Is Easter now a pagan holiday? Let the comics decide!

I’m beginning to think more and more that Easter still is a pagan holiday, at least to the world at large.  When I look at the comics on Easter Sunday morning (yes I take the funnies way too seriously) I see that this is the way that they look at Easter.  People all over the world are celebrating Easter with no mention of the resurrection.  They have their own ideas about what Easter means to them.  For some, it is the coming of spring, renewal, and return of baseball.  For others, it’s a time to hunt for Easter eggs.  For others, it means candy.

There is nothing wrong with any of that, but if we neglect the risen Christ on Easter, we’ve made these other things our God instead of Him.  Do we worship candy, eggs, and the return of spring?  If we place a higher priority on them than God Himself then, yes, yes we do.  So enough of my disdain for how the world sees Easter.  Let’s get on with this year’s awards.

First up is the category of comics that mention Easter without mentioning the resurrection.  Curtis and Barry sit in church as usual with Curtis making fun of the ladies’ Easter hats as they walk by.  It’s an old gag, but Ray Billingsley has an art style that is very sharp making it an overall good comic.  Barney Google and Snuffy Smith also has a strip about church on Easter being a fashion show.  Dennis the Menace, Soup to Nutz, Family Circus, The Dinette Set, and Baby Blues are all about Easter egg hunts.  Family Circus is probably the best out of these, although I wonder about appearances by the deceased grandfather for things like helping PJ find more Easter eggs than the rest of his siblings.  Agnes, Blondie, and Sally Forth are about Easter candy.  I was a little disappointed that Sally did not eat the ears off Hillary’s chocolate bunny this year.  Perhaps the tradition is coming to an end.  Herb and Jamaal is about painting Easter eggs.  Red and Rover is about, well, I’m not quite sure if it counts as Easter candy, but I’m sure Rover will count it as a real treat.  I probably shouldn’t be too hard on For Better or For Worse since there are times when Christ is mentioned.  The story of the crucifixion was mentioned this past week, but here on Easter Sunday, no mention.

Hi and Lois is sort of unique.  This is one of those strips that I feel misrepresents what Easter is all about.  Read it and see for yourself.  Lois defines Easter as the celebration of rebirth, renewal, and the return of spring.  The boys in the family respond by wearing their baseball hats to church as their version of Easter bonnets.  Easter is everywhere in the strip, but Jesus is conspicuously absent.  In the place of Christ, we have other things, including a visit to church.  This is where I think many are at in our culture.  It’s a day to visit church, but in their hearts, it’s a day to feel good about spring and baseball.

Now for the winners.  Mallard Fillmore is good this year.  I know I’ve been critical of the strip in the past because it is not one of my favorites.  This year a quote from John Knox and a fair drawing of Calvary with three crosses does a good job at communicating the importance of Christ this time of year.  Next up is Heaven’s Love Thrift Shop which always mentions Easter in the correct sense, since it is a Christian comic strip.  Dagwood is preaching the true resurrection story pointing out that it is not about Easter eggs.  Then the scene widens with Wilson asking him if he thinks this is perhaps the right place.  Come to find out, he’s preaching in the middle of an Easter egg hunt to a bunch of kids who really don’t care about anything except finding Easter eggs.  I think it does a good job at portraying what our culture has come to.  Read it at this link here.  Cartoons by Alex, Cake or Death, has a good comic up.  But I think the winner has to be BC.  There are no words in this strip, only art.  To the Christian it is powerful.  To the non-believer, it is probably wasted, which may be the only drawback.  The stone rolls away from the tomb, rolling like a large wheel through Clumsy’s cave.  He is awakened by the disturbance, follows the track of the stone to the tomb.  He finds the tomb empty with footprints leading away.  He follows the footprints until the trail mysteriously disappears.  He looks up and sees a bright star in the sky, or should I say, he sees the bright, morning star in the sky.  Well done Mastroianni.  You are this year’s winner.  Check it out at this link here.

Have fun and stay busy – Luke 19:13

-The Orange Mailman