Babe's Eye View article

All throughout the Christian world, Easter is revered as one of the most important holidays since it celebrates the resurrection of Christ. It signifies fresh hope, a new beginning, a new life—the joyful ending to a tragic tale of pain and suffering that Jesus Christ endured to save the world.

Easter though doesn’t have a permanent day for its celebration. It’s called a "moveable feast" since it occurs on the first Sunday after the full moon of what is called the Vernal or Spring Equinox, which can come as early as March 22 or as late as April 25. Like other Christian festivals, Easter’s origin is closely associated with pagan rites centuries before the advent of Christianity. According to tradition, Easter is derived from "Eostre," an Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring who was worshipped for bringing life back to earth, as winter was associated with death.

Through the years, the celebration of Easter has taken on different dimensions in various countries. Here in the United States, Easter is arguably one of the most important holidays, second only to Thanksgiving. While Americans recognize it as a day commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, they place more emphasis on the Easter Bunny. One legend has it that the Easter bunny was really a handsome bird which Eostre magically transformed into a hare. Since at heart the bunny is really a bird, it builds a straw nest which it fills with eggs.

Today, kids are told the story of an old bunny rabbit hopping around to spread the joy of Easter, leaving behind a trail of brightly colored eggs and candies. Kids would excitedly wait for Easter morning in anticipation of the hunt for the eggs which the Easter Bunny supposedly buried on the ground for them. Every year, more than one billion Easter eggs are hunted in the US alone—in parks, backyards and even on the White House lawn.

Of course, the most popular bunny in America is Bugs Bunny. This Brooklyn hare was "born" in 1940, popularized by Warner Bros. in its Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies cartoon series. In 2002, TV Guide declared Bugs Bunny as the greatest cartoon character of all time. Bugs has become such a well-loved figure that in 1997, he was turned into a US postage stamp—the first animated character to be given this honor. As a matter of fact, the Bugs Bunny postage stamps are one of the 10 most popular in the US. Today, Bugs even has his own star in the Hollywood Walk of fame.

Devout Catholics also remember April 8 as the day when Pope John Paul II was buried. He was called the "pilgrim pope," out-traveling all his predecessors combined, trying to remove religious and other divisions among countries that have been created through the years. He became Pope at a time when the Catholic religion was experiencing a decline, yet he tirelessly worked to bring people back into the fold and successfully introduced Catholicism in many Third World countries.

Perhaps it would not be too presumptuous to say that the Philippines had a special place in the heart of Pope John Paul II. The country was blessed twice with his visits, first in 1981 and then again in 1995, drawing an estimated crowd of four million. He was strict and highly conservative—refusing to budge on issues like contraception, stem cell research and euthanasia—yet he also displayed his playful nature when, during his Philippine visit in 1995, he placed his hands in front of his eyes in imitation of binoculars—a gesture that endeared him to Filipinos even more.

Pope John Paul II died on April 2, 2005, after a long bout with Parkinson’s and other illnesses. His followers immediately demanded his elevation to sainthood—a clamor that is still as strong today. John Paul II’s successor, Pope Benedict XVI, has fast tracked the process of sainthood by waiving the five-year waiting period for beatification.

Theologians will examine numerous documents, including a testimony by Sister Marie Simon-Pierre, a French nun who claimed that she was cured of Parkinson’s disease after praying to the late Pope. If no medical explanation can be given for the cure, and if it is ascribed to Pope John Paul II, sainthood becomes a step closer for the well-loved pontiff—perhaps a fitting conclusion for one who tirelessly pursued the "universal call to holiness" and lived his life according to the teachings of Jesus.

In the Philippines, Easter—known in the vernacular as "Pasko ng Muling Pagkabuhay" (or the Pasch of the Resurrection), is celebrated beginning at dawn through a "pagsalubong" that dramatizes the meeting between Jesus and his mother Mary after the resurrection. Large statues of Jesus and Mary are brought together to simulate a meeting, while little girls dressed as angels are suspended on a balcony to give more drama to the celebration. For a predominantly Catholic country like the Philippines, Easter is the time to remember the last week in the life of Jesus. For some, it is something like a "new year," where people reflect on their lives and start over with new meaning and direction.

What is sad about this country today is that it continues to be divided because of politics. The Philippines has long prided itself on being the only Christian country in Asia, yet Filipinos practice a double standard about their faith. There continues to be so much anger and animosity because people seem to think life is all about politics. There is life after politics. As a matter of fact, there is life after death. Christ has promised us eternal happiness even after death—and this is the real meaning of Easter.