Did the Easter Bunny visit on Sunday? What do Easter and its traditions mean to you in 2025? April showers featured throughout the weekend, but did not deter folk from turning out for a well-attended Good Friday Walk from St John’s Church to the Friary. As Fr Willie Purcell noted, the tradition continues to draw people of all backgrounds, with many joining along the route in an expression of faith and unity. On Easter Sunday, champagne was served in St Canice’s Cathedral — a reasonably new tradition that is proving popular! Old ways and acts give meaning to our festivals and celebrations, and new ones become part of the furniture along the way. The world, technology and cultures change rapidly, and yet we still like to do the things that we have always done; in some cases, we don’t even know the reasons. Many secular people observe Lent in some capacity. I know of some people who abstain from meat on Good Friday, and more than one Kilkenny pub kept its doors shut — in keeping with a tradition from time gone by. While Easter is tied to Christianity, marking the resurrection of Jesus Christ, some version of the festival, in one shape or form, existed long before the Gospels were written. The English name for Easter likely comes from Eostre, a Germanic pagan goddess. Associated with spring and fertility, her festival is thought to have coincided with the equinox. In ancient Europe and the Near East, people observed the vernal equinox—the time when day and night are equal. Spring events marked the return of longer days, the growth of crops, and the renewal of life following winter. For early agricultural societies, these happenings were incredibly important — quite literally a matter of life and death. A bad spring or the failure of a crop could mean starvation. Placating and striking a deal with nature/the gods was crucial. As Christianity spread, these little observances were repurposed and incorporated into new religions. Easter thus became a celebration of the story of the resurrection of Jesus. Commercialisation also changed how such festivals evolved, similar to Samhain becoming Hallowe’en, and of course Christmas, part-Christ’s birth, but also now the world’s largest annual consumer splurge. What does Easter mean in 2025? Easter for many people in this part of the world means chocolate eggs, the Easter bunny, maybe a nice lamb dinner, family gatherings and so on. For some, it remains a cornerstone of faith. For others, it’s a time to gather with family and remember loved ones no longer with us, or maybe mark the change of seasons. I don’t recall the Easter Bunny ever looming large as a credible figure during my childhood, but certainly chocolate and Easter eggs were very important. things have stuck. I still enjoy a nice roast lamb dinner. After working on sheep farms for one summer in my early 20s I gave up lamb for a few years, but in recent years, I find it hard to resist as a great comfort food, roasted or in stews. Or, as Easter tradition. But, why did a rabbit bring us chocolate eggs at Easter? The most likely answer is that symbology like eggs and rabbits represented birth and creation. Hares and rabbits were associated with fertility. Whatever the reason, the Easter Bunny will continue to be welcome in my house, for as long as he sees fit to visit. READ MORE KILKENNY VIEWS AND OPINION HERE REMEMBERING KIERAN Kieran McCardle, a former Kilkenny College classmate of mine, was buried on Friday after his untimely death in a road traffic collision near Clonmel. When we started in school together, I was among the smallest first year students, and he the largest. We formed a great friendship, and many’s the time he looked out for me as we navigated the hurdles of our teenage years. Life and the nature of things meant our paths diverged as we grew older; I only saw him a handful of times in recent years. But I will remember the youngster, known to many of us simply as ‘Tyson’, a friend, a talented rugby player, a larger-than-life character with a great sense of humour and love of mischief, who was always laughing. Rest in peace.