To judge parents who do not even tell their children Easter is a religious festival

[Tuliptana]

I'm shocked that 12 out of 20 children in my childs class had no religious knowledge of the meaning of Good Friday or Easter Sunday for Christians.
All aged 9yrs old.

This absolutely.

But if you're not Christian it's not relevant. It's just about chocolate and bunnies and egg hunts.

What's the point in teaching everyone about Christianity in a non religious school? Unless they're going to go into equal detail about Islam, Sikhism, Hinduism, Judaism etc.

if they don't study RE yet then that's probably why they don't know.

I agree with OP, it is sad when children grow up not knowing the Easter story, whether they believe it or not. It's one of the most important stories in our culture, history and moral tradition.

And some of the comments on this thread are very disrespectful to Christians and beliefs that millions of people hold sacred.

I don’t see your point here OP. If it’s a Catholic school and HASN’T been mentioned by Y4 then clearly even the school is moving away from the topic, possibly because they are aware a growing % of their students do not believe.

Is it ok to eat hot cross buns if you’re an atheist?

I think it is very important to teach about the beliefs and practices of different people.

It helps you understand them.

(It also helps you understand references in art and literature.)

So much of the world has been shaped by religions. Why would you not want to know about them?

The meaning of Easter is the Easter Bunny, bringer of chocolate, i know some people believe that a man became alive again after being dead for over a month but we all have differing beliefs.

made up fairy stories
Keep your "sky fairy" to yourself and we’ll all be grand.

Bingo!!!!! It wouldn't be Mumsnet otherwise. I just need "indoctrinated" now.

I once overheard somebody saying "I wish the government would decide on the date of Easter once and for all..."

I'm not sure if the OP is in Ireland or the UK but in England Religious Education is on the curriculum from Foundation Stage (ages 3-5).
Very unusual not to have been taught any RE by age 9.

Ghastly in that a man was allegedly beaten, whipped, had thorns imbedded into his head, nails hammered through his hands and left to die.

If that isn’t ghastly then what is?

And the OP wants to tell children this cute lil’ tale…

Yes, I’m working Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. This is my weekend on. I have no issue working it.

A friend of mine was a florist who worked for a nursery that was part of a large chain of nurseries.
Easter Sunday was the only Sunday she was allowed to take off because they were always very busy on a Sunday. So spare a thought for the hard-working staff who need a break.

Perhaps not disrespectful because tales of e.g. Easter are from the writings of primitive men who lived over 2000 years ago.

Some weird posters OP. yes, it is weird even if you are not religious. While the UK is less religious, it is Christian values which we take for granted which form the basis of our society.

Irish Catholics love a good bit of judging (and I say that as a former catholic from Ireland). Judge away, OP, if you brings you satisfaction, but nobody will care that you’re judging them.

I wouldn’t say judge but I tell mine. They know Eid, Diwali (I think that’s how you spell it but the one with the lights) and Hanukkah as well but they go to catholic school so the primary focus is Christian holidays. It’s good general knowledge to have but it’s not the most important thing to know.

My children were taught the religious element around Easter. My son then said I don’t believe any of it because if you’re dead you’re dead and you can’t change the date someone died.🤷🏼‍♀️

We are atheists so don’t celebrate Easter. My son has learnt about it at school though so does know the story.

I don’t understand why children not knowing about it is an issue though - religion is a personal choice! Why does it bother you that other families don’t have the same beliefs? Live and let live.

Now do Eid and Muhammad.

I find it shocking that parents think it’s appropriate to expose young children to the gore fest that is Easter, or expect them to sit quietly in front of an image of a man being slowly and agonisingly tortured to death.

In what other context would that be considered a reasonable or responsible parental decision?

Only because I have no choice. Although my company is bringing in a new policy where you can work on bank holidays and take the time at a time of your choosing. Amazing that it has taken till 2026 to do so.

It's not a flipping religious festival for flips sake. It's a chocolate festival and hoorah for that.
Religion! 🙄

To me it's not but I grew up in the 80s and went to a very 'alternative/arty' though still normal state primary.

But if that's meant to be covered now quite young I don't see why none of them even vaguely know the Christian story behind it. Even just that it was when jesus came back to life in the bible? That does seem a bit weird actually.

YANBU. I'm an atheist, but it's basic general knowledge. You don't need to be a Christian to have, and to pass on to your children, an awareness of something as basic as what the main holidays and festivals in your country are, and where they originate from. It's not like we have many!

I teach in a non-religious, very multicultural school. I'd be very surprised indeed if there were more than a few students (including for example Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and atheist ones) who weren't aware of the religious nature of Easter.

You can choose to make the most of public holidays without having to buy into any ideology or mythology.

Yes, our national holidays are heavily linked to historic Christian influences, but for most of us, they are just public holidays with no religious significance at all.

I like a long weekend as much as the next person, but when I lived abroad, I was just as happy to have time off for Islamic/Hindu/Buddhist festivals as I am for any Christian festivals.

Yes, crucifixion is an agonizing form of torture—but was Jesus’ crucifixion really the worst suffering ever, considering the millions of others who have died by comparable executions?

People all over the world are suffering in unspeakable ways, so should we not talk about them either?