Happy Easter

I stopped off at Publix on the way home from work yesterday to pick up some groceries. The cashier mentioned that after she got home, she was going to start cooking for Easter dinner. She said, "I can't stay up too late, or else I'll be too tired in church tomorrow".

I said that I couldn't go to Easter services as I had to work.

"You do?", the cashier replied.

"Yeah, people expect water to come out when they turn the faucet on no matter what day it is, so somebody always has to be there", I said.

"You get holiday pay, don't you?"

"Nope. Easter isn't a holiday."

The cashier and the woman in line behind me were incredulous.

I suppose a lot of Christians presume that Easter is as important to everybody else as it is to us. Yet how difficult is it to understand that if government makes Easter a holiday, then they have to do the same with Yom Kippur, Ramadan, and whatever high holy days Wiccans celebrate? It never fails to amaze me that so many people don't seem to get that.

Incidentally, Publix closes on Easter Sunday.

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If you're looking for more intellectual stimulation than what I've provided lately, this fine article by Biblical scholar Thomas Sheehan lays out some interesting theories about the origins of Easter. I actually used this article in one of my Bible classes. Those folks are a smart bunch.