Happy Easter!
Yeah, yeah, I know that Easter was actually a few days ago — but being away from the web on Friday and Monday meant I couldn’t convey my holiday wishes to you in a timely fashion.
And why no web? Because I was off! I was kicking back, enjoying life, sticking it to the man … Err, yeah, something like that.
See, Easter’s a big deal in Germany, with the entire country shutting down for Good Friday and Easter Monday. Coming from the land of separation of church and state, this came as somewhat of a surprise to me; heck, what with the various pressure groups out there, if America started putting religious holidays (other than Christmas) on the calendar, we’d never work — we could have some time off for Passover, followed by a break for Easter, then take a few sick days to recover from welcoming in the new year on NoRuz before diving back in to pagan party mode for the Equinox.
And that’s just spring! A few years ago I made up a list of winter holidays, stopping around the two dozen mark just ‘cause I was bored (and because I didn’t have a website yet, and therefore had no way of showing off my accomplishment. You know, everything I do, I do for all of you out there …).
Of course, getting days off for the holiday doesn’t mean Germans actually celebrate Easter, any more than a Labor Day picnic is an opportunity to … eh, remember whatever it is Labor Day is supposed to commemorate. (Oh, sure, I bet your celebrations include speeches dedicated to the plight of the proletariat and vigorous debate on the pros and cons of the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act. I’ve always tended to attend the “eat grilled chicken until you throw up”-type of soirees.)
The group that seemed to get the most into the holiday here in German was the West cigarette company, which released a line of collector cigarette packs in a range of pastel colors, each adorned with a Playmate-esque bunny. Yep, that’s what Easter’s all about: soft-core porn and smoking.
If the advertising industry here is anything like it is back home, some other cigarette company is going to try topping that next year, maybe with an ad showing Jesus lounging around the tomb puffing on a coffin nail … “Ah, there’s nothing like a cigarette after resurrection.”
Yes, I am now going to hell.
The other popular way to celebrate the day are the bonfires, an interesting re-grafting of pagan rituals onto Easter, a holiday which began when the church melded Christian traditions with what was a pagan celebration. Of course, most of the people lounging on the beach watching the sparks dance in the evening air seemed like they were going more for the drunken frat party vibe rather than in any type of religious expression, but still, it was kinda cool to see.