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Original poster

How has Easter changed so much?

282 replies

PistachioTiramisu · 04/04/2026 12:31

When I was a child (60s/70s) Good Friday was a day when you went early to buy Hot Cross Buns and this was the ONLY day you ate them. Otherwise, all the shops were closed, there were religious programmes on TV and a lot of people ate the traditional fish for dinner. Easter Saturday was a 'fun' day, buying nice food for Sunday. On Easter Sunday you probably were given a chocolate egg or two and had roast lamb for dinner. Again, there were religious programmes on TV. Easter Monday was a day for picnics, etc., but all the shops were still closed.

It seems a shame that the true meaning of Easter has more or less disappeared, having been overtaken by a mountain of chocolate in various shapes and forms, some people having Easter trees with decorations and other themed items. I saw one comment this morning (not on here) stating that 'Easter is for kids', echoing the nonsense that 'Christmas is for kids'. It is not - it's for everyone who wants to mark the event.

OP posts:
ThisJadeBear · 04/04/2026 16:06

My experience of Easter in the 70’s as a youngish kid. Roman Catholic.

  1. if you dare enjoy Christmas more than Easter that is a sin as Easter is more important. You must pray for your soul.
  2. Jesus died on the cross for your sins. When you are 7 and well behaved that’s quite hard to get.
  3. Watching ‘Jesus of Nazareth’ and being absolutely traumatised by the crucifixion.
  4. Being told by my teacher that if I wasn’t in Church at 3 pm on Good Friday that I should get on my knees and pray wherever I was. One year I had a cold and an afternoon nap and woke up at 4. I was so distressed I didn’t sleep all night and asked to go to Church so I could pray to be forgiven. I was 9. So while I like Easter it was very dark for me as a child, I would get so upset and I can even remember going to confession with a list of ‘sins’ I’d made up as I couldn’t think of anything I’d done wrong. A few weeks later that same teacher told me my father was going to hell for doing overtime on a Sunday morning. I never told my parents but I can remember weeks of being ill. I went to Mass every single day after school and prayed constantly. I do still have my own beliefs but the absolute brainwashing I went through as a child was just awful. I wasn’t alone in that my friends felt the same. So no rose tinted specs for me.
Strawberrydelight78 · 04/04/2026 16:07

I love hot cross buns. No complaints here of being able to buy all the different flavours for months before Easter. We always have fish on good Friday. Usually lamb on Easter Sunday as well depends on what our plans are.

Alwayswonderedwhy · 04/04/2026 16:08

Child of the 70s and I didn't have the same experience as you. Easter has always been about chocolate 😁
You can do all the religious stuff if you choose to.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Events & celebrations
SylvanMoon · 04/04/2026 16:10

cheapaschipsandcurrysauce · 04/04/2026 15:53

How is going to Mass not "religious" ?? 🤔

Show quote history

Going to Mass was only a minor point in the day. It was basically an opportunity to show off all your new clothes. Not a celebration of the Resurrection.

cheapaschipsandcurrysauce · 04/04/2026 16:14

ThisJadeBear · 04/04/2026 16:06

My experience of Easter in the 70’s as a youngish kid. Roman Catholic.

  1. if you dare enjoy Christmas more than Easter that is a sin as Easter is more important. You must pray for your soul.
  2. Jesus died on the cross for your sins. When you are 7 and well behaved that’s quite hard to get.
  3. Watching ‘Jesus of Nazareth’ and being absolutely traumatised by the crucifixion.
  4. Being told by my teacher that if I wasn’t in Church at 3 pm on Good Friday that I should get on my knees and pray wherever I was. One year I had a cold and an afternoon nap and woke up at 4. I was so distressed I didn’t sleep all night and asked to go to Church so I could pray to be forgiven. I was 9. So while I like Easter it was very dark for me as a child, I would get so upset and I can even remember going to confession with a list of ‘sins’ I’d made up as I couldn’t think of anything I’d done wrong. A few weeks later that same teacher told me my father was going to hell for doing overtime on a Sunday morning. I never told my parents but I can remember weeks of being ill. I went to Mass every single day after school and prayed constantly. I do still have my own beliefs but the absolute brainwashing I went through as a child was just awful. I wasn’t alone in that my friends felt the same. So no rose tinted specs for me.

I knew several Catholic girls in the 70's but not one of them had the experiences you describe, even thought some were at a school where they were taught by nuns.
I think that particular teacher being 'over-zealous' is a bit of an understatement.

cheapaschipsandcurrysauce · 04/04/2026 16:16

SylvanMoon · 04/04/2026 16:10

Going to Mass was only a minor point in the day. It was basically an opportunity to show off all your new clothes. Not a celebration of the Resurrection.

