Althouse: You can't close Easter!

April 12, 2020

You can't close Easter!

83 comments:

rhhardin said...: I haven't even noticed Easter since my teens. Maybe you have to go to church twice a year so that it gets on the schedule.; 4/12/20, 5:59 AM
rhhardin said...: My morning radio habits lead me to hear explanations about Jewish holidays all the time. I don't remember anything about them except that there are lots of Jewish holidays.

Religious holidays are there but the population may not be inclined to remember them.

Except Christmas, and, for jokes, Kwanzaa.; 4/12/20, 6:03 AM
Just asking questions (Jaq) said...: Easter was always my favorite Christian holiday, I liked it better than Christmas as a kid, even the religious services part, Easter bonnets, etc, I thought it was all great. I kind of miss it.; 4/12/20, 6:05 AM
rhhardin said...: The toilet paper roll that lasted 8 days came up somewhere as a Jewish miracle. I got the joke but don't know what exact holiday it's alluding to.

There's a cultural heritage aspect that everybody picks up - in my opinion the justification of Sunday School for kids. You do better to know this stuff, kind of thing.; 4/12/20, 6:06 AM
rhhardin said...: Easter Airlines, the Wings of Rabbit.

A Mary-Ann Madden contest winner, best single-letter typo, here on the then-huge Eastern Airlines TV ad tagline, Eastern Airlines, the Wings of Man.; 4/12/20, 6:14 AM
Big Mike said...: You can’t close Easter!

Think of it as opening a new front in the War against Christmas.; 4/12/20, 6:23 AM
gilbar said...: rhhardin? are you serious?
on Hanukkah the sacred oil lasted eight days; 4/12/20, 6:25 AM
stevew said...: Christ is risen! COVID-19 shutdown be damned.; 4/12/20, 6:26 AM
gilbar said...: i've always been less than impressed, with a person's boasts of ignorance; 4/12/20, 6:26 AM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: gilbar said...
i've always been less than impressed, with a person's boasts of ignorance

Fine.; 4/12/20, 6:29 AM
gilbar said...: Think of it as opening a new front in the War against Christmas.

liquor stores are open
pot dispensaries are open
If you meet in a church parking lot (and Stay IN your cars), you'll get a $500 ticket
If your church Attempts to meet in NYC; the mayor says he will 'Close you down, PERMANENTLY'

it's not (and NEVER was) a 'war against Christmas'; it's (STILL) a war against Christians; 4/12/20, 6:31 AM
Mark said...: One of the two days people go to church every year is gone. Oh no, that one hour returned to spending time with family ... what a disaster.

I woke up this morning a little early to check in the bread which is proofing .... it has rosen!; 4/12/20, 6:37 AM
Fernandinande said...: i've always been less than impressed, with a person's boasts of ignorance

Do you think people should be familiar with the details of all the ghost stories from every cult, or just the ghost stories that you like?; 4/12/20, 6:39 AM
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...: Daystar, in our hearts is ris'n
Darkness, our soul's shroud
slough'd away
Dawn breaks from Death's prison
base clouds cleft by righteous rays-
Beams taut like reins on chargers rous'd
from their easterly bourne
Love and Light ascending farther
Guide thee to our bosom's throne

"We have the more sure word of prophecy; and you do well that you heed it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns, and the morning star arises in your hearts"
2 Peter 1:19

Easter-- the ultimate son-rise; 4/12/20, 6:44 AM
alanc709 said...: Tell "You can't close Easter" to Democrat governor Andy Breshear of Kentucky. Then tell me it's not the liberals who are fascist.; 4/12/20, 6:49 AM
Just asking questions (Jaq) said...: Had a big virtual game night with friends last night which I went to bed before it was over, and this morning, I kept half expecting to hear overnight guests coming down the stairs for coffee like in olden times before Wuhan. Alas no, but I have to hand it to the kids, these virtual parties are kind of nice.; 4/12/20, 6:53 AM
Darrell said...: A lot of cocksuckers here. In the classical sense.; 4/12/20, 7:03 AM
J. Farmer said...: One of my favorite Norman Rockwell’s; 4/12/20, 7:08 AM
stevew said...: That is a good one.

Raised Roman Catholic we attended every Sunday, but only got specially dressed up for Easter (and Christmas) mass. Unlike the father in that Rockwell mine was unable to skip out on attending with the family.; 4/12/20, 7:13 AM
Big Mike said...: @gilbar, which was exactly my point. Perhaps my snark was too subtle. A New York street artist thinks it’s cute to put up a sign with a crude picture of a woman (or long-haired guy, it’s not as though the guy has talent) with a red baseball cap and holding a Bible. Superimposed on top of her is a red circle with a red slash through it, and a caption “Keep New York Trash Free.” If New York is looking for sympathy in their fight against COVID-19 stuff like that is not a good first step.; 4/12/20, 7:14 AM
JPS said...: rhhardin, 6:06:

"The toilet paper roll that lasted 8 days came up somewhere as a Jewish miracle."

