Thursday 24 March 2016

Moveable feast


Easter weekend is coming up - it is such a shame that everyone in any major town in the U.K. and Europe is waiting for a nail bomb to go off and spoil it all.

I once had two Easter weekends - one Orthodox one in Crete, followed by an Anglican one back home a week later. We were in a little sea-front hotel, just about to go to sleep, when - on the stroke of midnight - the rattle of machine-gun fire and small-arms came echoing out of the nearby mountains.

I thought it might be a local dispute, until I remembered that all the mountain people have guns up there, if only to fire into the air during weddings and religious holidays. Oh, and they pepper the road signs with bullets from sheer boredom in between feast days. The guns are cherished symbols of masculinity, left over from the German invasion.

I don't know when, if, or how Jesus Christ rose from the dead, but the date we have (give or take seven or eight days) falls fairly exactly on pagan celebrations of re-birth and the beginning of spring. Uncanny.

I used to hang around a Russian family, and every year we would hide eggs in the garden for the children to find. Also every year, we would find ones from the previous year which the children had missed.

I''l tell you what I miss most about being a God-fearing atheist - the classic, harmless, English vicar.

Meals on Wheels - Moveable Feast.

18 comments:

  1. Did the Russian family mind you hanging around? were you dating a daughter?

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    1. Her grandmother was a handmaiden to the Tsarina and fled the Revolution with her mother as a child. Her relatives were spread out through Europe.

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  2. Yes, Easter is taken from the pagan holiday Oester in celebration of a good harvest from the planting. I lost my religion when I found that out.

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    1. Hence Oestrogen. We should have Oester Eggs...

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  3. Who cares as long as the Lindt Rabbits are available. I've eaten 3 little ones today and have bought the larger ones for Sunday (to compensate for missing out an hour)while we four are at the seaside. I've been given two more -larger still- from a friend up the road. Who ever eats the bunny I get the ribbons and the bells.

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  4. After two millennia, I believe the church will now decide on a FIXED DATE for Easter; about bloody time.

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  5. I have never really understood why Easter has to move around - I think it is something to do with the moon. But I also think it would be a good idea to fix it. Judging by the weather today it is going to be a typical chilly Easter up here.

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  6. Seeing Easter is mentioned; I wish you and family a happy Easter weekend. Greetings Maria x

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  7. It has been a very, very long time since I have been to a church service. I think the last time was my father's memorial service.

    The ways in which Christianity adopted existing celebrations has always amused me. Hiding and finding colored eggs in the backyard was great childhood fun.

    This Sunday, I hope for a sunny day so I can stroll over to Fifth Avenue to see the Easter Parade (more of a promenade of hats.) I'll also be purchasing a Lindt bunny.

    And hoping that the Avenue will be a place of peace.

    Best wishes.

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