Editor's Note: I threw out my back awhile back and ended up in a hospital waiting room yesterday, so I wasn't able to get this post out then.  Better late than never.

The complex of beliefs and rituals surrounding Easter and passover make it so complicated and strange that the farther I go from religion the more it confuses the hell out of me.  During my Catholic youth, I wasn't really into questioning things - I just didn't think too hard about religion.  But for the past two years the more I think, the more it hurts my head.

So I think this post requires some structure.  I propose the following division to better enable us to proceed.

Christianity - Dead Christ, not dead Christ.

Judaism - Plagues, bloody doors and freedom from bondage.

Paganism - Bunnies, eggs, fertility, sex.

This is sort of a Christmas, Hanukkah, Yule, Kwanzaa, Festivus kind of thing.  It's a tall order to teach this stuff to a kid.  You may want to alternate across the festivals for every year - keeping #3 limited to chocolate bunnies and eggs of course.

Read more on my blog: Teaching Religious Mythology 3: Easter, Passover & The Pagans