Where's the Easter Bunny?

A local congregation puts on the most fabulous Easter production ever. I mean really, with the beautiful lighting, phenomenal sets and detailed costumes to me it would rival any Broadway production!! The story is recounted with the strictest adherence to the scriptures as is possible (as a matter of fact I would say that the only facets of the play that are left to interpretation are how environments are conceived and perhaps how characters relate to each other). Of course given that it is the Easter story certain scenes can be quite overwhelming for the children’s sensibilities and prior to same scene being aired the production crew forewarns of the graphic content to follow. This is where my story begins.

I had been told of the nature of the production prior to going and repeatedly I had asked my sources whether it was okay for children and repeatedly I was told, “Yes man its fine, they’ll be fine.” So you can imagine my horror when a whip was thrown (historically accurate mind you, not hitting anyone but still hurled) and the actor playing Jesus gasping as if being hit and seeing realistic looking wounds on the Messiah’s body I even gasped – talk about graphic!! My youngest moaned “Mummy I don’t want to come back to this Church” but my eldest put the issue into perspective, she asked ”… Mummy I thought you said that the Easter Bunny was going to be in this play!”

Well that was a great jumping off point for my youngest who then also realized she too missed the presence of our fine, furry, bow-tied friend from earlier exploits and afterwards was less inclined to sit in the darkened auditorium. She claimed she was sleepy, she climbed behind me to get a better view, she leaned forward and was singing Dora the Explorer’s theme song into the people in front of us’ seats, she strewed paper napkins on the floor and then counted them, her pranks were endless. To tell you the truth save for my determination to see the play through to the end there should not have been enough fancy lights or beautiful voices in the world to keep us watching after that first fidget was launched; beautiful play though, absolutely beautiful.

I was relating our adventure to my friend when she told me of having a like experience with her daughter. And you know I took some solace in the nugget that she shared because it meant that the reaction of my girls was somewhat due to their socialization and any child would have been of like mind. I guess to little ones the concept of the Easter Bunny is always going to be a lot more palatable so maybe I was asking for too much in thinking that the grandiose production would have staved off the hebegeebies….Duuhh!!

When we got home that evening my eldest brought her picture bible to me and asked me to explain the story of Easter to her (even though she had heard it countless times before). I looked in her eyes and saw that she was really listening not simply hearing the story for the first time. Hmmmm, maybe the significance of that play was not lost.

Exit Easter bunny stage door left .......enter the story of Lent.