Show quote history

Some misplaced priorities there, it seems.🤔

Mangelwurzelfortea · 04/04/2026 16:16

People aren't religious now.

But loads of people will still eat roast lamb tomorrow and maybe have an Easter egg or two, myself included. It's about family time together though (and chocolate) as none of us are religious. I don't see what the problem is? Do Easter your way and stop worrying about how other people are doing it?

Mangelwurzelfortea · 04/04/2026 16:18

Also, I've never really understood why Jesus died for our sins. a) why was it his problem to solve? b) how did dying actually solve it? c) surely this was then undone by him going 'ta-daaah! I'm back!' on Easter Sunday? and d) if that means we're all forgiven for whatever we do, then why should we worry about sinning more?

Carnationbloom · 04/04/2026 16:18

why are people talking about liking the old days when shops didn’t open? The Sunday trading act has been in place since 1994. Larger stores must close so that means all then supermarkets, Dunelms, B&Q’s and the like ….

mindutopia · 04/04/2026 16:21

When I was a child 40 years ago, Easter was a mountain of chocolate and Easter egg hunts and no religious stuff. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Pretty much same as for my children today.

RawBloomers · 04/04/2026 16:25

I'm not sure when you grew up, but in the 70s chocolate easter eggs and hot cross buns for a couple of weeks around Easter were pretty common. I agree it's change a ot, though. The reason is because despite a huge percentage fo the population being "culturally Christian" not many really believe in God in a more than cursory way. So there is no desire to celebrate Easter. It's a bankrupt festival. People are ready for a blow out to celebrate months on from the last celebration and after the dull winter months, they just aren't interested in pretending it's because they needed "saving" after a supposed loving creator made us fallible and didn't like the outcome.

While I understand the dislike of over commercialisation, it's not the reason Easter has changed, it's just stepped in to fill the gap left by a cultural vacuum. If our traditions weren't so bound to a religion that has lost its grip we might not have turned to such vacuous practices.

Tooconfused12 · 04/04/2026 16:26

Not everyone is a Christian.

We are spending Easter in Majorca in a pool surrounded by palm trees. I forget it’s “Easter.”

Pineapplewaves · 04/04/2026 16:28

As a child in the 1970s/80s the only hot cross buns had dried fruit in them which I hated so I never had any. The only day we celebrated Easter was Easter Sunday when we would have a Sunday Roast, usually beef. After lunch we would get our Easter Eggs (one each from our parents and both sets of Grandparents, so 3 for each child). The adults didn’t get an egg. Friday, Saturday and Monday were just normal bank holidays/days. My family were not religious so there was no religious element.

On Sunday we will have a family roast dinner and watch a movie and eat our eggs in the afternoon. Good Friday and day were/are normal days as will be Monday. We are still not religious and this weekend is more a celebration of Spring and the improving weather for us.

DandyDenimScroller · 04/04/2026 16:28

Born in 1986. Would have family over for a roast dinner after going to church. Would get one or 2 easter eggs that was it.

Our DC is 4 and he is getting 4 easter eggs one from us and the rest are from family. We will have a roast dinner too.
We go to church at least every other week so he has been told that Easter is about Jesus.

frozendaisy · 04/04/2026 16:28

We are not religious
But we are moral and ethical - there are many more reasons to be a decent human than the threat of eternal damnation - we think more of making earth eden whilst we are alive

Saying this our teens and us discuss the biblical reasons and meaning of many significant days, just as they acknowledge and talk about their school friend’s different religious significant days.

You can’t dictate to others what should and shouldn’t happen but you can lead by example and go to church, only eat (bake even? Cuts out more of the commercialisation then), go to church on Sunday and reflect with celebratory chocolate of risen Christ.

You can’t dictate be part of just what you think should happen during Easter weekend. Many people do.

Enforcing religious beliefs on everyone regardless, is wrong.

C152 · 04/04/2026 16:32

Not everyone is Christian. Not all Christians are religious. If you would like to have Easter as you did when you were a child, you can choose to continue those traditions.

In terms of shop opening hours, this isn't just a relgious issue. Hours have changed and won't be going back, whether we wish them to or not. (When I was a child, shops used to be open until 11am or 12pm on Sat and nothing was open on a Sunday.) The work people do, and the hours they work, has changed; so there is an argument that having longer opening times helps those working 'non standard' hours. We're also a heavy capitalist society (which isn't a good thing, but also isn't going to change), so anything that's for the good of general society rather than making money isn't going to be supported.