That made me laugh. Another that did was, "Jewish Irony: Passover Celebration Cancelled Due to Plague."

About Jewish holidays: I was brought up in a pretty relaxed form of the religion, so a lot of the more obscure ones I have to look up. The big ones I know, but I am forgetful about the dates, due to my default flakiness plus the intricacies of the lunisolar calendar. Usually I am reminded of them by a devout Christian friend sending me kind wishes for them.

Happy Easter to all who celebrate it. I am grateful to, and for, my Christian friends.; 4/12/20, 7:18 AM
Jersey Fled said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 4/12/20, 7:19 AM
iowan2 said...: One of the two days people go to church every year is gone. Oh no, that one hour returned to spending time with family ... what a disaster.

Yes because family and faith are incompatible!

wow

What's the quote. "it's better to keep ones mouth shut and let others think you a fool, than speak and remove all doubt."; 4/12/20, 7:22 AM
gspencer said...: All these tyranny-minded leftists, from mayors, police chiefs, right on up to a state’s executive offices, must be challenged. Especially for these tickets handed out to churches and their members, every one should fought. My view is that none of these will stick.

In the 1787 debates two underlying and overlapping tensions existed. The first, between those states which were the then great or large states (principally MA, PA, VA; based on population) and the “lesser states” (such as DE, GA, SC). The other, between non-slave states and slave states. Many of the slave states were also lesser states. The strain between the respective delegates was just below the surface which occasionally bubbled to the surface.

The delegates from the large states, who insisted that the lesser states had no reason or cause for concern that the interests of other states would ever be placed by the large states in jeopardy, received this reply from Delaware delegate Gunning Bedford. “They [the large states] insist . . they never will hurt or injure the lesser states. I do not, gentlemen, trust you.”

from Bowen, Miracle at Philadelphia, at 131 (1966).

That sort of suspicious attitude is lacking in today’s body politic. We give entirely too much trust to politicians. At our peril.; 4/12/20, 7:23 AM
Mr. O. Possum said...: Did you know that President Trump grew up as a member of the the Manhattan church of Norman Vincent Peale, the author of "The Power of Positive Thinking"? Peale even presided over Trump's first marriage.

"Citing his father’s friendship with Peale and calling himself “a firm believer in the power of being positive,” he said, “what helped is I refused to give in to the negative circumstances and never lost faith in myself. I didn’t believe I was finished even when the newspapers were saying so.” That's Trump talking about his 1990 business crisis in a Politico essay.

I got curious about Peale's book and bought a copy. It was a massive best-seller in the early 1950s. I think today's popular mind imagines it as some sort of huckster manual. The reality is far different.

If you substituted in his book the words "Zen" for "Jesus" and the word "meditation" for "prayer," you would have a modern-age self-help book. In fact, the book reads as if Peale has ripped off countless New Age and integrative medicine thinkers. It talks about positive self-talk, relaxation exercises, gratitude, visualization exercises, the value of long walks, etc. Instead, it has been the other way around--The New Age writers are echoing the same themes and practices people responded to 70 years ago.

We are lucky to have Trump as president. His relentless enthusiasm--and, yes, faith—will help carry us through this.; 4/12/20, 7:27 AM
J. Farmer said...: Jesus Christmas is risen today. Halaluyah!

link

Ha. Nothing says Easter like a sex song written by a Buddhist Jew.; 4/12/20, 7:28 AM
Howard said...: Happy Easter Christian Nation

Patient 31 in South Korea:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bloomberg.com/amp/news/articles/2020-02-26/how-one-patient-turned-korea-s-virus-outbreak-into-an-epidemic

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DcWeFIWCkv4; 4/12/20, 7:30 AM
Browndog said...: Friday I went to both grocery stores in the largest city within 40 miles. Neither one had a trace of anything Easter.

However, one had a few Easter lilies near the front entrance. Not only was that on my list, but may have been the most important item on the list.

I am forever grateful that the great governor of Michigan allowed us the privilege of making that purchase.; 4/12/20, 7:33 AM
Jersey Fled said...: Try this one:

link; 4/12/20, 7:33 AM
Howard said...: Great point unknown. One of the more comforting things about Trump is his lack of Christian faith; 4/12/20, 7:34 AM
Howard said...: J Farmer: As a lapsed Pagan I prefer the Jewish Christmas songs.; 4/12/20, 7:36 AM
Howard said...: Oh it just occurred to me. The photo used to title this post it's off one of my pagan gods the god of estrus and fertility. Poontang if I'm going to die for a word.; 4/12/20, 7:38 AM
Otto said...: Just amused at the display of the Atheist here showing how macho they are. Actually pathetic.

