People's reactions to Easter.

[Matilda]

I don't know what you do in the States, but in Australia we have a long holiday, from Good Friday to Tuesday, when we'll all go back to work. Australians are not terribly religious in the main, and for most this holiday represents a time to go away or a time just to relax and have fun.

Inevitably, you are asked "Are you going away for Easter?" or "Got lots of things lined up for Easter?", and the true answer for me is that I will be going to church. A lot. But if that's what you answer, you know that you will probably be typecast as a religous nutter of some sort - probably fundamentalist. So I usually settle for "Oh, it will be fairly quiet for me".

I decided to give the truth a shot yesterday when somebody asked me what I had planned for Easter, and I answered "Oh, I have a lot of churchy things to do". Silence. Then, "Oh ... how nice".

Sigh. Why do I know they think I'm a weirdo?

[demosincebirth]

1. Many do not know what Easter really means. Most think it's Easter eggs and chocolate bunnies.

[hedgehog]

2. We drove to Good Friday service past several strip malls -

all packed with cars because of the half day. I guess this is the classic example of "many are called, but few are chosen".

I had to smile because my sister who adamantly turned her back on the Church posted a recipe on her facebook for Easter breakfast. To me, Easter without Christ is rather an oxymoron. I think she left the Church mostly because it wasn't cool back when she was in college, and even if she realizes something is missing now, she doesn't know how to get it back.

I have a daughter who has left, but I understand her better because she is gay and the bishops have done everything possible to make her feel unwanted. I think she is still open to the possibility of Mystery, so I think she will find her way.

Many years ago we were visiting our folks and the reading was from Paul about how we must not behave as the world behaves or live as the world lives, how our values must be different. On the way out of church, we ran into an old school chum and exchanged updates. I realized we stalled from going out to our car - at that time a used Suburban we'd bought from the school board, complete with school bus yellow paint! It was hardly a mark of success! I had to laugh at myself, because the Suburban was a decided example of our counter cultural lifestyle! I was staying home with the kids so money was tight.

BTW - can you give us some insight into what Easter means when you are entering the Fall season and not the Spring?

[Matilda]

3. That's hard to answer, because I don't know that it's much different.

It's still an equinox, just a different one. We don't have the signs of new life budding, but we still have flowers and the leaves are just starting to turn in some places, but not all.

It's Christmas that's so very different - we grow up with scenes of snow on cards and decorations, and it bears no relationship to what we're experiencing at all. Yet somehow, most of us don't find it at all odd.

[tjwmason]

4. Pretty much everybody knows I'm an active Catholic

But am also very chilled out about it...so I usually say something like 'spending far too long in church' in such a way that it's clear I'm not about to turn swivelled-eyed on them.

Also make it clear that Easter day is a feast and that to my mind this is to be taken literally - after Mass it's champagne and celebratory lunch with family.

[CBHagman]

5. Well, Congress is out, thanks to Passover and Good Friday arriving simultaneously.

For the past two days I've been telling sales clerks and bus drivers, "Happy whatever holiday you observe." They've all responded graciously, with the guy who sold me the bottle of Australian wine immediately saying, "Mine's Easter!" I guess that's what you say when you serve customers who are buying bourbon and Drambuie.

Since Congress is out, work isn't quite as frantic as it would be, but there's no long weekend for us. And as usual, the supermarkets are open Easter Sunday. Back when I was in retail myself, I remember working a few holidays, including Easter.

But it's a gorgeous day here in the Washington, D.C., area, and people are out and about, enjoying the weather and/or hustling up their family and guests to services. The 8:30 a.m. Mass at St. Matthew's in D.C. (site of JFK's funeral, for those of you who might be unfamiliar with it) was well-attended, but afterwards there were lines around the block for Cardinal Wuerl's 10:00 Mass.

Happy Easter, all.