1. Easter egg baskets and hunts.

2. Easter bunnies.

3. Outdoor "sunrise services."

4. Hot-cross buns.

5. The English word "Easter."

Those who insist "Easter is pagan!" act as if these things are the

essence of what Easter is -- that without them, there is no Easter.

Yet the observance of Easter (i.e., the annual commemoration of the Resurrection) does not hinge on these things.

I

turned to Catholicism about 24 years ago, observing Easter each year

since then. Not once have I participated in an egg hunt, decorated with

bunnies, or attended an outdoor "sunrise service." I don't know whether

I've even seen a hot-cross bun.

I don't oppose these things; I just haven't done them. They're not important.

If the way I've observed Easter is still objectionable to the

anti-Easter crowd -- and it is -- then it's not because they oppose

"paganism." It's because they oppose the annual commemoration of the

Resurrection of Jesus.

That's a sober realization.