{"id":1177,"date":"2012-04-07T10:15:00","date_gmt":"2012-04-07T14:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/smalltownamerica\/?p=1177"},"modified":"2012-04-07T22:10:56","modified_gmt":"2012-04-08T02:10:56","slug":"do-you-believe-in-the-easter-bunny","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/smalltownamerica\/2012\/04\/do-you-believe-in-the-easter-bunny.html","title":{"rendered":"Do You Believe In The Easter Bunny?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Easter, much like Christmas was introduced as a way for Christians to celebrate and enjoy holiday festivities at the same time the pagans were.\u00a0 Because there is no way of finding the actual dates of things like the birth of Jesus and the death and resurrection of Jesus, church leaders chose days that were near the dates of these other holidays.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Thousands\u00a0 of years ago, under the rule of Constantine, it was established that Easter would fall on first Sunday after the full moon.\u00a0 Over the years the holiday has evolved into what it is today.\u00a0 Colored eggs and the Easter Bunny as part of the celebration, has been a tradition in Europe for centuries.\u00a0 People exchanged colored eggs as a celebration of Spring and new life.\u00a0 In many countries the eggs are a symbol of our rebirth.\u00a0 That rebirth can only come through Jesus.<\/p>\n

The Easter Bunny is not a modern invention.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In the 1500’s the Easter Bunny was\u00a0 used to help children understand the death and resurrection of Jesus.\u00a0 They can’t really understand the suffering and sacrifice of Jesus.\u00a0 This tradition was brought over to America by the Germans, but was not widely accepted until after the Civil War.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Today Easter has become nearly as commercialized as Christmas.\u00a0 Fancy Easter baskets, stuffed animals, outside toys and lots of chocolate.\u00a0 We have chocolate eggs and bunnies, crosses and chicks.\u00a0 So many sweet treats for our children to enjoy.\u00a0 We have eggs filled everything from fruits and nuts, to carmel and peanut butter.\u00a0 There really is something for everyone.<\/p>\n

So, is there any real harm done in letting our children enjoy the Easter Bunny and some colored eggs?\u00a0 I don’t think so, as long as the true story is also shared and given more importance than all the other stuff.\u00a0 These things bring fun and excitement to a holiday that is difficult for little ones to understand.\u00a0 The can barely understand death, much less resurrection.\u00a0 They will grow to undrstand the true celebration of Jesus’ love and sacrifice.<\/p>\n

We have more important things to conquer than to attack colored\u00a0eggs and chocolate bunnies.\u00a0 Relax and have some fum with your children and grandchildren.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Easter, much like Christmas was introduced as a way for Christians to celebrate and enjoy holiday festivities at the same time the pagans were.\u00a0 Because there is no way of finding the actual dates of things like the birth of Jesus and the death and resurrection of Jesus, church leaders chose days that were near…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":420,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,27],"tags":[25,19,29,46],"class_list":["post-1177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-inspiration","category-news-or-feature","tag-children","tag-faith","tag-family","tag-holiday"],"yoast_head":"\nDo You Believe In The Easter Bunny? - Small Town America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/smalltownamerica\/2012\/04\/do-you-believe-in-the-easter-bunny.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Do You Believe In The Easter Bunny? 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