When did people start going so OTT for Easter?!

[WhackingPhoenix]

I’ve seen absolutely WILD posts on social media (and MN!) this year. Hundreds of eggs, lavish lunches and dinners, extravagant gifts and people generally spending ridiculous sums of money on Easter tat. Has this always been a thing? I had a chocolate egg as a kid and maybe a roast. That was it, surely that is the norm?

We've had an Easter tree (branches cut from a hawthorn or pussy willow) since I was tiny so for over 40 years.

Lock down. It was something to break the monotony.

Easter has always been a big deal for my family (80's child).

We had new clothes at Easter, Eggs, an Easter Bunny visit, Church and a big family gathering.

My DF was always given new clothes/gifts at Easter and both of my DGM always set up an Easter tree (twigs/branches with decorative eggs)

Easter has traditionally been seen for a time for a new outfit, which is where the Easter bonnet tradition came from. People couldn't always afford a new outfit so they would either treat themselves to a new bonnet or re trim/recover one of their old bonnets.

Well I bought DC loads of presents, had a big egg hunt, decorated the house - even with bought helium balloons shock horror. We also did day trips over the weekend, went to a lovely farm, out for meals with friends and family.

Honestly, so what????

People spend money on all sorts of things. I don’t spend on other things that you may do. Why are we so judgmental? Love and let live. We had a fabulous Easter and I hope you did too.

I'm 51 and American and I found the commercialization of Easter bigger in England than what I experienced in the US.

My parents were devout Catholics and Mexican and Easter was a bigger holiday than Christmas. Although they acknowledged Christmas, the culture doesn't really do gifts until January 6th. The Lenten period and Easter were a big deal for us. Activities revolved around the Church and in our specific culture, we spent a great deal of time creating "cascarones": hollowed egg shells that are cleaned, dipped in colored dye, filled with confetti and sealed on the top with crepe paper. Most of Lent was spent saving eggs and saving paper to shred. It was the event where my sister and I got a new dress to wear to Easter service and a basket with a few chocolates or colored jelly beans. We would descend on my grandparent's house after Church, along with my cousins, to share a meal, have egg hunts with the "cascarones" and once they were all collected, we would crack the shells in our hands them smash the confetti over each other's heads.
We'd end the day with eating the candy in our baskets. That was it!

I moved to England and my English family gave my children chocolate Easter eggs, toys and clothes. I obviously was not told this by my husband and proceeded to offend my brother and sister-in-laws because I didn't know I was meant to buy chocolate eggs, gifts and other things. The Easter meal had my MIL in a tizzy days before getting shopping in for the Easter lunch and spent the night before preparing everything and cooking all morning. I noticed the absence of them not even attending a church service. It was different for me, for sure.

Yesterday, back in Texas, all the Churches had services, the parks were filled with people, my neighborhood was filled with visiting people, cookouts going on all afternoon and that was it for most. The family next door to me, the husband is a pastor and his children were beautifully dressed and they all had a basket with some chocolate.

Easter and it's over-the-top stuff is not really a thing where I am so don't be so quick to blame us!

I’m normally a huge fan of events like baby showers, Valentine’s Day etc that mumsnet hates and sees as common 😂

But the hijacking of Easter to buy a load of landfill shite when it’s actually a very sacred Christian event, irks me.

@elp30 I'm envious of your yesterday. It's created a lovely picture in my mind of Easter in Texas.

I guess Easter is the more important Christian festival than Christmas and might attract more ‘celebration’ for that reason. I am not religious myself, but do like the whole message of rebirth and renewal.

Otherwise it’s just another reason for rampant consumerism isn’t it? Gotta keep those capitalist wheels turning. I caught myself buying some bunny decoration in a supermarket 4 weeks ago and thought WTF am I doing - had a word with myself before it went further. I do expect that social media is probably driving a lot of the extravagance though.

I am from Germany and Easter Egg hunt, tree/branches decorated and Easter craft and decorations are all normal for me and have been during my childhood in the 70/80th.

Lovely food incl cake and seeing family/friends is also normal.

DD does get a small gift as she always got so much chocolate, we wanted to curb the amount. I got fed up baking cookies for 2 months. Things like a book, DVD, small toy

I actually find the large eggs quite boring and nothing really special.

What the Actual Fuck? There are Easter Trees now? I only learned this from this thread and now I have googled them, so I guess there are.

The human race is totally fucked.

I am late 50s and Easter was always a big event for us with an extended family roast (usually lamb) after going to church. Easter cards were always sent and received and we had a tree made from branches and hung with chocolate and wooden eggs. We had egg hunts and new clothes
I still do most of this - except lamb which I hate!

