Writer Jenny Sanders reflects on the sight of Easter eggs appearing in shops almost before the Christmas decorations are down. Rather than lamenting commercialism, she invites us to see an unexpected opportunity to reconnect Christmas and Easter and tell the whole story of salvation.
Easter eggs are in the shops already (and have been for almost a fortnight). You may still be finding pine needles in your carpet and tinsel in your dishwasher as you clear the last debris of Christmas but, take a breath, because Easter will be upon us before you know it.
I know this, not only because of my trusty calendar but because Easter eggs have flooded the shops. Both Iceland and B&M had them on display before December 25th. Whaaaaat…?! Reliable witnesses report spotting them on sale elsewhere on Boxing Day. Tesco definitely had them from 30th December and Asda from January 1st.
Social media posts showing ranks of colourful chocolate eggs have been shared far and wide with varying degrees of amazement, disapproval and disgust; but, while we’re bemoaning the commercialism of the cynical corporates intent on squeezing every last bit of profit from the general public that they can, perhaps we could be leveraging an opportunity to see something more positive.
READ MORE: Why do we eat chocolate eggs at Easter? Does the shape represent the rock over Jesus’ tomb?
We celebrate the two highlights of the Christian calendar several months apart: Christmas and Easter
We celebrate the two highlights of the Christian calendar several months apart: Christmas and Easter (3rd–5th April this year, in case you’re wondering). Rather than join the noisy crowd complaining about marketing campaigns that are more about numbers than narrative, why not connect the two? Chocolate Santas have little to do with Jesus but are delicious. Chocolate eggs equally so; they symbolise spring but it’s their hollow middles that remind us of the empty tomb. The cross, of course, is the bridge between the two important festivals and, like it or loath it, it’s also true that hot cross buns are available from a store near you right now.
READ MORE: We don’t have to understand everything that happened at Easter
Very few of us are likely to change or influence the company policy of any of the big supermarkets, but we can adjust our disapproving attitude and seize the chance to talk about the relationship between the two life-changing markers. We may discover that we can be grateful to the multiple Easter egg suppliers for their unintended juxtaposition which reminds us that neither Christmas nor Easter exist in isolation. Retailers have inadvertently supplied us with the tools to see the whole story arc of salvation – the context that embraces both.
There’s a timeline gap, but Christmas without Easter makes no sense.
We know that Jesus didn’t stay a baby. He was raised in Nazareth by Mary and Joseph, learning his carpentry skills alongside his earthly father and heading into adulthood with an extraordinary and unique relationship with his heavenly father, God. There’s a timeline gap, but Christmas without Easter makes no sense. God’s purpose in sending Jesus was to mend that deathly rip in relationship caused by sin. A sinless sacrifice was required, otherwise we’d each have to answer to God for our guilt in repeatedly choosing not to go his way.
Similarly, Good Friday makes no sense without Easter Sunday. Hundreds of people were crucified by the Romans; it was the worst punishment they had yet devised, reserved for slaves, rebels and non-citizens. The crucial difference on that dark day was who was crucified. Jesus: the one perfect God-man who took on the consequences of our godlessness once and for all.
READ MORE: Grief and the Gospel: learning from the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi this Easter
Without Easter Sunday, salvation would not be possible. Jesus would have died for nothing. But, by conquering the power of sin, death, separation from God and hell itself, Jesus’ resurrection broke the enemy’s grip on us once and for all. All of history swings on this pivot: the BC and AD of earth’s timeline. Surely, celebrating this doesn’t need to be restricted to one weekend out of fifty-two.
Rather than expressing our indignation about the blatant and (probably) cynical corporate companies driving products into our stores and so confirming the widely held view that Christians are all too often being ‘against’ things, let’s be ‘for’ the good news of Jesus. If we can make use of these widely available visual (and edible) aids, then we can enjoy spreading the good news. Paul wrote that: ‘The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached’ (Philippians 1:18).
Let’s not be bound by the calendar but tell the whole salvation story to whoever, wherever and as often as we can. Feel free to enjoy the chocolate treats too!
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