Easter holidays?
I love munching on those Cadbury Creme chocolate eggs. Of course there were no chocolate eggs during the first Easter, but along with hot cross buns it’s a yummy addition to the Easter holiday traditions.
On the news the other night, a survey revealed that in Niu Sila more and more people (47%) are becoming less religious, or no longer identify themselves with a particular faith. So it’s no big surprise that many Palagi New Zealanders would rather spend their four-day Easter holiday shopping.
Every year there are news reports of defiant retailers willing to break the law by staying open during Easter, knowing that the maximum fine of $1000 means nothing when they can make a profit windfall off the hungry consumers ready to buy their goods.
The actual legislation has slowly been whittled down and amended. First the tourist areas were allowed to stay open, and more recently garden stores have been exempted from closing on Easter. Even the advertising has changed, from a full ban of all media advertisements, to now only TV adverts being banned.
As a Samoan, Easter is an important part of being a Christian. It is the essence of why we are Christians. It is when God showed His love by doing the utlimate act of sending His son, Jesus, to be sacrificed for our sins. Easter is not a sad story of death, but of life. It is a story of the risen, of God giving us the opportunity to live our lives knowing He has forgiven us, if we believe that Jesus is the way. Honouring God’s great act of love for us all, is the least we can do.
But I don’t want to force my religious beliefs and holidays on non-Christians, just in the same way I wouldn’t want Muslims or Hindus to enforce their beliefs on me. As society becomes more secular, the arguments for adhereing to Christian religious holidays become harder to make.
But there is a message in the Easter holidays that need not be from a religious basis, but based on a societal good. If we take away the religious connotations of Easter, there is no doubt that it is one of the few four day weekends that we can all enjoy together. An opportunity to spend those four days with friends and family. A day to take a break from the working year and appreciate the time we have with one another.
We need to guarantee and protect these last few holidays where workers can take just that, a holiday. If for anything else other than religion, we should keep Easter from commercialism so that we as a society make a stand to say that family and community is far more important than the potential retailers profit or a consumers so called shopping therapy.
Sure it’s the rich that can afford to go shopping on Easter if retail stores were open, but who will be working as the sales person behind the counter? Who will be the one that must work as security around the malls? Who will be the one that will sweep the floors one the masses have left? The workers.
However here in Niu Sila, the new Government seems to be ontrack of continuing to deteriorate the entitlements of the average worker, while cosying up to businesses. While the Government has not made any commitments to change Easter trading laws any further, as public opinion grows, it won’t be long before this business-friendly Government will take that step.
After all, this Government has already amended employment laws to make the mandatory four week annual leave into three weeks with the fourth optional on a cash back basis. For many years workers were only guaranteed under legislation three weeks annual leave. The last Government, late in the piece, amended the law to allow for four weeks. This current National Government has slightly pulled it back, but in effect has made it three weeks for vulnerable workers who will not be able to negotiate four weeks.
Instead of standing up and saying, we as a society respect and support the right of workers to spend time with their family during annual and statutory holidays, it seems that the only message we are hearing is the rights of businesses, retailers and consumers.
There’s way more to the Easter message than chocolate eggs, hot cross buns and the Easter bunny, such as the message of hope from the risen King. But as a secular society, we should at the least recognise the message of family and community during these last few entitled holidays we have left.
Happy Easter!