This week I read a thread in a facebook group about Easter Gifts and generally it was asking how much people spend on presents for their kids at Easter. I was reading the thread wondering why and how I had failed my children. You see Easter to us means one Easter egg off mum and dad, plus a bag of little eggs that I hide in the garden. That’s it. That is Easter.
We mostly go to Church (although we have been very lax lately with hockey and other stuff) and they would get another little egg there. Grandparents and close family will also throw an egg their way, like I do for nieces, nephews and god children – oh and my 18 year old brother who still thinks he is a kid!
Yet this tread talked of spending £30 per child and some spending more. It wasn’t just eggs but proper wrapped gifts. I was reading and questioning why. When did this happen? When did Easter become commercial and then I began to wonder are people really buying into this? It is not anyone’s birthday and I can’t see why you would be buying presents.
I wonder just how many of those children know the meaning of Easter and what a present is for. Eggs I think are lovely and even if you are not Christian the eggs symbolise new life, new beginnings and that fits with spring and all it has to offer.
One of the joys of Spring and Easter is that it signals that warmer weather should soon be appearing, it is a time to get outdoors and blow away those cobwebs. We took to the coast for a few days to stay with my lovely inlaws and a walk along the beach is always on the children’s list of things to do. We headed to Goring by Sea and walked along for a while.
One the way back we stopped at a very non discript church as my father in law wanted to show me the painted roof. A sign painter had spent five and half years recreating Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel on the ceiling of a 1970’s Catholic Church. The result is beautiful.
Even those stained glass windows are hand painted. The curved ceiling lends itself to the recreation and I was blown away. It was also my nan’s birthday so a candle was lit.
I found some solace looking at the ceilings and the paintings and I came a full circle thinking once more about Easter and it’s promise to us. I still don’t get the Easter presents thing and mine will only get an egg but they also understand the Easter story which to me is important. No matter what they each choose to celebrate and believe when they are older is fine by me but Easter is full of hope and it shouldn’t be about presents!
2 Responses
I think you have the right idea, my kids get too much as it is, so Easter is chocolate and although they get too much of that, there are certainly no gifts involved.
Amen to that! A post along very similar lines jumped into my head as I looked at Instagram this morning. What’s wrong with just a chocolate egg?!
I’ve scheduled my post for tomorrow morning!