Why We Do Not Do the Easter Bunny
I get asked this from time to time, probably not as much as Santa, but it still something that perplexes many people. Originally, it was not a hard stance, it was just something that my husband never did as a child, therefore he did not see the need for it when we started having children. Since then, we have come to have a more informed opinion on this subject.
While nothing I say will be ground breaking, and while nothing I say is condemning the practice of the Easter Bunny, it is things that weighed heavy on us in our personal decision to not participate in this tradition. This is our personal testimony and we do not judge those who are different than us, so we ask the same courtesy in return, which is something we do not typically receive from most people.
Let's get started discussing our views on the Easter Bunny!
Firstly, we don't do the Easter Bunny because we want to sole focus to be the resurrection of Christ. I'm not implying that if YOU choose to do the Easter Bunny that you are NOT focusing on the resurrection, please do not get that from this point. Again this is OUR personal conviction. We do not like for Christ to share the foundational Christian holiday with anything or anyone else. Therefore, we choose to forgo the Easter Bunny as well as Easter baskets.
Secondly, we do not participate in the Easter Bunny because it seems frivolous. Our kids get gifts all the time, we do not need an occasion to give them candy and little toys and such. It just seems like commercializing an extremely important Christian holiday, and that is something that jus does not make sense for us, personally.
Thirdly, which really probably goes with the first point, or at least explains it more, we do not do the Easter Bunny because the resurrection for a Christian is the most exciting event in history, it does not need something to "punch it up" or make it more exciting. We believe, as Christians, that there is nothing more exciting then the resurrection of our Savior and the fact that He provided salvation for us through this event.
Fourthly, we do not celebrate the Easter Bunny because we try our hardest not to lie to our children. Hear me out. While this is not the case for every Christian who grew up celebrating Easter or even Christmas with the false figures, it is the case for several people we have talked to when discussing whether we would have the Easter Bunny or Santa in our home. Placing a stumbling block or hurting a young person is one of the worst things we could do. The LAST thing we want to do to our children is lie to them about this figures, and then one day have them question whether Christ was a fairytale story, too. We never want to be a stumbling block for others, especially our young children. (But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 1st Corinthians 8:9; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. Matthew 18:6)
So, while none of this is groundbreaking, and nothing that you probably have not seen or read before, these are the reasons we have decided to not participate in the tradition of the Easter Bunny. Again, we do not care if you do the Easter Bunny. We can only answer for ourselves and our family. What you do in your family is UP TO YOU. If you are not sinning, you do not have to worry about hearing from me about what you are doing in your family. Please give us the same respect after reading our stance.
To tie this up with a nice bow, we do not deny our kids or keep them from family gatherings that partake in these practices. They get to hunt Easter Eggs if a family member went out of their way to do get them for the kids. My parents get them swimsuits and some candy every year for an Easter basket. We let them enjoy these things, but they do not associate it with the Resurrection because we do not tie it to any of the extra stuff that people to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. They just see it as fun games that they play sometimes (because they play with Easter Eggs year round once they get to our house), and as gifts from Big Momma and Big Poppy. They do not see it as being tied to our Christian celebration in the slightest. So our kids get to do some of the "fun" parts of Easter, but only because my parents want to do it with them, and we do not want to hurt them by denying their kindness towards our kids.
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