As a Christian, I enjoy the holidays of my faith, but I’m afraid that the real meaning of each is lost on most people.

Easter is no more about eggs and baskets than Christmas is about Santa and reindeer.

I’m not saying that pretty little girls in their dresses and hats, and little boys in their grownup-looking suits aren’t a nice touch, but showering children with clothes, cards and candy doesn’t teach them anything about why Christians celebrate today.

Of all of the Christian holidays, Easter is the most significant to me. The resurrection of Christ is the linchpin of my faith.

“But the truth is that Christ has been raised from death, as the guarantee that those who sleep in death will also be raised.” – 1 Corinthians 15:20

Nothing in that Scripture about bunnies, eggs or baskets.

Many holiday traditions have veered from what they originally looked like. The concept of the Easter Bunny originated in 1682 with German Lutherans.

Christmas wasn’t celebrated for the first 300 years of Christianity, and Santa Claus didn’t show up to the Christmas party until an 1823 poem became popular and a political cartoonist named Thomas Nast drew the first modern concept of Kris Kringle in 1866.

The commercialization of Christian holidays can be a great tool if the egg hunts, candy and gifts are used to get a child’s attention about the real meaning of the celebration and not just be the celebration.

Our four children and six grandchildren have all been visited by the Easter Bunny and Santa. But, hopefully, the fun and the gifts haven’t eclipsed the real meaning of today.

Jesus rose from the grave.

Happy Easter.

©2014 John Moore