Easter is coming up this weekend. I wonder how many Sanpeters could explain what the origin and significance of Easter is if we stopped them on the street and asked.

Jay Leno used to do this kind of thing with his “Jay Walking” segment during his tenure on “The Tonight Show.” Fairly simple questions were asked of people on the street and often the answers were not only wrong, but outrageously wrong.

I’m sure that for the sake of entertainment the people who were informed and gave correct answers were not shown. It was at the same time funny and sad to hear a college student answer “Europe” when asked “Can you name a country that borders the United States?”

I would hope that on the Easter question, we would do better than the “blondes” I heard about. Yes, this is one of those “blonde” jokes.

Three blondes died and found themselves standing before St. Peter outside the pearly gates of heaven. He took them one by one and told them that before they could enter through the gates they had to tell him what Easter represented.

The first blonde gave her version of Easter and said, “Easter is a holiday where we have a big feast and we give thanks and we eat turkey.” St. Peter said, “Nooo, I’m sorry” and she was directed away from the gates of heaven.

The second blonde answered with, “Easter is when we celebrate the birth of Jesus and exchange gifts.” St. Peter shook his head and waved her away.

The third blonde said she knew all about Easter. She explained, “Easter is a Christian holiday that is linked to the Jewish festival of Passover. The First Council of Nicaea in the year 325 fixed the date of Easter as the first Sunday after the full moon following the spring equinox in the northern hemisphere. That’s why the date of Easter can be anywhere between March 22 and April 25; unless, of course, you’re talking about the Gregorian Calendar which Eastern Christianity uses.

In that case, Easter can be between April 4 and May 8.”

St. Peter was amazed. The third blonde continued, “So Easter goes back to when Jesus was having the Passover feast with His disciples when he was betrayed by Judas. Jesus was arrested and was crucified by the Romans. He died and was buried in a tomb sealed by a large boulder.

St. Peter was impressed. “Verrrry good!” — he praised. Then the blonde concluded, “Soooo, now every year the Jews roll away the boulder and Jesus comes out. If he sees his shadow, we have six more weeks of basketball.” St. Peter fainted.

I believe that many of us “mix up” our observances on holidays, including, and maybe especially, religious holidays. Certainly we should remember the religious significance of Easter. It, of course, commemorates the resurrection of Jesus. That event is the origin of this annual springtime event.

But I don’t think that it’s awful to enjoy the holiday by mixing in family traditions which involve Easter bunnies, Easter eggs and Easter outings.

I know that many of you have traditions which you will be involved with this coming weekend. Easter is often the first weekend of going camping for many families. I know people who are busy working on their travel trailers and checking their camping equipment.

The sand dunes at Little Sahara and other “play places” are often full of people at Easter time kicking off the new outdoor recreational season. I know that some years Easter weekend at the sand dunes have similarities to Mardi Gras. The Easter “observances” at the dunes are probably not to be categorized as religious.

I’ve tried to continue some of the Easter traditions that I grew up with in my family. Our family often went hiking on the Saturday of Easter weekend. We would have a cookout or take a picnic lunch and enjoy the day in the great outdoors of springtime.

We took our colored hard-boiled eggs and actually rolled them down hillsides to crack them up good before peeling and eating them. Some of the eggs were in no condition to actually eat by the time they had crashed down steep, rocky canyon slopes. But, we had fun.

Easter Sunday was the day for going to church and getting the “true meaning” of Easter. It was the day for staying close to home and enjoying each other’s company without the noise of the rest of the world.

We all have our own ways of celebrating holidays. If you don’t have an Easter tradition, maybe this is the year to start. I hope that whatever you do, you and yours will enjoy a fun, safe and meaningful Easter weekend. — Merrill

P.S. Why are Easter bunnies more tired when Easter is in April?

Because they have just finished a long March.

What kind of stories does the Easter bunny like best?

The ones with hoppy endings!