Have you ever heard anyone say, “How many shopping days are there till Easter?” Do you buy gifts for your spouse, your family, or your siblings for Easter? Do you install lights on the roof of your house for Easter? Do you book your flight months ahead to be home for Easter? Does your workplace have an annual Easter party? How many Easter parties will you go to this year?
Let’s be honest. To people of this world, Easter just isn’t a very important holyday. It is dwarfed by the other major Christian holiday. In Japan where I grew up, every Japanese knows ku-ri-su-ma-su, but hardly anyone knows Easter. During the month of December, you hear the tunes of Deck the Halls and Jingle Bells playing throughout every department store, but the same department stores are eerily silent around the Easter season. Everyone knows Santa Claus or the Christmas tree, but only a handful has heard of the Easter bunny or Easter eggs. Everyone feasts on Kentucky Fried Chicken on Christmas Eve (strange), but it’s the usual bowl of rice, seaweed, or tsukudani for Easter, if they even know it is Easter.
Not only the people of this world, but Christians too look forward very much to Christmas each year. Some may even admit they are more excited about Christmas than they are about Easter. Our daughter says it is her favorite time of the year. But as true as that may be, what should we really say? If someone were to ask us which is more important, Christmas or Easter, how should we answer? Which is the correct answer we should give?
Our pastors teach us that, as Christians, we should think that Easter is more important than Christmas. We should say that Easter is more important than Christmas. But why should we think and say that way? Why should we think and say that Easter is more important than Christmas? If I were to ask you, how would you answer?
For me, this is how I process. Without Easter, there would be no Christmas. Christmas is a birthday party. On December 25, we celebrate the birth of a baby named Jesus born in a manger in Bethlehem. But we would not know that the baby was important until we are told who is this baby. If Jesus had not risen, you and I would not be celebrating Christmas. There would be no gifts, cards, trees, wreaths, ornaments, cookies, eggnog, or parties. Christmas, by itself, is not important. Christmas became important once we learned that Christ died and resurrected for the sinners of the world. Persons are born every minute somewhere in our planet. The birth itself of every girl or boy is not anything worthy of attention. The birth becomes important only much later when we discover this was the birth of an important person. Christmas became important once we saw for ourselves this was the birth of the Son of God.
Tradition says that Christians celebrated Easter long before they celebrated Christmas. I have no clue whether or not this is true. But if it is true, I believe our Christian forefathers got it right. Christmas exists because there was Easter. It is not wrong for Christians to say, “Jesus is the reason for the season,” at Christmastime, but let us not forget it is so because Christ died and rose again at Eastertime. So, even though Easter may be the “lesser” holiday, and not as festive, we can still pull out our ugly Easter sweaters, chop down an Easter tree or two, sing Easter carols, and have a party!