RosesAndHellebores · 04/04/2026 16:35

We have hot cross buns on Good Friday and olain fish for dinner; dd and bf kept the Easter vigil
Saturday is jobs day - have been to the dump!
Tomorrow we will go to MILs - after Mass to rejoice that He is risen. Nice lunch planned. Will have some chocolate and wine because Lent is over.
Monday is a super, joyous bank holiday.

Some of us keeo Easter which is the most important festival in the Christian calendar.

WalkDontWalk · 04/04/2026 16:35

When you say 'the true meaning of Easter', are you talking about...

Eggs, symbolising new life as we emerge from winter
Rabbits and hares, representing fecundity and fertility
Daffodils, for renewal and the awakening of nature
People gathering in sacred places to celebrate the equinox

Or some other true meaning? Personally, though I'm not a druid or new-age heathen or anything, I like a bit of symbolism, especially when it corresponds to some significant circumstance in our world. I can't get upset about these things having been adopted by the Christian celebration of their own holy day, but, as you point out, I'm not sure they really understand the true meaning of them.

SwedishEdith · 04/04/2026 16:35

That childhood memory of Easter, like the OP's, is why I don't really enjoy it. The overwhelming dullness of it because it was such a heavily religious festival (Catholic school). Plus, the weather is never really warm enough but there was always some DIY going on meaning the house felt unsettled. I hate lamb as well 😊

Vartden · 04/04/2026 16:39

We didn't eat any Easter eggs until Easter Sunday which made it more special. Now people eat them for weeks beforehand so the excitement of it has kind of gone. Also Cadburys eggs actually tasted of chocolate then. Now they are so disgusting you have to make sure you get other brands!

Wishitwasstraightforward · 04/04/2026 16:39

Fewer and fewer people have Christian beliefs. Add rampant consumerism into the mix and there is your answer OP.

I’m an atheist and my Easter is more linked to Spring, catching up with l loved ones and spending some time appreciating the outdoors.

catipuss · 04/04/2026 16:39

PistachioTiramisu · 04/04/2026 12:31

When I was a child (60s/70s) Good Friday was a day when you went early to buy Hot Cross Buns and this was the ONLY day you ate them. Otherwise, all the shops were closed, there were religious programmes on TV and a lot of people ate the traditional fish for dinner. Easter Saturday was a 'fun' day, buying nice food for Sunday. On Easter Sunday you probably were given a chocolate egg or two and had roast lamb for dinner. Again, there were religious programmes on TV. Easter Monday was a day for picnics, etc., but all the shops were still closed.

It seems a shame that the true meaning of Easter has more or less disappeared, having been overtaken by a mountain of chocolate in various shapes and forms, some people having Easter trees with decorations and other themed items. I saw one comment this morning (not on here) stating that 'Easter is for kids', echoing the nonsense that 'Christmas is for kids'. It is not - it's for everyone who wants to mark the event.

Didn't you go to church? Surely that was the big thing at Easter back then, not the hot cross buns and chocolate eggs that was already the corruption and commercialisation of Easter many people would have thought at the time.

SylvanMoon · 04/04/2026 16:39

It seems a shame that the true meaning of Easter has more or less disappeared
I never understood, and still don't, how hot cross buns, fish on Good Friday and lamb on Easter Sunday, or chocolate bunnies and eggs have anything to do with anyone's personal relationship with Jesus' death and resurrection (if you believe in it). I bet 0.4% of the people eating any of this could tell you why. That the buns have "crosses" on them to "remind" us of the crucifixion? That Jesus is "the lamb of God" and therefore we eat lamb on the day he rose from the dead? My DH's nonreligious family always ate fish on Fridays because that's what was done. And where do the sweets and eggs and bunnies all fit into the biblical story? I'm sorry, but these are nothing but traditions that have grown up around a culture; they aren't religious and "losing" them doesn't mean it's the only way anyone should be "marking" the event. That said, much fewer of us now are "practising" Christians for a whole swathe of reasons -- a lot of it down to having lost faith in churches that covered up abuse of women and children.

brunettemic · 04/04/2026 16:40

How has [insert almost literally everything] changed so much in the last 60 years? Well, it’s called the passage of time.
As for your comment about people marking it in their own way, you realise the astounding hypo-criticism of your post complaining that people dont mark it in the way you want them to right?

Unpaidviewer · 04/04/2026 16:42

No one is preventing you from celebrating Easter in the same way you always have OP. Go to church, have Sunday lunch, do your thing.

There no way I'm eating hot cross buns, they're gross. We are not Christians so Easter looks a little different for us. But I do enjoy eating seasonal food and baking. We have visited a farm to see lambs being born.