Eeee when I were a lass, all I got for Easter were 2 trips to church on good Friday and a other one on Easter Sunday. And and Easter egg off my parents and one off my 1 set of grandparents.😏

@00100001
You’re misquoting me to prove a point ..😂.
I didn’t say it was “small” anywhere, and the “not overdone” referred to decorations I put up, as I said, 2 garlands with a flower wreath in the middle across our doors near the table. Decorating a table with pretty things you already own is a choice to use to use whatever you have, rather than leaving it stuck in a cupboard, I don’t see the problem with it? In total, the things I bought cost £30 from Sainsbury’s, and I’ll use them every year til they’re tatty- so not extravagant.
Now- yes, 2 of my kids got 3 eggs, one large Smartie one, a medium white chocolate one, and an Mand M one, plus a novelty chocolate dog. The Easter egg hunt in the garden lasted about 10 mins, with the hens egg sized ones shared equally.
As I said, my other dd has severe disabilities and is tube fed and CANT take part in that. So- she has a gift instead. A tube of bubbles, a sound book and some clothes that they would have needed anyway to make it nice for them. I did a nice meal- who wants to waste a turkey they were too ill to eat at Christmas??, my sister baked a cake. It’s just a nice celebration with family, I don’t see it as something to get worked up about, it’s just quality g the time, and putting some elements together to make it seem more special than an egg in a box saying “there you go! Happy Easter!”
No?

Like many have said, Easter is regarded as the most important celebration on the Christian calendar. It’s very much celebrated where I’m from but we don’t tend to buy any tat. We send cards and attend Mass… buy a few eggs. We have a special dinner as we would at Christmas.

Easter is very special to my family and I (as it is to many, many people for all sorts of reasons).

Other religions have had their celebrations and feast days hijacked by materialism too.

I think it’s partly social media & partly magazines showing you amazing decorations, posh chocolate eggs, lavish roasts where you invite the entire town etc etc. Our Easter couldn’t have been more low key. I forgot to eat any of my egg yesterday!

I'm in my late forties and Easter was a big celebration when I was little, and I do similar things with my own children.

We make an Easter garden (religious) and decorate a pussy willow Easter tree (secular). The Easter bunny leaves chocolate eggs in the garden and we have an egg hunt. There are hot cross buns and a feast with lamb. I carve olives and radishes into bunny shapes. On the bank holiday Monday, we dye hard boiled eggs and roll them down a hill for good luck.

Yep - because they are trying to make it like Christmas with all of its consumerism - I will not have any part in it - I enjoy getting together with family , Christmas tree all the trimmings and gifts at Christmas but not at Easter - sorry!

It has all gotten too much. I try to restrain myself. I like some nice tulips around the house and a wreath (same one each year), the kids have an egg hunt and instead of a large kinder egg (which is exciting in the moment but really just unnecessary tat they’ll forget within minutes) I’ll wrap one egg in clear wrap with something small like some Pokémon cards or a mug. I don’t do gifts otherwise. We have a roast too.

I just looked at Kylie and Khloe’s instas after seeing a pp’s comment. Omg 🤢

Easter and it's over-the-top stuff is not really a thing where I am so don't be so quick to blame us!

They always blame us. 🤷‍♀️ Your family Easter sounds lovely.

Easter has always been a big thing in my family but we are Catholic. My mum decorates the house a bit, there's lots of flowers about, we have a big roast and then another nice meal for pasquetta (Easter Monday), plus an Easter egg hunt round the garden and a big Easter Egg for everyone. Occasionally the DC get a cuddly toy - I still have the cuddly Easter bunny I got when I was 5 or 6.

I really enjoy it, it's like Christmas without the stress.

(We do the religious stuff too, we all give something up for lent and then give the money saved to charity, plus don't eat meat on good Friday, and go to mass good Friday and Easter sunday)

Easter as a child - Easter bonnets, Easter parade, Easter Sunday lunch, Easter egg hunt (lots of small eggs, 1-3 big eggs depending on how many relatives we saw).

Easter for my kids - Easter decorated branch, Easter Sunday lunch, Easter egg hunt (lots of small eggs, 1 big egg and a small present from grandparents).

It's slightly different, but I wouldn't say Easter in my family is any more OTT than in the past.

@IvorCutler

It has all gotten too much. I try to restrain myself. I like some nice tulips around the house and a wreath (same one each year), the kids have an egg hunt and instead of a large kinder egg (which is exciting in the moment but really just unnecessary tat they’ll forget within minutes) I’ll wrap one egg in clear wrap with something small like some Pokémon cards or a mug. I don’t do gifts otherwise. We have a roast too.

Your username has made me smile.

It's always been a big celebration as !ing as I can remember. I don't come from a big family but all my aunts/uncles bought me Easter eggs as a child.
It is a major event in the Christian calender and has always been celebrated with a special dinner, Easter bonnet competitions, Easter cards, Easter cakes, decorated eggs etc.
I also agree that after the last couple of years people are far more invested in making the most of it. We have been to the coast because we can this year.

Easter had always been celebrated in my family. I do an egg hunt first thing in the morning to wake up to, new outfit and a gift or two (magazine and a small Lego set). I decorate, we have some bunny and chick type decorations and an Easter tree.

As a child we always had lamb roast on Easter Sunday, new clothes and money/gifts/Easter eggs off relatives. I remember being 9 and counting up that I had 15 eggs!

We spent most of Saturday evening setting up, and then all of Sunday morning in church. It was brilliant!

None of this made it to social media and I don't post pictures of my house or DC online