Does anyone 'not do' Easter (if you follow Christian festivals)

[PeaceandCakes]

I'm just tired of all the hype around Christmas and Easter. Wall to wall recipes in magazines etc, shops full of chocolate eggs, (yes they want to sell stuff.)

But I don't know anyone who really goes to town like the media promotes- beautifully set tables, decorations, lamb and more lamb.

I was brought up C of E and was a church goer for years. I'm not now and have re-thought my views on religion.

I see bank hols, for religious reasons, as a way to see my family and get together.

I know others are religious and that's fine, but I just hate all this commercialism every year around Xmas and Easter.

We don't 'do' Easter either in a religious way or buying Easter eggs for adult children or each other.

That said, if we happened to be having people for dinner on Easter Sunday, I would probably make an Easter themed meal, possibly with a few Easter decorations - purely because I like a theme.

So far, not got any plans for Easter day so won't be doing anything different to any other Sunday

I like roast lamb and I also like chocolate.

Any excuse 😂

I bought read of the broadsheets yesterday and it was just wall to wall with recipes, tables all decorated, and such stuff for Easter.

(And of course alongside this there were features on losing weight LOL!)

If you're religious, fair enough, but I worry about kids who (in spite of what school teaches them) still think Easter is just about choc eggs and bunnies.

(There was a thread here from an aghast Mum whose DD was evidently 'traumatised' by learning about how Jesus was 'nailed to a cross'.

)

I think people "do" stuff like a family get together because (most) people are getting a 4 day holiday and it gives you the opportunity of time to get together.
If family get togethers usually mean a fancy Sunday dinner then those families will do that.
(My family get togethers are more likely to mean a BBQ)
It all depends how much food is important to a family get together. Some families are very big on "the meal" so will enjoy making fancy recipes and a nice table etc.
Some families will just get together and when hungry just make a sandwich.
I don't see much hype for Easter to be honest.
Chocolate Eggs and crafts etc in the shops and some recipes in the supermarket freebie magazines. That's it. Hardly "hype".

I think the powers that be (shops and supermarkets) are really trying to make easter a "thing" and offering more and more Easter accessories and decorations. This is obviously for money making reasons for them.

I have fallen into the trap and got a cute small wire tree and some hanging eggs that I've put on a small bit of astro turf on my windowsill though.

As for tons of chocolate and a big spread with a laid out table, we won't be partaking in that.
I get both my children 1 egg each and then a bag of mini eggs, We will have a roast dinner but not on Christmas Dinner levels.
I have never done easter bunny for my children amd they're 9 and 13 now.

I do like Easter eggs . Chocolate tastes so much nicer . So enjoy eggs .

when I was a childminder did lots of Easter activities as a nice theme

I used to hate Easter as a kid. All those masses - loooing Palm Sunday mass, passion mass in school, more mass and no TV on Good Friday and more mass on Easter Sunday. Only good bit was the chocolate egg.

I associate it with obligation and light but cold weather but everyone acting like it's warmer than it is.

I'm happy enough with the longer weekend now. That's enough for me.

I'm a heathen and so are most of my family. We eat hot cross buns (because they are nice) and Easter Eggs (ditto) but that's it. It's another festival borrowed from paganism. Easter (the word) comes from the name of the Goddess of Spring/Rebirth, Eostre.

Christmas comes from Saturnalia, a Roman festival of lights, feasting and drinking. A way to cheer up the dark evenings.

Obviously both festivals are not directly from older religions but if we are to forget Jesus for a bit and correlate celebrating with natural events, to me it makes more sense. Same as paganism based on stars, or suns, or the harvest. Bringing Jesus back a moment, I think the Christian Easter Story is a great ghost tale, or one of magic.

I’m like you OP, I no longer believe and am much happier for it!

I buy hot cross buns and Easter eggs but Easter weekend usually involves some kind of domestic clear out or diy in this house.

Bought adult dc Easter eggs, also going to lunch at my parents, mum will cook lamb but she often does if we visit. Certainly don't do decor etc. I do go to church and will be at the sunrise service on Easter morning

I'm not religious so don't attend services, but I do get some twigs from the garden and hang up the decoupaged real eggs I've made over the years, whichever family members are available will meet up and have a special lunch together and I make a simnel cake. I'll buy my grandchild an egg and might give the others a tiny lindt bunny as a table gift. Can't stand all the plastic foliage plastic egg decorations and the plastic Easter wreaths some people seem to put on their doors, wtf is that all about, seems to be a new thing.

You could just not read the magazines and get your shopping delivered?

We’ve always ‘done’ Easter as in we have roast lamb, and Easter Eggs and hot cross buns, and Easter Eggs hunts when the kids were little. We usually do a hello spring walk.

My parents did all this in the 70s. In fact I think kids at least had Easter bonnets at church then which seems to have died out. Why wouldn’t you? Religious or not, it’s a great way to mark the beginning of light days and spring.

I must say I only heard about Easter branches (?) last year though. That was a new one on me.

We've just had ours. It's Ostara in our house 😉

Haha yes I remember my ds aged about 6 coming home from his (non church) school and proudly telling me he'd learned a new word 'crucifiction'. I was pretty traumatised!

Fwiw no I don't buy anyone chocolate or celebrate Easter. My kids get enough sugary crap from the constant rounds of parties and play dates. I am somewhat tempted to buy myself a hotel chocolat egg and hide just for me though 🙂

I used to buy little wrapped Lindt chocolates like ladybirds, bees, carrots and eggs and hide them around the house for the kids, but now they’re adults, we don’t do anything.

I’m rather partial to a hot cross bun though.

Yes to hot cross buns they're lovely.

Time of school and work! Nice food and friends... why not! Egg hunt for the kids. It's fun, life is for celebrating 🥳

We live in a religious country so my kids will know the meaning behind Easter but will also know it's also about spring time coming and new life.

Easter is just a normal Sunday but with chocolate Easter eggs in our house.
I don't decorate.

We are not religious. The kids learnt about the Christian meaning at school but at home I've also talked to them about celebrating spring and baby animals and the trees and plants waking up.