Everybody needs an Easter — “A time of renewal following a dreary or hard time in life.” (The Revised Willis Version) Merriam Webster defines Easter accurately, and more in line with what you were thinking, before reading my version: a Christian holiday celebrating Christ’s resurrection that is observed on the first Sunday following the first full moon on or after March 21st. So there, you have the meteorological reason the date of Easter changes every year.

While Irving Berlin may not have been the catalyst causing the commercialization of Easter, his song, Easter Parade, certainly had a part:

In your Easter bonnet
With all the frills upon it
You’ll be the grandest lady in the Easter parade.
I’ll be all in clover
And when they look you over,
I’ll be the proudest fellow in the Easter parade.

In earlier times, ladies’ Easter bonnets were quite popular attire, especially at church. If you follow the cartoon, Curtis, you find a plethora of bonnet jokes his younger brother, Barry, cracks at church, much to the embarrassment of Curtis and their mother. (Their bonnets really are spectacular!). Even though “church attire” has changed dramatically, in many circles, the Easter dress remains colorful.

Easter Egg hunts are a staple for children. When I was a kid, real hen eggs, colored for the occasion, were carefully hidden for the hunt. Cousins, aunts, uncles, and in-laws usually gathered on Sunday after church, in a green, wooded glen, chosen earlier by Granddaddy, for the annual picnic and Easter Egg Hunt. It usually followed the one held on Saturday at the church. The family Easter Egg hunt remained crucial for us children.

Easter, in the Northern Hemisphere, is a dramatic time of renewal. Trees and shrubs, which for months seemed to be dead, blossom. Tiny green shoots pop up through the formerly cold soil, bringing bees, blossoms, and butterflies. The earth is astir with new life, brilliant with color and freshness. People who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) can have light dispelling their disorder.

Easter for Christians the world over brings blessed hope. For the past six weeks, the call to self-denial has been a time to reflect on their call to follow Jesus. Self-denial is a spiritual discipline intentionally to draw one closer to God. Over those weeks of paying attention to the inner spirit, the groundwork is laid for newness in Christ joyfully to emerge.

©Copyright Willis H. Moore 2026