Celebrating Easter...And All The Rest

Easter is coming up in 4 weeks in case you have been oblivious to the Peeps in the stores (along with Cadbury eggs, pastel colors and plastic grass).  Along with it are some amazing pagan workshops and festivals, including one local workshop that I would love to take on the Iron Pentacle.  But I won't.  It's Easter weekend, and my place is at home with the rest of my non-pagan family.

Nor will I partake in any Imbolc celebration that takes place the first Sunday of February (unless it's a sunrise ritual...I have made that exception in the past).  It's Superbowl Sunday and I hate to break it to you, but there ARE Pagans that actually like football.

Got a St. Patrick's Day pagan book club/discussion group meeting?  Nope, I will be eating corned beef and cabbage...or at least drinking beer and "honoring" my Irish roots.  My soul tells me that St. Brighid and St. Patrick were best buds anyway, and I raise a glass in honor of Brighid being able to excel on both sides of the fence.  Why?  Because it's so gosh darn hard to do that, and the most flak comes from the Pagan community.  Don't even get me started on Christmas.

For a group that begs for acceptance, sometimes they are the least sensitive to those of us who live our lives in a non-pagan family.  Every month my family makes itself scarce so my coven can hold full moon ritual at my home.  My pagan study group meets here most of the time and Sabbats end up being held here too. Again, they not only stay out of my way, but clean the house beforehand.  I could say that being with them for Easter is the least I could do, but you know what?  I WANT to spend Easter with them.  I want to color Easter eggs with my granddaughter (on Holy Saturday as was traditional when I was growing up, and not for Ostara) and I'd love to cook a ham and have a wonderful family Easter dinner.  

I understand that sometimes these pagan events are specifically planned around these dates so that pagans have something to do - which is great.  But when I decline to attend, please don't give me a dirty look, or make some disparaging remark.  I can't wait for the day when a pagan simply says "We will miss you, but have a wonderful Easter with your family" and mean it.