Passion Plays - the Forgotten Tradition of Easter

Just like Christmas, Easter was originally a Christian holiday. The other day, my friend asked me why "passion plays" were so popular to re-enact in churches because they have a grotesque history behind them. Are they really fun for the families or are they barbaric? You may say they are barbaric, I say that's life.

I've always wondered as well why the "passion play", as they call it is even just as popular as the Christmas play. For those who don't know, the "passion plays" are about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in the Christian faith. It depicts Christ's arrest an, his walk to the cross, his torment and death on the cross and his resurrection. And Easter is the celebration of his crucifixion and resurrection from the dead. Celebration of his crucifixion? I must be joking right? Who would celebrate that? Well, Christians. Today it seems that the reason for the passion plays is lost.

The original reasons to reenact the crucifixion of Christ is to educate Christians on the resurrection, showing the harsh suffering that Christ went through so that we could get to heaven. Re-enacting the crucifixion is in the same realm as re-enacting the last supper by taking communion in church. But the crucifixion is supposed to let Christians know that this Savior suffered more for our lives than any other person would have, even ourselves. It is supposed to help Christians understand pain and suffering so that they will understand why Christ is to be revered. Now it has turned into cute Easter plays with bunnies and kittens. Even the passion plays aren't really about the crucifixion anymore. They are more about the kids dressing up and becoming actors in front of a crowd. And I think it has to do with politically correct people in this country.

Some people have come to believe nowadays that death and suffering is too harsh of a subject for children. But where will they learn about the suffering of other human beings if not from their own parents and guides in their schools and churches? There are wars going on right now between nuclear powers in the world, there are children dying all over the world from hunger and thousands of people in the USA with no place to live. But parents refuse to educate their children for fear of traumatizing them.

The truth of suffering is something a lot of parents try to keep from their children if they can which I completely understand. We want to protect those we love at all costs. The only problem is that this method makes children weak-minded, sheltered and scared of the real world when they finally find out what it's about. It's a much bigger problem than simply keeping the suffering of a crucifixion hidden even though it is required reading of a major world religion. It is a problem with parent sheltering their children so much that they will tend to not be prepared for what is outside their doors.

It starts with not teaching them the truth about sex, then banning books from school and hiding world events to protect children. If they don't grow up with the same knowledge as you have, how will they know how to protect themselves? How will they be able to decide for themselves what they want? Soon they will have no knowledge of the world around them and when they step into a bear trap, they'll wonder why their feet are bleeding.

Whether you are religious or not, people should be educated about what they're celebrating. If your child is celebrating Easter, explain to them why. But don't leave out the gruesome facts of the Christian faith. It is the reason for the holiday and no matter what you believe, telling the truth about it can only give your children more knowledge.

And besides that, teach them about other religions, teach them about the world. Different cultures, different crises, different religions, different lifestyles and different races are all a part of our world and it's a shame that some people shelter their children from knowing about it just to save them from understanding that everything in the world is not buttercups and roses. Telling your children the truth helps them to learn and to grow in a world that will not shelter, but that will throw stones at them. So give them a shield, yes. But let them know that the rock throwers are out there.