Celebrating the True Meaning of Easter

Years ago, driving down Main St. of a little town in Eastern Pennsylvania, I noticed Easter decorations on one side of the street and St. Patrick's Day decorations on the other side of the street. I thought to myself, "I love when Easter's early in the year. We get to celebrate with a feast honoring the Patron Saint of Ireland immediately followed up by a feast honoring Jesus Christ. It's a great time of year for Christian celebration."

As I continued driving down the street, I realized the streets were decorated with clovers, bunnies, and eggs, but there was no sign of the cross. Then, I thought, how can we celebrate Easter without a cross?

Both the Easter Bunny and colored eggs have their origins in the religion of Paganism, but were carried over into the Christian celebration of Easter as more and more Pagans converted to Christianity. Why have these symbols maintained their acceptability in American culture, but the cross has not? Is displaying the cross actually more offensive to Americans than displaying ancient symbols of Paganism? If so, when did the American Pagan population surpass the number of people in America who celebrate Christmas?

In regards to St. Patrick's Day, does anyone know who St. Patrick is besides to say "the patron saint of Ireland?" St. Patrick was not even Irish! St. Patrick was captured and brought to Ireland as a slave for six years of his childhood. He escaped and returned to his parents. Years later, he returned to Ireland as a missionary. He returned to Ireland to spread the word of Christ to the people who had imprisoned him in his youth.

Annually, dozens of cities have parades to honor St. Patrick. Thousands of people eat corned beef and cabbage. Chicago dies the river green. Who displays a cross: the sign St. Patrick strove to share with all?

Somewhere along the line in our country's growth, Christianity became offensive to people. A nation that was formed on the basis of religious freedom, became a nation bound and determined hide the truth about God. Recently, the government even issued a dollar coin that is missing the phrase "In God We Trust." Somehow, it's still okay for the Easter Bunny to sit at the mall, Santa to visit the firehouse, and kids to draw leprechauns in school on their St. Patrick's Day posters, but displaying the cross is socially unacceptable.

As I drove down Main St. of a little town in Eastern Pennsylvania and looked at all of the Easter decorations on one side of the street and St. Patrick's Day decorations on the other side of the street, I thought to myself, "God forbid we display a cross on Main St. for Easter." Then I realized that man forbade that and I asked myself, "Why?"