MEaster?

Today when I woke up I decided, in true procrastinatory style, that I'd go to the store before trying to make my brain commit to studying. It wasn't until after I had gotten dressed, eaten, etc. that I realized that hey, maybe stores aren't open because of that holiday. What's it's name? Oh right, Easter. It made me think about what Easter means to me; a teenager with no religious upbringing, no history of church attendance, and no bible on my shelf. Is this the weekend that the Easter Bunny was born?

When I was younger Easter fit into the "Days When You Get Presents And Sometimes Don't Have To Go To School" category. This included Christmas, Halloween, my birthday, and Tooth Fairy visits. I always sort of pictured a far away place where all the holiday mascots would hang out in their downtime, considering that most of them really only worked one day a year. Santa would play cards with the Easter Bunny, slamming his fist down with every loss but still managing to give a hearty laugh. "Oh Easter Bunny you are one sneaky little bugger. You really do know your "Go Fish". The Tooth Fairy would be somewhere in the background singing "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion kareoke style because, for the 9th year in a row, she had way too much egg nog, and Mrs. Clause would be staring down Santa, watching his occasional glances over to the T. Fairy and muttering something under her breath about "...a two cent whore...". They all had stressful jobs, were expected to act quickly in the night, stay hidden during the year, and make strategic mall appearance now and then. I thought that these mascots were really the glue of society, always bring people together and sending families into bankruptcy. As for my exposure to religious figures, I'd say it was limited to that time in kindergarten when I coloured and cut out a baby Jesus, and handed it to my partner that was eating our glue.

I don't think I'll go deep into any religious discussion because it could only ever be my opinions, and opinions often lead to distress that I'd rather not deal with. I will, however, say that I find it interesting that I've never had a day off school or work for a Sikh, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, etc. Religious holiday. Maybe Canada needs to diversify it's holidays?

So what is Easter to me personally? It's chocolate, getting to spend some time with the family I never see, memories of egg hunts, my brother barreling around the house getting 96% of the candy but then having to share it with my sister and I because our parents are fair. Easter to me is finding a previously undiscovered egg on the top of my fireplace mantle in July, appreciating the rarity of my discovery, and realizing that yes, that Bunny is a sneaky bugger.