Quakers traditionally reject liturgical calendars,
but increasingly, Friends observe the various holidays and festivals,
whether sacred or secular, at least on a cultural basis. As I have
observed before, however, the rejection of times and seasons is not a
rejection of the idea of the holidays themselves, not a rejection of
the stories and ideas behind them, but a rejection of the basic idea
of “holy days”. No day is more sacred than any other; for
Christian Friends, or for any who draw inspiration from Christian
stories, no day is more appropriate than another for the remembrance
of the story of Holy Week, the Last Supper, the Crucifixion on
Resurrection, just the same as no day is more appropriate than any
other for the remembrance of the Nativity,
nor indeed for the remembrance
of those lost in war or the struggle
to achieve rights and equality for women.
There are, however, two things we can draw from
these specified days. One is a reminder; we are generally rather
inadequate at remembering and following the harder part of the
testimony concerning times and seasons – that is, about thinking of
these things all year 'round, the idea that we should think of them
at all. That is, in a sense, a question of making up for our own
failings, and if we focus on the story of the Crucifixion and
Resurrection at Easter, we should do so with an honest commitment to
try to remember it the rest of the year as well, albeit necessarily
with less focus. The other is a matter of community, of connection
with the communities in which our Quaker communities are situated. If
we wish to have the greatest impact we can in our endeavours in the
world, and if we wish that people who would benefit from the Quaker
Way will be able to find it, we must be part of the wider community,
and fostering connections are an important part of that.
I will tackle the second of these points first,
with the very rich matter of the meaning of Easter, the stories
behind it, and how it can be part of our whole life, to follow in a
separate post tomorrow. That post will, I anticipate, be noticeably
longer.
The opportunities for Easter to allow us to build
and strengthen connections with the communities in which we are
situated are rich and various. The most obvious, of course, is
engagement with ecumenical activities. It is not unusual for there to
be collaborations between Christian denominations in an area around
major holidays, as well as those marking important history in the
development of the Christian Church. Here in Britain, local and
regional Churches Together groups often have Quaker Meetings as
members, some such Meetings being more active in these groups than
others. I would hope that similar ecumenical efforts go on elsewhere
in the world.
So your Meeting can get involved in local
ecumenical activities for Easter – public prayers or services might
stick in the craw of unprogrammed Quakers, but you could offer to
lead a short (but not trivial) silent element of an ecumenical
service. And of course, there are much less liturgical events that
might happen, like a multi-church organised Easter fair, or community
meal, or many other possibilities.
But community at Easter goes far beyond the
churches. Like many of the pervasive Christian holidays of
European-derived culture, particularly in the English-speaking world,
there are elements to the celebration of dubious connection to the
religious basis of the festival. People come up with arguments for
eggs, bunnies and baskets being somehow related to the bible stories,
but it's not hard to see why many consider them explanations after
the fact – especially given the argued parallels with pre-Christian
spring festivals. I'll be delving into that argument more in my next
post, but for now let us simply acknowledge that there is a debate,
without getting into the arguments on either side, nor taking any
side in it.
While many Quakers eschew the crass commercialism
that has penetrated so many holidays, including Easter, these do stem
from traditions that predate such commercialism. Egg-rolls and
egg-hunts certainly predate the gigantic, over-priced chocolate eggs,
or indeed any chocolate eggs. Decorated hens' eggs or wooden eggs are
actually a far more long-standing tradition; they certainly work
better than chocolate ones for egg-rolls. Both of these activities
can be fantastic for community, especially with younger children.
While wider society might condition them to expect chocolate eggs
during the egg-hunt, purely symbolic eggs made of wood or other
suitable materials can be re-used, and allow a fun spirit of
competition
without it affecting any sort of material reward. It can still be
associated with a sense of springtime plenty with a meal afterwards,
or by scheduling it during a party before most of the food is served.
On the subject of springtime plenty, you can align
any gustatory element of festivities with the season by celebrating
those things that are most plentiful at this time of year, or indeed
those things that a lower technology society would only begin to
consume again at this point in the year. This is, indeed, the likely
origin of the association with eggs – and with lamb, and most
likely also with rabbits. The year's first milk would have come in
the spring, and with it all of the non-preserved derivatives or
components of milk. As well as lamb for the meat eaters, salmon is at
the beginning of its seasonal peak, as is the somewhat less widely
celebrated halibut. If you are vegan, you need not be left out, as
there are many seasonal fruits and vegetables coming in at this time,
or recently reached their peak. Here in the UK, we can enjoy the
start of the best potatoes; while they may be in shops all year
'round, spring new potatoes are commonly regarded as some of the best
examples. A lot of green vegetables are coming into season or are at
their best already: watercress, sorrel, spinach and spring greens are
some of the examples. Lettuces are on their way, and peppers are
beginning their optimum season. We see the end of the peak of the
classic winter vegetables, like the various roots such as parsnip and
beetroot. Why not say farewell to the old and welcome the new with
community meals that highlight the change of the season?
Children can also have fun making bonnets or
baskets, activities I remember fondly from primary school. They can
also have fun decorating eggs, be they hard-boiled, blown, or wooden;
perhaps you can help the children in your communities decorate eggs
before they are used in an egg-roll or egg-hunt. If you want, you can
include some religious elements in these activities as well, but they
are not essential to the idea of finding benefit for a community in
the broader traditions of the season.
These are just the beginning of ideas for things
you can do as a community to celebrate – or take advantage of –
the traditions and natural changes around Easter. You can do them
within your Quaker community, of course, but why not invite the wider
community to join you, or join in with other community groups to put
on bigger events – together. That is the true opportunity of these
holidays that are widely observed, even in secular fashion. They are
an opportunity to engage. If there's one thing that many Friends and
Meetings could do with, it's taking more opportunities to engage.
Also check out part 2, looking at thereligious and spiritual aspects of Easter.
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Did you enjoy this post, or find it interesting, informative or stimulating? Do you want to keep seeing more of these posts? Please consider contributing to my Patreon. More information is available in the post announcing my use of Patreon.
