Easter

I saw one of my friends make a bulletin about Easter weekend and it got me thinking. I want to preface this by saying I respect all religions, whether it be islam, christianity, etc. I always feel awkward around christian holidays though. Not because I don't like the religion. If anything, I think the ideals, teachings and aesthetics of christianity are actually very beautiful. I just... don't believe in it. 

For those of you who don't know, I am pagan. I have been a follower of Dionysus for about two years now and it truly has been a transformative journey. I would love to make a post about my experiences with them and other deities, but this isn't the topic at hand. 

I just find it hard to connect with my family in that area around this time of year. Thankfully, my parents don't really drag me to church services and such (at least not anymore). We do usually go over to my grandma's house and have easter dinner (its really more like lunch since we eat at like, 3) and then the day after we hold a dinner for my mom's side of the family at my house. This is my favorite of all the festivities because a lot of people on my mom's side aren't really too religious. Actually, my uncle is Wiccan! But we primarily use that time just to connect as a family and express our gratitude for one another rather than expressing gratitude for Jesus. I'm sure that's something Jesus would appreciate anyway. 

My grandma's dinner typically doesn't center too much on religion either. We usually all just chat and eat and mess around while my grandpa makes crass jokes, gigantic holes in parts of his white tee. She does usually do some sort of grace while we are over though. I usually just pray to my deity and ignore how out of place I feel. Despite this, I still enjoy the holiday. It entails some of my favorite things like getting dressed up, eating good food, and overall having a good time. If I were to put a label on how I feel, I suppose I would say I'm culturally christian and religiously pagan. 

This isn't a post asking for advice on a given issue or a debate on christianity. I just wanted to get my thoughts down in some way and maybe give others a glimpse into how others experience the holiday. Perhaps others can feel seen by this post. I do not know how this will be recieved. Nonetheless, thank you for reading all of my rambling, and happy easter to those who celebrate.