Celebrating Easter

I am not religious, but my kids are. They are at an age where they aren't yet questioning authority. They both believe in God, or their versions of him (or her), and I try not to sway them too much. We have deep, complex discussions about religion, and I explain why I believe in one thing or not in another, but I try to do so without influencing their own beliefs.

It's harder to do that when it comes to holidays. Especially holidays that can be Pagan holidays or Christian holidays. Having a split household is never easy, and I have to be flexible enough to celebrate holidays I don't believe in.

This year, I didn't get the kids an Easter basket, and they didn't go to church. They were disappointed, especially about the basket. And we had to have a talk about the importance of understanding holidays. There is so much commercialization from the "greeting card" industry, that it's hard NOT to buy gifts and baskets for every little thing. Kids start to expect it, and the holiday itself loses its meaning.

Even though I don't believe in Easter, I made sure this year to explain to the kids what Easter is about, according to Christianity, so they could understand what they should be celebrating. Then I explained why I celebrate the Spring Equinox and Eostre.

And when we were finally done discussing everything, I took them out to get giant chocolate bunnies--which they promptly ate the heads off of.