Google “Easter” and click on “Images”. Up comes everything imaginable that has anything remotely to do with Easter. The most popular images are of colored Easter Eggs, in the typical dyed blue, orange, pink, purple and green; to the maticulously colored Russian Easter Eggs. Next come the little bunnies, ham and big bunnies, you know the Heffner type. There are even images of Easter Island. If you look long and hard you will find one of two pictures of Jesus Risen, the true meaning of Easter.
I remember enjoying the colors of Easter at church when they went from purple during the lent, to the pristine white of Easter Sunday. The colors of the vestments always impressed me. I remember the catechism stories and the image of Christ on the Cross and what they meant to me as a young boy. I remember the 114 Stations, singing in the choir, experiencing communion and the holiness I felt at that time.
I have strayed over the years, and it has been a while since I have crossed the threshold of my Parish Church. Somehow I have succumbed to the hype of Easter. The Tulips, the chocolates, the Easter Egg Hunts, the candy corn, the yellow baby chicks. I think it is time to get back to basics and remember the real reason for the day.
