When I was a kid, people used to ask each other, “Are you going ‘Eastering’ somewhere this year?” They were asking if you were traveling somewhere to do something fun for Easter.

Easter has traditionally been a time when the weather is often mild enough to travel somewhere for camping or at least doing something out of doors otherwise. That’s how people went “Eastering.”

Easter is coming up this weekend. I thought about that this past Saturday while my wife and I were wandering around the Spring City Cemetery looking at headstones. It was an unplanned visit to the cemetery there — a decision made on a whim.

As we were driving on Highway 89 after a visit to Horseshoe Mountain Home Center, I simply turned at Strate’s Junction. I asked Diane, “How about a cemetery walk?” She responded, as I knew she would, “Sure, why not?!” (She may be more weirdly intrigued with cemeteries than I am.)

We found the grave markers for friends and some other people we’ve known who have passed on. We also saw some names on headstones of living people we know who have planned ahead.

Latter-day Saint pioneer Apostle Orson Hyde is buried in Spring City. There’s a quite impressive monument to him there. One of his “claims to fame” was that he dedicated “The Holy Land” for the return of the Jews back in 1841.

While in the cemetery, it occurred to me that Easter was coming right up. I thought of it in terms of its significance as the remembrance of the life of Jesus and his death and resurrection. I wondered how many people these days think about the real meaning of Easter.

There should be a lot. After all, Christianity is still the world’s largest religion. (28% to 31% of the world’s population) But if asked, how many of us could explain Easter?

Jay Leno, former talk show host on “The Tonight Show,” used to do a segment called “Jay Walking.” He would ask people on the street quite simple questions. It was 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 an Easter question, we would do better than the “blondes” I have heard about. Yes, this is one of those “blonde jokes” — sorry.

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, “No, 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 that 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, “So, 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 holiday.

As I mentioned, Easter, for many, is often the first, big weekend of the year for camping. The sand dunes at Little Sahara and other “play places” are popular. The dunes will have thousands of people celebrating there this weekend. The “Easter observances” there are probably not to be categorized as religious.

When I was growing up, we often went on an outing on the Saturday of Easter weekend. We called it “going Eastering.” We would hike, have a cook-out, or take a picnic lunch as we enjoyed the great outdoors of springtime.

We took our colored, hard-boiled eggs and rolled them down hillsides to crack them up 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 hearing about 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 time “Eastering” — Merrill