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I brought this up to my husband yesterday....we are not religious by any means and we don't usually celebrate Easter but...we now have a 5 month old and I would like to at least have fun with Easter Bunny/eggs etc with her each year for Easter. My husband did not seem to be on board with this since he seems to really dislike the holiday for some reason. How do you celebrate the day with your children if you're not really religious? I did grow up Catholic as a kid, but I remember it being more about the Easter Bunny than Jesus for us. I'm just not sure how I would explain it to my little one when she's old enough.
I brought this up to my husband yesterday....we are not religious by any means and we don't usually celebrate Easter but...we now have a 5 month old and I would like to at least have fun with Easter Bunny/eggs etc with her each year for Easter. My husband did not seem to be on board with this since he seems to really dislike the holiday for some reason. How do you celebrate the day with your children if you're not really religious? I did grow up Catholic as a kid, but I remember it being more about the Easter Bunny than Jesus for us. I'm just not sure how I would explain it to my little one when she's old enough.
It's easy to do, as you have experienced having grown up Catholic but somehow only really remembering the Easter Bunny part of it.
You just focus on it as a celebration of spring and the return of the plants and animals who come out of "hibernation," so to speak. The colors of the eggs can represent all the colors found in nature (sort of LOL).
Most religious holidays have those secular symbols that make it easy to do if you aren't religious.
It's easy to do, as you have experienced having grown up Catholic but somehow only really remembering the Easter Bunny part of it.
You just focus on it as a celebration of spring and the return of the plants and animals who come out of "hibernation," so to speak. The colors of the eggs can represent all the colors found in nature (sort of LOL).
Most religious holidays have those secular symbols that make it easy to do if you aren't religious.
I brought this up to my husband yesterday....we are not religious by any means and we don't usually celebrate Easter but...we now have a 5 month old and I would like to at least have fun with Easter Bunny/eggs etc with her each year for Easter. My husband did not seem to be on board with this since he seems to really dislike the holiday for some reason. How do you celebrate the day with your children if you're not really religious? I did grow up Catholic as a kid, but I remember it being more about the Easter Bunny than Jesus for us. I'm just not sure how I would explain it to my little one when she's old enough.
I would try to figure out why my husband "really disliked the holiday". If he had some traumatic event in his childhood related to Easter you don't want to upset him unnecessarily.
As a teacher, we called it the Spring Rabbit hiding colored Spring eggs.
We didn't for the first few years when our kids were little. But once they caught wind of the whole thing (I think 3 or 4 years old), it was on.
We just do/did Easter baskets, plastic egg hunt in the yard and dye (then make deviled eggs) out of a dozen eggs. A few times I have made an Easter Dinner...but not every year.
This year my kids are tweens and I kind of want to put a stop to it. It isn't a religious thing to us, but it seems like a very important and sacred day to Christians. So part of me feels a bit guilty for making it all about a mutant bunny. And also, I don't have positive memories of it myself. My family was Christian and really, it was all about getting dressed up cute and shown off to 100 old ladies at our church. I always felt uncomfortable. I know I enjoyed it as a kid...but what I remember isn't the fun parts.
I brought this up to my husband yesterday....we are not religious by any means and we don't usually celebrate Easter but...we now have a 5 month old and I would like to at least have fun with Easter Bunny/eggs etc with her each year for Easter. My husband did not seem to be on board with this since he seems to really dislike the holiday for some reason. How do you celebrate the day with your children if you're not really religious? I did grow up Catholic as a kid, but I remember it being more about the Easter Bunny than Jesus for us. I'm just not sure how I would explain it to my little one when she's old enough.
Do you celebrate Christmas?
Its pretty much the same. Most people, even if they are religious and attend church services, celebrate according to Pagan symbols and traditions.
I brought this up to my husband yesterday....we are not religious by any means and we don't usually celebrate Easter but...we now have a 5 month old and I would like to at least have fun with Easter Bunny/eggs etc with her each year for Easter. My husband did not seem to be on board with this since he seems to really dislike the holiday for some reason. How do you celebrate the day with your children if you're not really religious? I did grow up Catholic as a kid, but I remember it being more about the Easter Bunny than Jesus for us. I'm just not sure how I would explain it to my little one when she's old enough.
You need to be in tune with your husband on this. See if it would be OK just to do the rabbit and egg hunt thing with candy. As for other kids I don't ever remember any kids going into the "religious" aspect of Easter. It was all about the chocolate, eggs, and bunny. Same with Christmas. It was all about the tree, traditions, cookies and gifts.
My husband and I were on the same page in raising our sons. Neither of us forced our spiritual faith on them. It would be later (8-10 years of age) that they became inquisitive of secular faiths . So up until then we celebrated holidays in a "family" way. Fourth of july fireworks, Mother day dinner, Father day mini golf, easter egg hunts, Christmas presents and donations to the community. We still believed in giving. Ohh and Thanksgiving was such fun with dinner and family games! So create your own "tradition" , that is family centered or community enriching.
Easter was "foreign" to DH. He was raised a strict Seventh Day Adventist. They don't observe Easter. He left the SDA church at 19. Easter was brand new to him when he met me...I gave him his first Easter Basket, and we had Easter dinner at my parents' house. My parents were "Christmas/Easter" church attendees (not religious at all), and I'm a "Lapsed" Lutheran. Neither of our girls was baptized, confirmed, or raised attending church. Oldest daughter had a little bit of Sunday School exposure, but really hated it. At 32, she's been an atheist most of her life. Youngest (26) is more of an agnostic with an occult bent.
We always took a mini vacation for the Easter break from school (usually Friday through Monday). Niagara Falls, Gettysburg and Hershey Park, Pittsburgh, etc. I had the candy and baskets hidden in the trunk, and always got up early Easter morning to fill them in the hotel lobby (I always gave the night time desk clerk some candy, too). I put them on the table in the motel room, and when the girls woke up, the baskets were waiting for them..."Easter Bunny knew where to find you!"
A few times, we visited the grandparents. Church/religion was never an issue with my family (they knew we weren't church goers). They always had truckloads of candy and toys for my kids, and an egg hunt in the back yard. One year we visited the SDA in-laws, and DH got them to let the kids have an egg hunt on Easter. (We had to attend church with them on Saturday, though). MIL didn't approve of the baskets of candy (I didn't let the kids chow down until we were on the way home).
I now have two grandsons. Their mom and dad (oldest DD and her DH), and I give them an egg hunt and toys for Easter (no candy, though). Their other grandparents are Christian, and last Easter gave the kids books about Jesus and a Teddy Bear that plays "Jesus Loves Me". My daughter is polite, but finds these gifts cringeworthy. She and her DH don't want them exposed to religion.
Last edited by Mrs. Skeffington; 03-20-2018 at 03:29 AM..
I brought this up to my husband yesterday....we are not religious by any means and we don't usually celebrate Easter but...we now have a 5 month old and I would like to at least have fun with Easter Bunny/eggs etc with her each year for Easter. My husband did not seem to be on board with this since he seems to really dislike the holiday for some reason. How do you celebrate the day with your children if you're not really religious? I did grow up Catholic as a kid, but I remember it being more about the Easter Bunny than Jesus for us. I'm just not sure how I would explain it to my little one when she's old enough.
Yes, we play in the garden, trying to find chocolate in trees, bush and a little bit everywhere. It's great. No need Jesus's help for this
I love visiting Cathedrals without being catholic ^^
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