April 2012
Eostre - pagan goddess of the dawn, would surely be turning in her ancient tomb if she knew what has become of her festival; the one we now call Easter. I suppose you need to be one of the faithful, especially a Christian believer, for this time of the year to be meaningful; but, as in the case of Christmas, it was too good a chance to be missed by the forces of commerce and business. In other words, just another excuse to over-spend and over-indulge. The Easter eggs we are all familiar with were originally symbols of re-birth or new life, which later came to be associated with the alleged resurrection of Jesus; though when and why the chocolate version appeared is not certain. A similar story can be told regarding the cute Easter bunny. Be that as it may - most people treat this annual holiday with a feeling of enjoyment and 'fun' - a break from dull routine, an opportunity to go away; preferably to somewhere sunny for a large dose of the aforementioned indulgence. So Tom was always puzzled when he noticed that his old friend Patrick appeared especially gloomy and withdrawn at this time (not that he was exactly the life and soul of the party for the rest of the year.) When his curiosity finally overcame his politeness and reserve Tom got round to asking Pat, 'None of my business really, but why so miserable around Easter?'
'Well,' said Pat, 'it's like this; you know, of course, I came from Southern Ireland as a young man; but I never told you much about the family history. The reason Easter has a special significance to us, and not in any happy sense, is that our Grandfather Seamus was killed at the time of the Dublin Easter uprising in 1916. His name is on a memorial sculpture to this day - a tribute to a rebel, or freedom fighter - depending on your point of view."
'O.K. Pat, enough said, thanks for that.'