So… dumb question, but when did Easter become a really lazy version of Halloween?

Saturday night my girlfriend laid out a truckload of chocolate and toys on the kitchen table. Sunday morning her oldest son came back from his scheduled weekend with his father for a quick visit, scarfed down a few handfuls of Jelly Beans, cracked open some toys, including a remote-control car, and gave us all Happy Easter hugs.

Even my seventeen-month old son bit the head off a tiny chocolate bunny and laughed himself stupid.

Personally, when I was a kid, I never liked the chocolate I received. It always tasted like the stuff you cook with, and the clothes were always bright, primary colours. I can’t remember a time when there was an egg hunt.

Mostly Easter was a multiple course dinner where everyone showed up wearing their cleanest clothes.

But my girlfriend’s family take it pretty seriously, with meals and egg hunts and dump trucks full of chocolate. But, for them, it’s a secular celebration. Like an even more family-friendly version of Halloween.

Which is fine, Easter has never meant much to me either. At least it never meant anything religious. Most of my family will attend church services on Christmas and Easter, but it’s only a few of them who attend church regularly.

I was hyper-tired Sunday morning, so while my girlfriend took the boys to visit with her parents, I walked home for a long nap. There are a lot of churches in my small village, and I walked past three of them to get back to my home. Each of them was either preparing for the noon mass, or the early mass was gathered on the sidewalk talking about weather or the latest Christian gossip.

The vast majority were over fifty-years old, and a lot of the women were wearing Easter hats.

Maybe this year feels different because I’m not taking part in any of my family traditions… such as they are. My step-father and mother took my girlfriend, son and myself out for fast food on Friday after my appointment with my psychiatrist. The rest of the family got together for dinner on Sunday.

Maybe it’s because I’ve never taken the holiday seriously, as it seems to be entirely dedicated to the idea someone can come back from the dead, plus bunnies, colourful ribbons and chocolate.

Personally I think Easter is turning, if it hasn’t already, into a long weekend combination of St. Valentine’s Day and Halloween.

…whether you’re into it for the miraculous return of the son of your God from a three day dirt nap, or little chocolate cups filled with peanut butter, Happy Zombie Day to us all.

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