Rant #3,107: Easter Parade

Happy Friday.

And it is Good Friday, a solemn day for Christians around the world, leading into Easter on Sunday.

Not being a Christian, we used to have a “funny” thing in my house when it was Good Friday and I was working full time.

I would go to work, and in my last job, just about every year, with a few exceptions, we were let off early on Good Friday because of the holiday.

So I would come home, and whoever was home would ask me what I was doing home so early.

And I would reply, “It’s Good Friday … it’s a good Friday,” and we would laugh for a split second and that was that.

It was not meant to denigrate the holiday, but for me, honestly, I am on the outside looking in on both Good Friday and Easter, two of the most solemn holidays on the calendar for the majority of people in this country, so to me at least, it was kind of funny.

And while I am on the outside looking in for a majority of these holidays, I was never left out of the more fun parts of the holidays.

The bunnies, the colored eggs … when I was little, my mother used to buy that Pas colored egg kit, and we would color the eggs, with the coloring getting all over the place. no matter what my mother did to prevent that from happening.

Years later, at work, I was given the assignment of writing a full-page story about the interaction of Pas and the world of military resale—military stores—which was supposed to generate a ton of future ad revenue for our company.

If I remember correctly, our big boss had met the president of the Pas company on the golf course, they struck up a conversation, and they thought that they could do business with us … and that led to my assignment.

I wrote up the story, it was published, but it garnered not one thin dime after that, as the partnership fizzled.

Due to this misstep—and I have to say, I always brought up that this was the worst article I wrote in my long career at the company--we never devoted a full page of copy in that way to an potential advertiser ever again, as this one literally blew up in our faces.

So when I talk about these holidays, again, it is from a different angle than most would, because honestly, these are not my holidays, although I fully understand their meaning.

And today won’t be the greatest “good Friday” for me, as I have to go from the end of Nassau County into Lake Success—right over the Nassau/Queens border—to get my allergy shots.

So that mild joke I told you about earlier went down with my place of work going under nearly four years ago.

In Rant #931, March 29, 2013, I wrote about what Easter means to me, pretty much as an outsider looking in. Here is what I said in edited form:

"Happy Good Friday and Happy Easter.

As a Jew, these are among the holidays where I am an outsider looking in.

I don't have recollections of these holidays, per se, because I never celebrated them.

I know they are wonderful holidays, days where people can reflect, look back, and look ahead.
  
I know that Easter is a Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his crucifixion at Calvary, as described in the New Testament.

But as an outsider looking in, I have my own views of the holiday, just about all non-religious in nature.

I remember that at one time, nothing was open on Easter, and I mean nothing … no department stores, no movies, no restaurants, no nothing.

As you know, that has changed greatly in recent times. Many restaurants are open, and certainly the movies are open on Easter Sunday.

I remember painting Easter eggs as a child. I never knew the significance of this act, but I can remember that my sister and I made colorful Easter eggs using a product called Pas.

It was messy as all heck, and a lot of fun, as I recall.

I also never understood the significance of the Easter Bunny, but I guess that is almost equal to Santa Claus on Christmas.

I remember watching lots of TV on Easter Sunday, because nothing much else was doing.

I recall watching “Easter Parade,” “King of Kings,” and “The Ten Commandments,” sometimes back to back to back.

And I remember the actual Easter Parade in New York City, where so many people wore so many strange hats on their heads.

And I also remember that Easter Sunday was right near, or sometimes on, Passover, my holiday, and the significance of the two holidays being together is very strong.

The Last Supper, anybody?

And I also know that to some, this is the holiest time and day of the year.

To them, and to everyone else celebrating these holidays, I wish you great holidays, time to reflect, time to recharge your batteries."

So to those who celebrate, have a nice Good Friday and Easter … and I will continue to eat matzoh, and love every minute of it.

Have a great weekend, and I will speak to you again on Monday.