Pagans at Easter

April 5th, 2007

This weekend our family is going to visit my wife’s relatives for Easter. They have a large family gathering each year at Christmas and Easter when aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, children, etc. converge. It will be quite a trip for our three kids, about 450 miles.

Many Pagans wonder about how to deal with the pervasive Christian holidays, such as Easter. This is especially true if their families celebrate the Christian holidays. Some Wiccans I know refuse to visit relatives during this time because they don’t want to associate with Christianity. Others are in the broom closet, so they pretend to celebrate with their families to avoid problems.

Our family takes a different approach. We are not in the broom closet at all ourselves. Our wedding was a Hellenic Orthodox wedding, complete with quarter calls, hymns to Jupiter and Juno and Greco-Roman ritual garb. If our families wondered about our religion before then, they learned real fast what we were.

When we visit for Christian holidays, we go to be with family in the same spirit that we would on the Fourth of July. It is a secular holiday to us that is a good time to be with family and friends. If our families wish to go to church, as my parents did for Christmas, we go with them. We don’t partake in Communion in respect of the Christian sacrament, but we attend and sing the hymns. It took some getting used to for our relatives, but they seem to have adjusted well and are tolerant.

There are many ways to deal with religious holidays of other religions. It is a common issue for all religions, not just Pagans. How do you handle holidays of other religions? Is your family tolerant of your beliefs? Do they know about your faith? If they are not tolerant, how do the holidays go for you?

Feel free to leave a comment.

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8 Responses to “Pagans at Easter”

  1. Simone Says:
    April 7th, 2007 at 11:48 am

    I find it interesting that you call Easter a secular holiday for you.
    All these holiday’s were secular for me growing as a Christian.

    In fact in our Church there are still major splits because its believed that these “christian” celebrations have pagan roots therefore if we celebrate them we are aligning ourselves with pagans.

    At the moment I am at crossroads in my spiritual, religious believes. I am in the process of finding my true path which has meant moving away from my religion.

    Thank you for sharing your ideas and way of life.

  2. Morninghawk Says:
    April 7th, 2007 at 9:30 pm

    I do find that interesting about some Christians. They don’t seem to want to admit that all Christian people today were Pagan in times past. Prior to the birth of Christ, there could not be Christians.

    Since some celestial events like the Winter Solstice and the Vernal Equinox are important events in most world religions, it is natural that there will have to be some overlap in holidays.

    I think that people of all religions should take a look and see that they all are seeking the same thing, the Divine. Though they may go about it differently, they all have many things in common. All religions relate to each other in either history and/or its view of the Divine.

    To try to see all religions as completely separate leads to the mindless bigotry and violence that stops people from seeing the Divine that is around them.

    Thanks for sharing and good luck on your Journey.

  3. Christian Cerridwen Says:
    April 10th, 2007 at 2:20 pm

    I practice Christian Wicca and completely understand the combining of the two. All religions are part of the Divine — just separate paths to get there!

  4. Morninghawk Says:
    April 10th, 2007 at 6:19 pm

    Thanks for the comment. It’s interesting to hear from someone who straddles that line between the two.

  5. Evan Says:
    April 15th, 2007 at 6:15 am

    Just along the lines of the other comments. The shifting date of easter suggests the fact that it is seasonal, defined by the first full moon after the third sunday in March or some such thing, this was directly taken from a Pagan ritual- and the name easter as well!!! So i kinda like the Easter Spiritual celebration of ‘New life’ because of its close relations with pagan custom.
    have a good un

  6. Morninghawk Says:
    April 15th, 2007 at 11:42 am

    Yes, Easter is the first Sunday after the first full moon following the Vernal Equinox (normally March 21). It is definitely from a pagan custom, incorporating both the pagan solar holiday and the pagan full moon. A union of the masculine sun and the feminine moon.

    Thanks for the comment.

  7. Jenn Says:
    April 16th, 2007 at 4:36 pm

    I think that your approach is good. I am Christian but my husband is not… I think we have holidays (no matter if its Christian or not) and they can mean different things to each person… Me and my husband may not celebrate for the same reason but we all enjoy the holiday

  8. Morninghawk Says:
    April 16th, 2007 at 11:56 pm

    Thanks for commenting.

    It’s nice to hear from someone who is Christian. I like how you put it… we all can celebrate for different reasons, but the important thing is to enjoy the holiday.

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