"Charlotte L. Blackmer" > wrote
> A new outfit for Easter is hardly an invention of the modern "decadent"
> marketing age! Back in the Middle Ages, lords traditionally gave all
> their servants and retainers new clothes twice a year ... for
> Christmas/New Year's/Epiphany (NY and Epiphany being the gift-giving
> occasions) and Easter.

> For me, planning Easter clothes and Easter food is part of the fun of
> Easter.

Easter is a time of re-birth, the Resurrection. A new life. New clothing
is a part of that new beginning. Sprig is also a time of new beginnings.



> Items for Easter celebrations - candy, food, clothing, decorations - have
> been "marketed" in a secular manner ever since I can remember. Those who
> observe Lent in the traditional ways of prayer, fasting, study, service,
> and alms-giving will certainly notice a tension between the ways of the
> Church and the ways of the world, but again, this is nothing new and is
> not even the first time during this church year something like this has
> happened.

All of those secular marking ploys are rooted in a tradition of meaning even
if the meaning has been lost. I don't blame the markets as much as the
people buying into it. I do like those coconut eggs though.