Easter gifts

[Pittzburghkid]

I know, a little early...but this issue has been on my mind. As a youngster in the 70's and 80's my brothers and I would recieve a small basket of candy on Easter morning and maybe a chocolate race car when we went to grandmothers house for dinner. These days my children (4 and 10) get gifts almost as if it is Christmas. Their great aunt buys them clothes and toys, Grandma buys toys and my wife creates a basket for each of them with toys, books ect. some having Christian themes. I make sure that they know about the true meaning of Easter and the reason we are celebrating. I buy them bibles and resurrection eggs and we read scripture. I just feel like it is too much materialism. What do you think?

 

[Bethel]

Our family has recently adhered to the Regulative Principle of Worship; therefore, since Easter is not a holy day prescribed in the Scriptures, we don't celebrate it (no gifts, no candy, no special meal). It was the same way with Christmas this year. Sunday is the Lord's Day--we celebrate Jesus' birth, death, and resurrection every Sunday.

 

[J. Dean]

For those of us who do celebrate Easter, it's like Christmas: nothing wrong with celebrating it, so long as your celebration does not overshadow the centrality of Christ's saving work for us.

Again, Romans 14: some choose to regard a day, some don't. Freedom of conscience.

 

[Tripel]

Jeremy,
As the parents, you have every right to set the tone for how your family will celebrate a holiday. If extended family members are going beyond what you are comfortable with, by all means tell them. You don't need to be mean about it, but it IS appropriate to state what is too much.

Early on we set some limits on gifts that grandparents give to our children. So now when Christmas or birthdays come around, the grandparents check with us about what they are considering giving our children. We either allow it or we recommend they go a lesser route. I love holidays and gift-giving, but I don't want my kids to be consumed with presents and stuff. I also don't want to end up with a house full of accumulated toys that mostly go unused!

As for Easter, we keep it simple. Our kids get a small basket with just a handful of items: a coloring book, few pieces of candy, and maybe a new shirt.

---------- Post added at 07:44 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:34 AM ----------

I make sure that they know about the true meaning of Easter and the reason we are celebrating. . . I just feel like it is too much materialism.

Just about everything we do (especially as Americans) involves too much materialism. But again, you can control how much will enter into your home.

Also, keep in mind the perspective that Bethel and others have. Easter is not a prescribed holy day, so the "true meaning of Easter" is culturally defined. Yes, it is generally associated with Christ's resurrection, but it is by no means required that we celebrate it as such. Many choose to not celebrate at all, many choose to celebrate Christ's resurrection, and others just enjoy a good egg hunt. As long as you are in line with the Scriptures, it's up to you how you choose to deal with Easter.

 

[Jack K]

I just feel like it is too much materialism.

I'm with you. I believe special celebration of the resurrection on any day (even Easter Sunday!) is allowable. But celebrating it by giving our kids toys, candy and kitschy Jesus stuff is misfocused. I'd wean them off the stuff from Grandma and the aunt, and even dump the resurrection eggs. Our treasure is Christ himself.

BTW... My wife grew up in a home where Easter baskets full of goodies were the rule on Easter. When I first expressed doubts, she was horrified. What! No Easter?! It was hard for her to give that up because to her it felt unloving to our kids, even though intellectually she could agree with me that these things were supplanting Christ and our worship on that day. We ended up fighting over it the first few years, and I didn't always care for her well in that because I didn't understand how it felt to her. So I suggest being gentle with your wife and acknowledging that the change will be hard and feels wrong at first, even though it's right.

 

[jwithnell]

Easter was recognized, if not celebrated, early in church history. I've loosened my concern about celebrating a day of resurrection, but reject the obviously pagan fertility-rite aspects. Last year, I particularly appreciated the sermon on Palm Sunday that flipped the idea of a day to celebrate the "triumph" of Christ to a recognition that the crowd was, just days later, calling for Jesus' crucifixion, and that His real triumph came with His resurrection and ascension.

I also think that enlarging the Easter holiday is a marketing ploy -- what we did in the 60s-70s with a special meal and extra candy is a far cry for what's being pushed today.

 

[Bethel]

This article refutes that the Apostles kept the feast of Easter: David Calderwood, Reasons Against Festival Days | Naphtali Press

Jeremy, if you are interested, we found this article (Introduction) extremely helpful as we learned about the Regulative Principle of Worship (RPW).

As you can see, there are other Christians who adhere to the Normative Principle of Worship. I believe this was our default principle because we were unaware of both sides. Once we studied both aspects of worship, my husband and I were convicted that the RPW was the biblical model for our family. It also helps that the church we are visiting (and after prayerful consideration, plan to join) follows the RPW.

