Easter really is the greatest and most joyous holiday of our year, every year. I hope you make it yours.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you do to make Easter special? Leave your comments and questions below.

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