Easter is Becoming My Favorite Holiday

Maybe it's because it doesn't have all the materialistic trappings of Christmas. Perhaps because it's starting to feel like it's finally going to be Spring this year! But for whatever reason, this Easter has been one of my more memorable ones. Did you enjoy Easter 2008?

Even though I woke up early and worked an uncustomary 7 hours yesterday and 1 today, I still rate Easter 2008 as one of my favorite Easters ever.

To appease the Christians, the Pagans, and perhaps everyone else, the date of Easter varies each year. Because it's a bit earlier this year, it falls on the day before my father's birthday (he has since passed on to the next life) as well as my father-in-law's birthday, who were born on the exact same day (March 24, 1935--we haven't established how close in time on that day they were born).

Last year's Easter, celebrated with the Staheli side of the family, was just as enjoyable. I remember my mother asking one of my younger children why we celebrate Easter. I whispered to him an answer that would catch her off guard, and when he responded, "Because that's when Jesus was born," it did surprise

Christ was born in the Spring. He died and was resurrected on a beautiful spring day as well, affording us the blessings of salvation.

Now that's worth celebrating. Especially with family.

her. "That, too!" she said.

The Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of Jesus Christ implies that the birth of Christ occurred during the time that we now celebrate as Easter:

1 The rise of the Church of Christ in these last days, being one thousand eight hundred and thirty years since the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the flesh, it being regularly organized and established agreeable to the laws of our country, by the will and commandments of God, in the fourth month, and on the sixth day of the month which is called April—

To begin the festivities yesterday, our extended family went over to the LDS Church building and played basketball in the gymnasium. There are a lot of good ball players in the David and Diane Dance family. After ball playing was over, some of us jogged as far as we could toward home before grandpa picked us up in his car.

As always, lunch was more than scrumptious. There was so much food that I compelled myself (I don't know how much it will help my "diet", though) not to sample everything--until supper, when I sampled the rest of it.

After lunch the Easter egg hunt convened, followed by the eating of candy galore--as if we had room left in our already full stomachs. (This morning the hunt organizers went back out and found a handful of the treasures that had not been discovered during the hunt yesterday, and we quickly dispatched their contents as well.)

My brother-in-law and his wife presented to us some insights into a personality profiling tool that he uses. This discussion was very helpful in seeing why our children are the way they are. More than once, when my brother-in-law explained to one of my kids that, because they identified as a certain color they have certain traits, my child said "Yup! That's me!"

My favorite part of the whole day was when my wife initiated a discussion of memories of her childhood, including her 8 brothers and sisters, but focusing mostly on memories of mom and dad. Even the youngest children sat with rapt attention as the Dance siblings talked about playing tag on their three-wheelers, how dad unloaded potatoes directly from the combine into needy people's pickup trucks, how mom dressed the kids all the same way, and how they had to hold on for dear life to the sprinkler pipe trailer as dad sped the pickup truck down the highway.

Family is what it's all about. And, because this holiday is not mixed with too much gift giving that diverts our focus from its real purpose (as Christmas often can be), I've decided that Easter is becoming my favorite holiday.

Christ was born in the Spring. He died and was resurrected on a beautiful spring day as well, affording us the blessings of salvation.

Now that's worth celebrating. Especially with family.