How has Easter changed so much?

[PistachioTiramisu]

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.

I’m watching Monty pythons life of Brian - can that count?

Love a bit of Monty Python!

We do Xmas in WA every year for this reason. It is celebrated but it's not absolute lunacy like it is in the UK!

Easter is a religious festival and always will be !
As children we observed Lent starting with shrove Tuesday .
Palm Sunday was a special day at Church with palm crosses handed out . Good Friday was a somber day. We went to church from 2-3pm and ate fish for dinner ( absolutely no alcohol consumed in the house that day )
Easter Sunday , again church in the morning , a much more joyous occasion. We had lamb for lunch and an Easter egg after if we were lucky . We watched Jesus of Nazareth or similar religious programme on TV then church again in the evening
I heard a comment recently “ what’s religion got to do with Easter ?!!”.
Sadly , the true meaning has got lost amongst the Easter bunny, gifts and chocolate but still , people can celebrate as they wish. Most people recognise Christmas but have never set foot in a church . I don’t go anymore but still love the festivals .
If it provides joy and brings families together what does it matter . Live & let live .

But your original post said “the true meaning of Easter” - which is the basis of the Christian faith, not sure what other true meaning there can be.

It impossible to remove the true meaning of Easter from religion.

If you just mean, why don’t families across the land not slow down and enjoy the edible bits of the weekend without the decorations, then that would have been a different question to answer.

I'm with you @PistachioTiramisu DH and I refuse to buy cappuccino flavoured HCB, or half eggs, or all the latest weird commercialisation of Easter. We aren't particularly religious but we do observe a degree of respect for tradition.

unfortunately it's best to do things your way and not get sucked into the madness - we've bought one pack of 4 traditional HCB from M&S which we're looking forward to eating over the weekend and that's it.

Distance yourself from the madness!

I was born 1974 and my parents were quite religious. We went to church Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Hot cross buns in the run up to Easter (definitely on Good Friday). Roast lunch on Sunday but that was no different to any other week. Chocolate eggs from family friends etc but we'd have to wait until Sunday to open them. My mum would buy us each a big egg but we had to wait until Tuesday when they were half price (not poor, she just liked a bargain). If we visited my grandparents that weekend my grandma would serve simnel cake, which i dreaded as I hated marzipan.

But that was it really. In all other ways there was nothing special about the day(s) like Christmas. One Easter holiday from uni i went to stay with a friend that weekend and my mum got huffy and said "oh no you won't be here for Easter" and I was baffled because it was pretty much like any other weekend for us.

Easter weekend is more of an event in our house now. Church but also developed a tradition of doing the same meals, making the same cake etc. We will do an Easter trail at a local NT place and visit a farm for lambing day etc. This weekend we've also been to the cinema, pub and visiting grandparents at the seaside tomorrow. On Easter Sunday I hide the eggs around the house and garden to be found - the kids are a bit old for this but howled with dismay when I suggested I stop. I have an Easter tree, wreath and garland. I don't think it's tacky and commercial, I feel that celebrating annual festivals is joyful. I prefer my more celebratory type of Easter than the rather more dour Easters of my own childhood.

So you don't actually know, is what you're saying?

That crystal ball of your isn't much use is it? Cancel my request to borrow it, taa.

How on earth would I know exactly? I don't believe there is an omniscient being that could tell me. If you do - ask them. It will be far less than 10% so a very small proportion which is what I said to begin with. Whether it is 2% or 4% or 6% makes no odds. Christianity stopped being able to pull in a majority of people when they stopped burning you at the stake if you failed to attend.

One relatively modern tradition I do kind of hate is the constant whiffling on on social media about an imaginary better past. Extra points if it's commercialism that's done it. Get your shopping online and you won't have to trouble yourself with what other people are buying from the shops. Commercialism can't hurt you if you stay out of shops. If you know how marvellous Easter used to be, just make it like that for yourself.

Lol you're lamenting that Easter has "changed" when your family's "traditions" at Easter time are part of that secularisation of Easter into a holiday rather than a religious observance. That's what's happened and then because it's a secular "holiday" like Halloween or Christmas with Santa Claus and reindeers, it's become comercialised. Lament about that, but don't blame "modern society" for it.

Maybe check your facts against official sources before giving vague answers to make your argument.

If it makes no odds to you, why even bother to post about it ?

