Posted on 04/20/2014 12:19:02 PM PDT by nickcarraway
People in North Mississippi prepared for Easter on Good Friday.
"[We're] shopping for the kids, making sure the kids have their Easter dresses," Tupelo resident Andre Johnson said.
The Mall at Barnes Crossing was the place to be Friday.
Many start their holiday weekend by searching for not just any outfit, but a special Easter look.
"Something that looks like spring and doesn't look like it's going to rain outside," Fulton resident Judy McFadden said. "Something bright and cheery."
Painting and hunting Easter eggs is also on the top of the list.
"I like to draw and stuff, so that's fun and I like doing it with my family," Fulton resident Gracie McFadden said.
For some kids, Easter isn't complete without a trip to see the Easter Bunny.
The Allen's of Pontotoc brought their children to meet the Easter Bunny for the first time on Friday.
"We're going to try to start a new tradition," Yvonne Allen said.
Out of all the traditions, there is one that everyone enjoys together.
"Visiting family and friends and just enjoying the pretty weather," Johnson said.
That's what the McFadden family does every Easter, ending the day with a family dinner.
"We eat, talk and maybe sometimes goof around," Charla McFadden said.
No matter how you celebrate the day, everyone takes time to remember what the holiday is all about.
On the one hand, you’ll get some clearance prices if you wait until the last minute. On the other hand, you may not be able to find a style you like in your size.
My church was a mixture of people wearing their Easter outfits in spite of temps in the 40s and rain, and people in the winter clothes they’ve been wearing since September. (I’m the latter: I wore the brown dress and the gray sweater, again.)
VELIKONOCE BABY!!!!
Easter egg hunts at church hit an attendance record this year.
Though the egg contents have definitely shifted since I was a kid. Less candy, more little toys, and this year, loose change. My son actually stopped going after chocolate when he realized there was money in those things. Gave rubber ducks and erasers to other, smaller kids who didn’t care about money.
Trying to survive until next Easter. Or until God comes back.
LOL! They're not supposed to know what's in the eggs!
Our church's Easter egg hunt was last Saturday; we had schedule conflicts including several people away for the weekend and somebody's Eagle Scout project.
The kids don't actually erase with the erasers: they chew on them like gum.
Pretty much, just another Sunday to me.
I don’t usually do holidays, with exception of Independence Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas(for the kids). I suppose our wedding anniversary would be considered a holiday as well(for us).
I’m not entirely comfortable with putting money in the eggs at church.
I don’t know what they had at our church, but probably not money. On the other hand, it could just be sitting around in the bowels of the sofa.
My Easter tradition is to read the history of how Christianity came to observe Easter, a word that does not appear in the original language of the New Testament.
It doesn’t take but a few minutes of research (via Google) to find that the very first generations of Christians, those who would have gotten their faith first-hand from Our Lord Himself, observed the Passover and didn’t even know about Easter. It was only many years later that some Christians wanted to demonstrate their anti-semitism and change this tradition to something else.
This came to a head in the 325 AD when Emperor Constantine found common cause with the Roman Church to declare that all Christians under pain of death must cease to observe Passover and must from that point on observe Easter.
The history and scriptural evidence compels me to return to observing the things that the earliest Apostles observed and to reject what later leaders of the Church decreed when they colluded with the government of the day.
I find so many parallels today. It would be like asking Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg what the Second Amendment means, does it describe an individual right or a collective one. When she would tell you that all right-thinking people only view the RKBA as a collective right, that would be the final answer on the matter. Well, who are you going to believe, the original texts or what someone over 200 years later tells you what they really mean?
I am not alone. There are a surprising number of Christians who reject the government enforced doctrine of Easter and who have returned to the faith that Scripture plainly shows was passed from Jesus Himself to the Apostles.
see for example:
Are You a Quartodeciman? Should You Be?
http://www.tomorrowsworld.org/magazines/2013/march-april/are-you-a-quartodeciman-should-you-be
or:
Easter: The Rest of the Story
http://www.ucg.org/booklet/easter-rest-story/
Avoiding dinner at the in-laws....
How?
I just like to sit in the quiet and contemplate and meditate on the meaning of the day. Being almost 70 degrees today helps
I just started a tradition this morning. Watched/Listened to the Alexander Scourby narrated audio/dvd entire Bible - “Book of Mark”. I intended to watch Matthew but the Book of Mark was underlined so I pushed the button and am so glad I did. It was beautifully read and of course the Scripture Holy Inspired. I just discovered the DVD this year and have been truly amazed at how the scriptures are easier to understand with his narration. Even has a tour of the Holy Land, read the Bible in a year and Bible Quizzes. The price is VERY reasonable. I’ve given it out as presents and have received positive reviews. http://www.christianbook.com/kjv-video-bible/9781598567076/pd/567076?product_redirect=1&Ntt=567076&item_code=&Ntk=keywords&event=ESRCP
We always have a full BBQ....tri tip, chile beans, potato salad, etc. for what’s left of our small family. The kids hunt eggs in the back hard and then usually get their first swim of the year in. No Easter outfits here except for bathing suits. Lol
Here in N.W. Mississippi I explained to my children why we don’t recognize Easter. We discussed its ancient pagan origins and why syncretism is wrong. We discussed Romans 12:2 and how that applies. This morning our congregation enjoyed a typical Sunday service. We do nothing different on Ishtar’s day than any other Sunday.
Here is what Charles Spurgeon said on the matter:
There is no ordinance in Scripture of any one Lord’s-day in the year being set apart to commemorate the rising of Christ from the dead, for this reason, that every Lord’s-day is the memorial of our Lord’s resurrection. Wake up any Lord’s-day you please, whether in the depth of winter, or in the warmth of summer, and you may sing.
“To day he rose and left the dead, And Satan’s empire fell; To day the saints his triumph spread, And all his wonders tell.”
To set apart an Easter Sunday for special memory of the resurrection is a human device, for which there is no Scriptural command, but to make every Lord’s-day an Easter Sunday is due to him who rose early on the first day of the week.
–C. H. Spurgeon, MTP #1530
“And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
—2 Corinthians 6:15
Gotta have grilled ham and cheese sandwiches!
Eating roast duck and watching the NY Rangers lose.
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