What Does Easter Mean?

My boss is a practising Catholic and he recently visited Rome and was part of an audience of around 10,000 who was waved at by the Pope. Like with most reasonably minded people the subject of our diverse religious beliefs isn't something that impinges on our business relationship. In fact he has referred to me in conversations with other office staff as being the 'checks and balances' in the office - the loony, left-wing, atheist, yoghurt knitter - who offers a different view in a profession historically the domain of ultra conservative, right wing, god fearing folk - although not too God fearing to prevent them cooking up ever more complex tax avoidance schemes, but religion and business practice shouldn't be allowed to mix should they?

Anyway, during a conversation about the Vatican he said, "I don't think you have to be religious to appreciate the quality of the Sistine Chapel." I agreed, as I have posted before churches have an almost anaesthetising effect on me, the religious idea of sanctuary seeping through my tough atheistic exterior and filling me with a sense of awe and wonder. But what of the religious festivals themselves, how do they affect me?

Christmas has always been the number one festival, I think that goes without saying and coming from what could best be described as a semi-religious family, albeit one where the religious fervor was dying out with each subsequent generation, I was familiar with the trappings that accompanied the train sets, Airfix models and West Ham kits. These were midnight mass, either attended or watched on television, the annual Christmas Day concert from Vienna and, if Christmas dinner was at my paternal Grandparents house, the saying of prayers before the ritual stuffing of the family with turkey. Once I left home, got married and then became a Dad, Christmas has become the time of opening presents with my family, avoiding television for a couple of days, doing the 'right thing' by visiting elderly relatives and having a week off work, there is to be honest no quantifiable religious element to it at all.

But what about Easter?

I have no memories of anything special happening at Easter beyond hoping that West Ham would avoid relegation as Easter was always the time of year when, to paraphrase Ray Stubbs, 'we will get a better sense of how the league tables will work out.' Easter has no religious significance to me as an individual, that's not said to denigrate the importance of it to other people, but to me it is two extra days off work and usually means four days sitting inside watching it rain. If we are lucky Easter signifies the start of the gardening season, this is when Nurseries and Garden Centres up and down the land hope for good weather and an influx of people keen to be parted with their cash or credit card details in exchange for early bedding plants or starter perennials. I do find however, and I know this is a contradiction, the passion plays and accompanying music moving, that's because I think (perhaps misguidedly) that the emotional issues and spiritual matters covered by them are important whatever your faith (or not as the case may be). I do not believe that you have to be a practising Christian to appreciate Bach's St.Matthew Passion anymore than attending regular worship will impart greater significance to the visually stunning Giotto's Arrest of Christ (that's the painting at the top of the thread).

Given the current state of the economy I suppose that the Easter holiday should include a few minutes of reflection of how things are going for us individually and collectively. Some time when we can sit down away from the constant demands of clients and staff and pause to reflect on bigger issues than whether or not to watch Dr.Who or Ant and Dec.

Me? I'm off to Glasgow, what better place is there to spend Easter than the British capital of religious bigotry, to watch the Gers play Motherwell at Ibrox. Whatever you are doing have a good one, go easy on the hot cross buns and chocolate eggs and don't plant out any of those 'must have' plants if the grounds wet.