 

[Backwoods Presbyterian]

This part from Calderwood's exposition is key.

Against this argument is first alleged that the Apostle compares with the observation of days, Rom. 14: 5, 6. Answer. The Apostle bears with the infirmity of the weak Jews, who understood not the fulness of the Christian liberty. And the ceremonial law was as yet not buried. But the same Apostle reproves the Galatians who had attained to this liberty, and had once left off the observation of days. Next, the Judaical days had once that honor, as to be appointed by God himself; but the anniversary days appointed by men have not the like honor.

It is secondly objected that seeing the Lord’s Day was instituted in remembrance of Christ’s resurrection, the other notable acts of Christ ought likewise to be remembered with their several festivities. Answer. (1.) It follows not that because Christ did institute in remembrance of one benefit, therefore men may institute for other benefits. (2.) Christ’s resurrection was a benefit including the rest, as an accomplishment of the work of redemption, and answered anagogically [allegorically] to the common benefit of creation by the beginning of a new creation. (3.) We deny that the Lord’s Day was appointed to celebrate the memory only of Christ’s resurrection. For then the Lord’s resurrection, the proper subject of all Homilies, Sermons, Gospels, Epistles, Collects, Hymns and Psalms belonging to the Paschal service should be the proper subject of divine service every Lord’s Day. Then the Lord’s Day should be a festival day: and it were unlawful to fast on it. It was instituted for the remembrance of all his actions, and generally for his worship. Athanasius says (Homilia de semente.) In Sabatho convenimus ut Dominum Sabathi Iesum adoremus. We convene on the Sabbath that we may adore Jesus the Lord of the Sabbath. Augustine (De Verbis Apostol. Serm. 15.) says Domino ut hic dies ideirco dicitur, quia eo die Dominus resurrexit, vel ut ipso nomine doceret illus Domino consecratum esse debere. It is called the Lord’s Day because the Lord rose that day, or that the name might teach us that it ought to be consecrated to the Lord. It is called the Lord’s Day, either because the Lord did institute it, as the days of Purim are called Mordecai’s days, in the second of the Maccabees, and communion is called the Lord’s Supper; or else because it was instituted to the Lord’s honor and worship. The Jewish Sabbath was the Sabbath of the Lord our God. The Christian Sabbath is the Sabbath of Christ our Lord, God and man.

 

[Curt]

Christology of the Old Testament, Hengstenberg

---------- Post added at 05:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:05 PM ----------

Christology of the Old Testament, Hengstenberg

Sorry, but my fingers (or my mind) must have slipped and I put this in the wrong thread. It WOULD be a good Easter gift, though.

 

[Philip]

The most I would allow would be a couple of Cadbury chocolate eggs (simply because they aren't available most other times and they're so good).

 

[Andres]

I'm with you. I believe special celebration of the resurrection on any day (even Easter Sunday!) is allowable. But celebrating it by giving our kids toys, candy and kitschy Jesus stuff is misfocused. I'd wean them off the stuff from Grandma and the aunt, and even dump the resurrection eggs. Our treasure is Christ himself.

 

[Pittzburghkid]

Thanks for all the replies. I will keep all of them in mind as I prayerfully consider my position.

 

[J. Dean]

I just feel like it is too much materialism.

I'm with you. I believe special celebration of the resurrection on any day (even Easter Sunday!) is allowable. But celebrating it by giving our kids toys, candy and kitschy Jesus stuff is misfocused. I'd wean them off the stuff from Grandma and the aunt, and even dump the resurrection eggs. Our treasure is Christ himself.

Agreed. If it's interfering with the focus of the day, then it needs to be removed. When it becomes merely about getting things, then it's materialism.

 

[Pilgrim Standard]

resurrection eggs

where's that in the scripture?
And what are these?

 

[Jack K]

resurrection eggs

where's that in the scripture?
And what are these?

A popular teaching tool in children's ministry in many evangelical churches. Plastic eggs. Usually come in an egg carton, twelve to a set. Open them, and inside are little tokens to remind one of the passion and resurrection. A nail. A thorn. Spices (for the burial). A rock (for the tomb). And so on. If you like, you can tell the story or follow along with a booklet as you open the eggs.

I suppose I could give a rundown of what I like/don't like about them, but let's not derail the thread.

 

[GulfCoast Presbyterian]

Christmas and Easter are against biblical propriety.

I would add Halloween to the list, too.

I have never heard of "resurection eggs."

 

[Poimen]

If we allow a day to be set aside for the remembrance of Christ surely we cannot, in Christian charity, chide the use of so-called secular gifts/aids by other Christians in their celebrations. This has already been established in the former by appointing something as special or holy apart from biblical warrant; the latter is just the natural consequence of the former conviction/philosophy.