The Easter conundrum
In or out of sync
Last year l wrote a piece called Rethinking Easter.
It was my musings on how to navigate this holiday in our home, and l think it resonated with quite a few people.
I’m revisiting it this year because at the time my daughter was not yet two, and we didn’t feel the need to really have figured out what our tradition or stories around this event are. Now she is almost three and it has become clear we do need to clarify, at least a little; l don’t believe anything is ever concrete so l have no doubt it will morph and grow over the years in response to our own learnings and musings.
In that newsletter, l pondered Jesus, seasonal renewal, a magical bunny, or neither?
And wrested with the fact that we are not a religious family so the death and resurrection of Jesus are not pertinent, and nor are the classic motifs that support this story — baby bunnies and chicks, spring flowers, eggs as a symbol of new life. Nor do they represent the seasonal shift.
Although both of us grew up with the Easter bunny, we’ve no intentions of using that particular story either because it feels devoid of actual meaning and has become synonymous with commercialism. I know some families find magic in that tale; that’s okay! I just want to find other ways to cultivate the magic in our house.
So, what then?
To be honest, I am really grappling with the mismatch between Easter and the season we are in here (Autumn).
Well, every ‘seasonal’ holiday, actually.
Unsurprisingly, this is a common issue when you pick up one hemisphere’s stories and superimpose them on another. I am also well aware that to an extent, even the seasons don’t fit perfectly either. There are many more accurate First Nations seasons in each country; unfortunately where l live, they are not as well known because the genocide in this area was prolific. Certainly something for me to delve further into.
Despite this, there are elements to when Easter is celebrated that l think can be adapted. Easter is sometimes known as the ‘moveable feast’, perhaps you already know why? I can’t recall ever having discussed the why in childhood! If you can’t either, it’s worth understanding.
Easter is always celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon either on or following the equinox. This is why it is a different date each year. However, the idea of this full moon is a tiny bit deceptive because it isn’t calculated the same way as other astronomical events using the position of the sun and earth (like the equinoxes and solstices), and instead is referred to as an ‘ecclesiastical moon’ — that is, a moon of the church.
While a moveable feast already sounds a bit hard to grasp, before the establishment of this ecclesiastical moon in the Middle Ages, how the date of Easter was calculated varied widely across religious traditions and there were many arguments about which way was correct.
So in the vein of all disputes through time, a council was called. Yep.
It was at this council in Nicea in 325AD that the ecclesiastical moon as given as the deciding factor and this also helped to line up Easter with Jewish Passover. There was more arguing and mess in following centuries, but ultimately, we’ve retained this computus or calculation.
So, while l won‘t be talking about it as a moveable feast in my house, l do think we could use the moon to talk about gathering as a family at that time. There is beautiful symbolism in the full moon itself and the balance of night and day before the days begin to shorten, without any requirement to discuss a religious story.
Here’s what we arrived at this year.
I want our holidays to be grounded in what we are experiencing around us — not detached from it. That means that Easter will be less about a celebration of new life for us and more about the turning of the season and spending time together as an extended family. A reminder that the earth cools now as it turns and we are at the cusp of descent. That when we re-emerge spiralling upwards in the spring, that will be the time for new life.
With this in mind here is what we’ve decided:
We will retain the ‘Easter’ basket with pyjamas. A tradition l am carrying on from my own childhood.
Include a book each year about autumn or the equinox.
Include some spring bulbs to plant. They are a lovely symbol of how life might lay dormant now, but this rest is necessary to resurface full of life in the spring.
Make egg shell beeswax candles as a family for our celebration ring. I think this is a nice representation of the fact that while things are wilting (or indeed appear ‘broken’), they can be beautiful and light the way through the darker half. Equally, the hidden yoke is most surely a symbol of the sun that will re-emerge in all its glory!
Include a chocolate (because it seems unfair to exclude our child completely from the fun part of the narrative others will be clinging to!)
In later years — discuss the changing moon. We do already point out the moon and often say goodnight to it, so it may happen this year, we’ll see!
If you are a religious family, l feel that Easter is likely still filled with meaning for you because the story that was brought here still holds significance, in spite of the seasonal disconnect.
I did read Easter in Autumn by Colette Leenman and while l liked some of the ideas, they are largely still tied to the religious story. It would be a wonderful resource for those of you blending the two.
Equally though, any of the ideas above could be incorporated to notice and embody the season we are in here too 🧡. They aren’t mutually exclusive so you could celebrate the equinox and notice the moon in the lead up to Easter!
How do you celebrate Easter in the southern hemisphere?
Or even in the north if you do things slightly differently?
I’m curious and always open to new ideas.
Warmest,
Rachel x