A Green Easter

Easter should be about more than gluttony. Children shouldn't be allowed to see how much candy they can eat prior to the church service - or Easter brunch in a restaurant - which ever way you Christians choose to 'celebrate' it. Adult shouldn't be eating everything in sight at that all you can eat brunch buffet. And families in general shouldn't be looking toward another huge meal in the afternoon - one that rivals Thanksgiving.

Easter History
First off, Easter is a rather arbitrarily assigned date. It is on the first Sunday following the first full moon following the Spring equinox - March 20/21. As you can tell, Rome chose to place it close to the spring celebrations of many different cultures, in order to better convert those cultures to Christianity.

As an American culture, Easter didn't become a large event until after the Civil War, when comfort from that devestation meant turning to religious holidays. Since the first settlers were here to escape both the Anglican and the Catholic church rules, the celebration of Easter was a minimalist event at best.

So between the Pagan influence and the settler's Protestant ways, America's cultural heritage with Easter is scant at best. So, rather than expanding on the capitolistic ways the retailers would have you believe has been with us since Christ himself, try a different tactic. Try toning it down a bit.

Suggestions

Buy Local

Particularly during this economic climate, buying local will be of paramount importance. Buying locally has a few different implications.

The first is to buy as many locally produced goods as possible. Use the local bakery and the local butcher to buy the items you need and can't make yourself. It may mean you buy less, but less isn't such a bad thing. Since most of our food is transported an average of 1500 miles, buying locally produced goods cuts down significantly on greenhouse gasses produced just by transporting them.

The second way is to buy from locally owned stores. Don't go to Sam's to buy your Easter food or candy. Go to Maine's, The Giant and other locally owned stores. Even Wegmans isn't local. It's in the state, but it's well outside of the 100 mile radius that is considered "local". By purchasing from locally owned businesses, your dollar is kept IN your community.

Studies in England, Maine, Colorado, and Tennessee have proven that a single dollar goes as far in the community as $1.76, while that same dollar used at a chain store only goes as far as .76 to .82. England's local economy fared far better than the US, however, the numbers are still staggering.

And considering the amount of money that is spent just on candy - American consumers spend over 1 million dollars on Easter candy every year and that nearly 20 billion jellybeans are produced just for Easter - that adds up to a significant portion remaining in the local economy.

Buy American.

I know there is much ado about protectionism. However, buying American is similar to buying locally - it keeps wages up and more money circulating in American, than leaving its shores. American chocolate, jelly beans, peeps, etc. And if you have a local chocolatier, great! Buy from them!

Buy Organic

While buying local is the 'New" buying organic, it makes a difference. The less you buy that ruins the environment, the better. And if it's local AND organic, you've hit the jackpot! Organic is slowly coming down in price, so the sacrifices made aren't nearly what they used to be. Grass-fed beef (preferably from intensive grazing - will post the article soon), versus lot-fed (CAFO) beef, pastured chickens and turkeys versus CAFO fowl, pastured pork versus CAFO pork, milk produced without hormones, pastured chickens for eggs, rather than industrial eggs, etc. The products are out there to find and are becoming more common every passing season, so that's wonderful!

Buy Fair Trade

There is movement afoot for Domestic Fair Trade as well as International Fair Trade, which is well established. There are several local organizations, VUMC included, that sells fair trade products at least monthly. Please check into it.

Get Rid Of

Get rid of the plastic. Who thought of plastic Easter eggs? Wrap the goodies in small bits of bright paper. And plastic grass?! Odd! Get your shredder out and shred some left over wrapping paper, the funnies or brightly colored pages from a magazine. Considering the kids look at the plastic for a total of 4 minutes or less, it doesn't make sense to spend the money OR the oil in making it just to throw it away.

If you don't already, buy special baskets and keep them for the child's entire Easter life. We had our own baskets every year, and always looked forward to finding OUR basket. It builds a tradition and a strong family connection, as well as cutting down on waste.

Get rid of excess. If the kids don't eat the hard boiled eggs, don't decorate them. They can color and make beautiful designs on paper just as easily as on hard boiled eggs. Give them about half the candy. This isn't Halloween revisited. It's Easter. No one should do what my sister did, which was to eat an entire pound of a solid chocolate bunny before the early service at church. While she didn't throw up, she didn't feel good for 2 days.

Make Easter special. Or, do as the settlers did and be very quite about it. Christ was.