I love you Jesus - have a 'Peep'.

A little Easter reflection.

As a lapsed Catholic (don't worry, I'm seeking spiritual attention) I'm not particularly religious. But I do enjoy tradition, and holidays that get me out of work. Though, I currently work in Hell, where we don't get Good Friday off.

It was the same when I worked at the ad agency in 2007.
This is where I began, "Bad Girls on Good Friday" - it was a celebration of Christ through bar tabs. I made posters and plastered them around the office.
Everyone was invited, especially J.C.
"Have a drink with Jesus" and "Drinking with the Lord"

(Thank God it was San Francisco and not W.V. - I might have been stoned to death.)

Growing up in a pseudo-practicing Catholic family (Mom knew how to pray the rosary, my brothers and I thought it was a necklace) we celebrated Christian holidays with gusto. Thankfully, we weren't one of those families that made a birthday cake for Jesus. What is with that?

We also liked to drape the scapulars around our bed posts with the pretty pictures. (Had I known then what I know now...OUCH)

But, I always liked Christmas and Easter. Christmas was warm in an otherwise frigid season and Easter felt like a breeze before the muggy, buggy summer.

Though, Halloween is sacred to me. Not in a Wiccan way, either. Costumes, drag, get it?

I don't think my type of celebration is sacrilegious either. Why are people so serious? Don't you think if J.C. came down for a visit and saw how people were acting in 'his' name, he'd say, "Jesus Christ, get over yourself. You're embarrassing me!"

Jesus wasn't a bad guy. He probably would have dressed up as the Easter bunny and Santa if you asked.
How could he not have a sense of humor with all of the shit he went through...I mean, "Eat this bread. It is my body." Come on! He's fucking hilarious!

Back to holiday celebration.
My friend just recently had a Good Friday party.
"Jesus weekend Chill & Grill. Welcome back."

What a way to get young people together. So what if they didn't go to church and woke up drunk (in a field).
Re-invent!

It's all about bringing people together, right?

Our Christmas was usually spent at Memere's (we pronounced it "meh-may") apartment in Massachusetts.
It was a bit cold.
It hurt to breathe.
Once your body shut down from the freezing temperature, you finally slept. My two brothers on the sleeper sofa, and I on a fold-up cot.

I remember waking up to Pepere's voice at 7am.
He would shout in French when speaking to my mom and Memere because he didn't like to wear his hearing aid. Selective listening?

The 20 other relatives would show up after present-opening morning and we'd pack ourselves into the 2 sitting rooms and the kitchen in the 1-bedroom apt.

It became warmer. And louder.

This family wasn't about playing board games or doing holiday skits. We wore our casual clothes, socialized, made fun of each other and ate.
It wasn't like the Italians or Greeks (they're usually more dressed up and have more money) it was more French (well French-Canadian). More tea, bread and cheese involved. Still about the same amount of talking though. And gesturing.

My husband is impressed with how much time my family spends together. When I go to my mom's house, we just sit, eat, chat and play cards. Then eat and chat more.

I remember Easter with my dad's side of the family. Ten cousins in all. We played rough. But when it came to Easter egg hunts, we were focused. I do remember pastels and ham. And it was so Spring-like outside. That was nice.

With my dad's side of the family, the ten of us cousins are tight. It's strange when you get older and you don't spend as much time with each other. But when you get an email, call or text, it's like a message from a sibling - you remember and don't feel so lonely.

Even if you did try to kill each other earlier in life. Survival of the fittest-Jamgochians aren't allowed to be weak.

So even if early Christian leaders stole Pagan holiday traditions to make the transition to a new religion easier - I still appreciate J.C. for
1. being a really nice person and,
2. keeping those traditions alive for family get-togethers

It's nice to be with my peeps.