Yahoo News reported last week that a teacher in a Seattle elementary school, trying to maintain the districts' "Religion and Religious Accommodation" policy, attempted to rename Easter Eggs, "Spring Spheres".
The public school policy states: "No religious belief or non-belief should be promoted by the School District or its employees, and none should be disparaged".
The eggs were brought into the classroom by a teen volunteer who wanted to bring the students a treat. The teen claimed the teacher saw the eggs and said to the students 'Oh look, spring spheres!'
In addition, a government sponsored Easter Egg hunt has been renamed "Spring Egg Hunt" in Ohio, yet the annual White House Easter Egg Roll has kept it's name for 2011.
Here is a funny take on the whole controversy from Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert:
| The Colbert Report | Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| Easter Under Attack - Egg Edition | ||||
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It's Feedback Friday...
Do you think students should reference Easter Eggs in public school?
Do you think of Easter eggs as a religious symbol?
Is it driving you crazy that an egg is not shaped like a sphere?!? :)
Do you think of Easter eggs as a religious symbol?
Is it driving you crazy that an egg is not shaped like a sphere?!? :)
Happy Easter!
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Morning Jenn,
ReplyDeleteTOO FUNNY!!! I had not seen this before and it had me cracking up.
I associate the egg hunt more as a Spring tradition along with the bunny. For me ..they just happen to fall on the same time frame as Easter.
I guess next we should take the 'Christmas' out of the term Christmas cookie...from now on I will refer to them as Winter cookies
;->
Janet xox
P.S. .....I just did some online research and It is documented that Mary and Joseph did indeed serve iced sugar cookies and Starbuck lattes to the three wise men. Looks like the term term 'Christmas Cookie' is back in!
Have a lovely Easter
Janet xox
I live Colbert. They are Easter eggs, always have been. If you don't like the religious part of Easter don't attend an Easter egg hunt. When we will be able to talk about our religious holidays without having to call them something else. It's Merry Christmas and Easter Egg Hunts.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh that is so
ReplyDeleteridiculous!! Spring Spheres ~ hahaha!!
They are Easter eggs. Even non-Christians celebrate Easter with the bunny, egg hunts, etc. I HATE that we have to be all PC about everything. Be sensitive, but what's next, the spring hare?
ReplyDeleteEaster eggs, Easter eggs, Easter eggs!
ReplyDeleteand merry Christmas, too!
ReplyDeletePeople are so silly, and Colbert is too funny...
I think people are over thinking this whole thing!
ReplyDeleteI work in a public school and have NEVER refrained from referring to Easter as Easter and Good Friday as Good Friday or Christmas as Christmas. I am so tired of people trying to squash my rights as a Christian in this public place!
If students have the right to speak of their "atheistic" beliefs to me, then I in turn share my Christian faith with them.
I'll get down off my soap box now...
Why not call them Chicken Plops! I keep forgetting we live in another country, not USA where we fight for freedoms. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure that the Easter Bunny and his eggs are in no way religious. Easter (and Christmas for that matter) are almost like 2 holidays in one. You can "celebrate" the Easter bunny coming with is eggs and delicious candies AND if you believe in Jesus Christ, you can also celebrate his sacrifice and crucifixtion. I think that some of us try to blend the 2 together so we feel better about our kids getting more excited about the Easter bunny coming to hide eggs then they do about talking about Christ....like saying the eggs represent the empty tomb. But in all reality...you have the religious Easter and the commercial Easter and they have nothing to do with one another.
ReplyDeleteWow...all that being said (sorry)...call the silly eggs "Easter eggs"...it has nothing to do with Christianity or religion in general. Seriously ridiculous...and I'm with you Juniper...since when is an egg shaped like a sphere?
And a shout out to Steve Colbert...HILARIOUS!!!!
Ok, first of all, Colbert is HILARIOUS!
ReplyDeleteSecondly, when I was growing up, I was raised in a religion that didn't celebrate any holidays. Throughout my school "career" there were a lot of well-intentioned teachers who changed the names of parties or activities hoping that I could be involved. I wasn't an Atheist. I was a Christian, just not in a religion that recognized holidays. Having said all that, even with the name change, I could not participate in any of the activities. Changing the name of something doesn't change the cause behind it. You might change the name to a Harvest Party, but it's still for Halloween. You might call it a Spring Sphere Hunt, but it's still going to be an Easter Egg Hunt. If the name is changed to try to involve those who don't celebrate, it isn't going to make a difference. They still won't be participating. Just keep the name the same.
It makes no sense to me to anger those who want to keep the name the same when all that does is make it look like non-celebraters are the cause of the change. Most of them didn't ask for the change in the first place.
As for Merry Christmas versus Happy Holidays, I'm a Happy Holidays girl. Why not? It's two words that encompass everyone instead of two words that only cover some.
This does sound ridiculous at first, I agree. And spheres? Oh my.
ReplyDeleteBUT... as eggs have nothing to do with easter anyway, why call them "Eastereggs"? I like "Spring Eggs" just the same, maybe we just have to get used to it, just like we had to get used to not using many other discriminating words... and it wouldn´t exclude other religions.
This is so dumb. This is what kills me about the whole thing-the word "Easter" is not even Christian or religious!! It's an ancient word meaning "Spring." If the word is religious, it's actually probably pagan, coming from the name of the Anglo goddess of spring-"Estore."
ReplyDeleteAnd what is offensive about "eggs?"
That is *hilarious! The term "Easter" isn't in the Bible! That's a pagan term, if you go back and look at it. How silly to get so worked up about that!
ReplyDeleteOh My Gosh....Spring Spheres just cracks me up. They are EASTER EGGS.
ReplyDeleteWell my new blog friend I just spit coffee everywhere - I posted Colbert on my Fb LOL!!!!
ReplyDeleteMy kids come home with Driedels and Kwanza Candles - and I don't mind - they're Easter eggs!
Spring spheres reminds me of something from Star Trek .....like Spring Tribbles.... pffft!
I think the pagans should protest. "Put the fertility back in Easter"
ReplyDelete