Dear Christ Church Family,
Easter is the season of joy, so here is one more installment of Easter Fun Facts to enjoy. It also includes a “fun” reason for “tuning in” this coming Sunday for our worship broadcast.
Joy,
Rick+
Wednesday, April 15, 2020 RCL Daily Office Readings, Year 2
AM Psalm 97, 99
Two more Easter Fun Facts:
4. What do rabbits have to do with Easter?
Answer: Nothing! Absolutely nothing! Well…OK…that’s the official answer. But, since the Church has always been in the business of redemption, including the redeeming of pagan and secular symbols, there is some room here for reconsideration. First, though, here’s the official position. The rabbit is an ancient symbol of Oestra, Ishtar, and Ashtoreth. Considering the rabbit’s fertility, it is an appropriate emblem of these goddesses of fertility. This pagan symbol seems to have hung on for all these centuries, even though the goddesses it represents are long forgotten. The “bunny” has become a deeply embedded symbol of secular Easter celebrations, but has yet to be “redeemed” as a Christian symbol.
Still, and here is a “pro-bunny” redemption argument, bunnies are cute! And, they make us feel warm and fuzzy and happy. In other words, as has been shown in some research studies, paying attention to them can lift the human spirit from even the deepest depressive moods. That is a resurrection of the mind. So maybe it’s time for our theology to catch up with what we all already know. The Easter Bunny should be celebrated.
5. Here is one last, fun question about Easter that you’ve probably never actually asked! Question: What is the Sunday after Easter, known to us and our English cousins as “Low” Sunday, more widely known as?
Answer: The Sunday after Easter is more widely known as Quasimodo Sunday. Yes, that Quasimodo! Are you KIDDING?? The Hunchback of Notre Dame??? How have we not always known this? We just figured that it was called Low Sunday because attendance in church was so low. Now that we know it’s Quasimodo Sunday, just think how much more fun the whole service could be!
Here’s how it got to be known for Quasimodo. The first Sunday after Easter is traditionally known, primarily in France and other parts of Europe, as “Quasimodo Sunday” because of the beginning words of the Introit, which come from 1 Peter 2:2,3:
Latin: Quasi modo geniti infantes, rationabile, sine dolo lac concupiscite ut in eo crescatis in salutem si gustastis quoniam dulcis Dominus.
English: As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
And of course, Victor Hugo’s character was so named because he was found, as an infant, in the vestibule of Notre Dame on the morning of Quasimodo, 1467.
Given that this coming Sunday after Easter also has another long tradition, known as Humor Sunday, this just seemed too awesome and humorous a Fun Fact not to mention.
This Eastertide, rejoice! It is THE season for celebration and good cheer. Death has been conquered by Life! So, go ahead and draw some joyful inspiration from these “fun” questions, and let yourself laugh and have fun. And, praise our Lord for the greatest reason of all to rejoice:
Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!