And The Lord Said, "Let There Be Pre-Easter & Passover Sales"

Easter, celebrated the world over to mark the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and Passover, a holiday that commemorates the Israelites' exodus from Egypt and release from bondage, are both coming up this week and weekend.

Both holidays have been commercialized to a large extent by companies manufacturing holiday related goods, and toys, and greeting cards, and candy, and I think that it’s fair to say you don't have to be a zealot, or even particularly pious, to conclude that the commercialization of religious holidays has gotten slightly out of hand.

For Christians there’s a forest of chocolate bunnies, a barnyard of marshmallow chicks, egg dippers and brightly painted eggs, and baskets of jellybeans and brightly painted (plastic) eggs. Dressing up? Forget Easter bonnets. There’s Jesus makeup and costumes, so you can, according to the ad copy, “say a prayer of thanks for the guy who endured so much to save mankind.” For Jews, there are blow-up matzah balls and fabric toy Seder plates with matzah that 'splits' with Velcro, so children can create their own afikoman. It comes with instructions. Also available (my hand to whatever God you believe in) is the always popular “Plagues in a Pouch”!

OK, I have 2 kids, so I know that it's difficult to get them to sit still long enough to explain why these are among the most hallowed days on both the Christian and Jewish calendars, let alone get them to worship appropriately. You want to engage them somehow, but “Plagues in a Pouch”? Jesus makeup!?

I don’t have a solution, but I think that it’s important that in all the commercialization of these very important festivals, one does not forget the meaning of these holidays. I suppose that you can avoid this challenge by declaring yourself an atheist. But it turns out that to do that takes a lot of faith too!

We’ll be back at this blog on the 17th. Happy holidays – however you and yours celebrate.