About 5%. I wouldn't bother using it for the lottery.

Erm Easter was originally the celebration of the Goddess Eostre , in my country of birth most of the symbolism comes from this.
Its not commercialism its the proper original meaning .
Likewise The festival of Jule its celebrated
Love all these huffy christians getting cross when actually christianity came along way after.

I have no idea what point you are making! Having checked the official numbers even less people go to church than I had thought! No one wonder they are being converted into housing at such a rapid rate.

If we had a referendum - I'm almost certain team Easter Bunny would beat Team Omnipowerful God when it comes to what people think is the real purpose of Easter. Which I accept is a little ironic. And no I don't have any "official Easter Bunny" stats to back that up.

Just an excuse for some people to get pissed. Like my next door neighbours who are already loud.

Not rtft but Easter before Christianity was bunnies and chicks and eggs and celebrating life and birth and spring and I actually love that it is that symbolism that people still embrace even if it is made out of chocolate 😁

I’m pretty ancient and TBH except for hot cross buns on Good Friday only, I don’t think it’s changed that much for me. We didn’t go to church, but Easter Eggs were given on the Sunday, and we nearly always had a Sunday roast anyway, but never lamb - my DF didn’t like it - he called it Dead Sheep.

The DPs would probably spend most of the weekend working in the garden - we always had a pretty big one, by modern standards anyway.

Easter was nicked by the Christian faith to assimilate it into the pagan tradition.

Anyway I went off Easter when chocolate eggs stopped being charming and special and just became boring boxes with a couple of standard bars in thd packaging.

Easter was not understood or recognised at all in my childhood home, except for vagueness about which was the day off (Good Friday or Easter Monday, neither or both?). Midlands working class.

TBH, our Easter isn't greatly different to my childhood Easters in the 90's. There's been a school egg decorating contest, We've had a nice but not particularly exciting trip to a local woodland today. Made a nest cornflake cake that will be filled with mini eggs overnight & the Easter bunny will be visiting.

If anything the rabbit has got stingier since the 90's, as I'm a lot more concerned about healthy eating then DM ever was. He used to bring me 6 boxed eggs, DC only get one boxed egg (£4 one) plus a pack of small eggs between them to hunt. They also get eggs from grandparents and an auntie, but I'm pretty sure I did as well.

Can't say I remember watching any religious TV, but probably wouldn't have watched it anyway. It's been years since I've watched any scheduled TV at all, but I'm sure there'd be something avaliable on demand if that's your thing.

Then what is it you think has changed? Your OP could be pretty much any standard bank holiday weekend except for the added chocolate. There is nothing to stop you doing exactly the same Easter weekend now - same menu and activities. Easter Masses are still broadcast on terrestrial tv along with Sunday programming (Songs of Praise is still running last I looked). - just as when I was a child.

We had HCBs on Sunday morning not Good Friday (it being one of the year’s most significant fast days wasn’t a day for rich bread/cakes). Meals were simple and plain on the Friday. My parents preferred midnight Mass at Christmas and Easter but only reverted to that time when we were all old enough.

All of this is still there. Its entirely up to you if you want the Easter. you had as a child.

@reluctantbrit I just looked up the Easter wells and they are amazing! Must get up to Franconia next Easter for a look.

I’m 64 & that’s not quite how I remember it. You could definitely eat Hot Cross Buns on other days, after GF, because you wouldn’t throw them away. Lots of people didn’t have lamb. Most children would have far more than an egg or two & you would start being given them about 2 weeks before. In streets everyone knew their neighbours and would buy eggs for the children, or those little Lindt animals. Family lived near.

I was born in the early 80s and I recognise some
of the points raised in the OP.
my mum used to force us to eat fish on Good Friday. I am almost phobic about fish and used to gag so much trying to force it down. Thankfully as soon as I left home for uni I dispensed with that tradition and have been happily vegetarian for years.
Also remember going to church, all the shops being shut and going for what seemed like extremely long drives in the countryside and feeling bored senseless.
I do not miss these traditions at all although appreciate that my childhood was quite joyless in general! I am however respectful of the fact that for many Easter is the most important part of the Christian calendar but am of the opinion that each person should do what best suits them.
As an adult I quite like Easter- the same
amount of time off as Christmas without the stress and pressure. What’s not to like!