Symbols of the Sacred by Nina Faye Morey

What does the Easter miracle of the death and resurrection of Christ mean to me? Several symbols are commonly used to represent such Christian concepts. As a Christian writer, I regularly employ these symbols or “mental pictures.” Like Jesus’ parables, they help make religious messages and teachings easily understood and remembered by young and old alike.

As Easter approaches, I search the store shelves overflowing with candy Easter eggs, stuffed Easter bunnies, and Easter baskets for gifts for my grandchildren. Their greeting cards also depict these and other symbols commonly associated with the holiday. The verses celebrate the coming of spring and new life and wish them “Happy Easter.” I might find “religious” Easter cards for my significant adults, but it’s clear the Cross of Calvary faces stiff competition.

Easter Egg Basket & Lily

So what, if anything, do these curious Easter customs and symbols have to do with the death and resurrection of Christ? The truth is Easter didn’t originate with Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross. Its only Biblical reference is a mistranslation of the word “Pascha,” which refers to the “Passover” (Acts 12:4 KJV). Our Easter observances are an eclectic mixture of ancient mythology and pagan practices that pre-date Christianity. The early Christian Church adapted many pagan symbols for rebirth, renewal, resurrection, and transformation, such as eggs and rabbits, from spring fertility festivals to explain Christ’s death and resurrection to new converts. Because of their pagan roots, some Christians reject these symbols and judge those who embrace them. However, the Christian church has long incorporated them to both conceal and reveal sacred truths.

This Easter I’m looking forward to painting some Easter eggs with my grandchildren. It’s a folk art that combines the pagan symbolism of the new life created in the egg with the Christian symbolism of the new life found in Christ. Since the egg holds the miraculous power of giving birth to new life, I’ll point out how this makes them an especially appropriate symbol of our Lord’s resurrection. I’ll reveal the special meaning of each colour; and how it’s believed that the more colours your Easter egg has, the greater its magical power. Red represents the life-giving blood Jesus shed on the cross so those who believe in Him could have eternal life. White stands for innocence and purity and symbolizes God’s forgiveness of our sins through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Green expresses our hope of life after death. Yellow depicts light, God, and love.

Egg-laying Easter Bunny

I’ll also describe the meaning of each pattern as we draw them on our eggs. My grandkids are already familiar with many Christian symbols, like crosses, doves, and suns. Fish symbols were secret signs used by early Christians because Jesus was the “fisher of men.” Triangles represent the Trinity. Dots depict the tears the Virgin Mary shed at the foot of the cross. Spirals symbolize the mysteries of life, death, and everlasting life. Borders, ribbons, and curls with no beginning or end are called eternity bands and illustrate infinity and immortality. According to legend, their coils draw in and trap evil spirits, so they offer protection from sin.

For Christians, Good Friday commemorates Christ’s death on the cross and burial in the tomb. Easter Sunday celebrates His miraculous resurrection and triumph over death that gives hope to His faithful followers. I’ll explain to my grandchildren how Easter eggs are powerful symbols of this Easter miracle. Their hard shells represent Christ’s sealed tomb. Cracking them open Easter morning portrays the divine mystery of Christ’s gift of new life to believers through His death and resurrection.

Illustration Credits:

Easter Basket & Lily © 2008 Nina Faye Morey

(Previously Published in Grainews, March 10, 2008)

Egg-Laying Easter Bunny © 2007 Nina Faye Morey

(Previously Published in Grainews, March 26, 2007)

Summer Musings by Connie Inglis

Summer writing. Do I do anything different than other seasons of the year? Yes, I would say I do. I would probably admit that I do less writing. But that doesn't mean I do less brainstorming. In fact, I have found that it is in the summer that I get more fodder for writing than any other season. Why is that you ask? Well, it is my favourite season but more importantly, it's because I have more time to enjoy my favourite muse, my summer muse I call her, my granddaughter.

Nothing inspires me more than this precious little girl--to view the world through her eyes, to hear her play-by-play perspective on people, places, things, to soak in her love for life. She fills my little notebook with ideas for future writing and hilarious quotes like the following: "Grandma, you're not an adult, you're an old teen."

Which brings me to my next point. Time with her allows me to be a kid again. If my neighbours saw me running through the sprinkler or filling water balloons or drawing with chalk in my driveway by myself, they might question my sanity. But I can get away with it when I'm doing it with my granddaughter. And in all honesty, I enjoy all those activities--they take me back to the joy of my childhood. And as I bask in the summer heat, they draw me into God's time, into kairos time, where again I feel His pleasure in the simple things of life, surrounded by His creation.

I think I can best say it in a poem--though even a short poem can't express my love, my attachment to this muse. She sings Jesus to me.

My Summer Muse

(to my granddaughter Sydrah)

Sweet summer

muse, you

"sing in me," as 

Calliope to Homer,

ideations of

inspiration.

Like July

fireworks, you

explode with 

carefree creativity,

then beckon me to

join you in your joy.

Touching your world,

hearing your voice,

viewing your perceptions,

breathing in your spice,

savoring your zest--

it is sacred ground.

I take off my shoes;

for the miracle of

you 

moves me to 

worship the Creator,

the Giver of

     my Summer Muse. 

Photo by Katherine Dumas

Thou Shalt Take a Holiday – Ramona Heikel

I’m grateful for holidays. It occurred to me this week that I hadn’t seen my sons for a while. We’ve all been busy and only talking on the phone and in electronic messages. And if Thanksgiving wasn’t coming up this weekend, how much longer would it be until we were face to face, close enough to hug? That’s when I started feeling thankful to whoever set up holidays.

It amazes me when I stop to think of the power that holidays have to bring people together when schedules and distance would otherwise keep them apart. I’m surprised that holidays are still sacred in a society that puts so much of a priority on productivity and busyness.

Look how the governments of countries all over the world lock certain holidays into their calendars, and how businesses acknowledge holidays by granting days off. You could even say that some employees are “forced” to take a holiday, and even if you want to work, the company declares it such a special day that it is willing to pay you one-and-a-half of your regular earnings. I don’t think we should take it for granted that CEO’s pay us for a day of unproductive kicking-back, and not once, but several times a year.

How nice that countries unite around a holiday! If Alberta declared Thanksgiving a holiday, but Saskatchewan didn’t, it wouldn’t be so easy to go visit your Saskatchewan relatives on Thanksgiving, and look at what you would miss. Oh, I know there are lots of sneers these days about how miserable family gatherings can be—there seem to be more and more movies springing up that try to convince us that holidays are something to dread and tolerate. But go through your photo collections and see how many of the scenes were taken during a holiday gathering, and how many of those bring a smile to your lips and your heart.

Holidays are celebrated for various reasons, and even if we don’t spend a lot of time thinking about them and incorporating the origins into the celebration, they serve as yearly cues to adjust our near-sightedness. We have an opportunity to take a step back from the endless tasks that seem so important in the small picture, and refocus on things worth remembering. Re-celebrating a country’s hard-won victory in obtaining independence, remembering national heroes, offering a tribute to the fathers of our faith, rejoicing in the beginning of a new calendar year, honouring families and relatives, and showing our gratitude to God—all these invigorate our outlook on life and help order our priorities.

Whose idea was it to have holidays, anyway? Local and national governments establish specific holidays for their unique population, but the idea of a holiday seems to have been around ever since the Lord included days of celebration, dancing, feasting and rest for His people in his set of laws. Yes, laws, not suggestions! “Thou shalt take the day off and have a good time.” This too would be amazing to some people, because the popular view of God is probably one of a judge. But what if people stopped and considered that this particular judge required them to regularly take time to have fun and reconnect with the most important people in your life? What a revelation that would be of the true nature of God.

Posted by Ramona

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