HAPPY EASTER; 4/12/20, 7:39 AM
rcocean said...: Trump is attending services online with a Christian Pastor in Dallas. Obama is playing Basketball. Joe Biden is celebrating Christmas.; 4/12/20, 7:44 AM
Marc in Eugene said...: Hæc dies * quam fécit Dominus: exsultémus et lætémur in ea.

Happy Easter to you all.

I don't expect that people keep up with all the ghost stories, no; I think I'm not being unreasonable, however, to expect that people who live in the West should be at least tolerably well aware of the ones central to its civilisation, such as it is.; 4/12/20, 7:45 AM
Howard said...: I love the way the Christians here demand ass kissing. The First amendment is a harsh Mistress; 4/12/20, 7:46 AM
rcocean said...: Yes, Easter is one of the days people go to Church. Its a great they go two days. My family used to have a big Virginia ham on Easter, because my mother loved ham. I don't like it, except when its very, very expensive ham and comes with pineapple.; 4/12/20, 7:48 AM
rcocean said...: When I hear Atheists sniping at YOm Kippur I'll start taking them seriously. They need to stop calling themselves Anti-religious, when they're really only anti-Christian. I wonder if that left-wing stalinist Louisville Mayor would've thrown orthodox jews in jail for having a drive-in service? Not bloody likely.; 4/12/20, 7:54 AM
Big Mike said...: @rcocean, I was drinking my breakfast covfefe when I read your comment at 7:44. You owe me a bunch of paper towels to clean up the mess.; 4/12/20, 7:55 AM
Howard said...: Feral hogs who are called wild pigs that tear up the land make the best ham. The Virginia ham I've had is usually too salty; 4/12/20, 7:55 AM
rcocean said...: You can tell where most of the media atheists are coming from when you notice they won't make fun of Mohammed but go after Jesus big time. BTW, I think the south park episode is still censored.; 4/12/20, 7:55 AM
Howard said...: Jews don't expect the world to stop and bow down for each other holidays like you people. They keep their head down for some reason I don't know why. oh yeah that's right they're afraid if they advertise themselves too much they will be subject to Christian persecution; 4/12/20, 7:56 AM
J. Farmer said...: @Unknown:

I got curious about Peale's book and bought a copy. It was a massive best-seller in the early 1950s. I think today's popular mind imagines it as some sort of huckster manual. The reality is far different.

Peale actually got a lot of his ideas from the book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. And a lot of similar ideas are presented in any even earlier book called The Science of Getting Rich. Nowadays this concept is most expressed in the law of attraction and in books like The Secret. Although the techniques are advised for a variety of situations, it's pretty clear that they are primarily seen as a means of obtaining wealth.

The self-help genre strikes me as a quintessentially American phenomenon. This is an admittedly cynical take, but I tend to think these guys are as sincere as Deepak Chopra. It seems to me that Christianity is concerned with the prophets, and this stuff is concerned with the profits.; 4/12/20, 7:57 AM
Big Mike said...: @rcocean, I’m an atheist myself, but I call myself a non-proselytizing atheist to distinguish myself from the kind you describe in your 7:54 comment. But Yom Kippur be damned. The atheists who want to shut down religious holidays need to demonstrate the courage of their convictions by going after Ramadan and Eid.; 4/12/20, 8:02 AM
rcocean said...: "Jews don't expect the world to stop and bow down for each other holidays like you people.

Really? is that why Jewish holidays that effect 2.5% of the population are talked about in the MSM or we get Menorahs in front of the white house? The vast majority of peeps in the USA are Christians by birth or practice and its part of 1,900 years of Western Civilization, so we don't expect atheists and others to "bow down" - just maintain a gentlemanly silence.; 4/12/20, 8:14 AM
Bill, Republic of Texas said...: CLOSED

The moose out front shoulda told ya.; 4/12/20, 8:15 AM
J. Farmer said...: is that why Jewish holidays that effect 2.5% of the population are talked about in the MSM or we get Menorahs in front of the white house?

Not to mention, Hanukkah is a very minor festival in Judaism. It's only emphasized in this country because of its proximity to Christmas. Maulana Karenga put Kwanzaa in the last week of December for the same reason.; 4/12/20, 8:23 AM
alanc709 said...: Has any governor, mayor or judge ruled that moslems can't hold in-person services yet?; 4/12/20, 8:23 AM
Howard said...: Gentlemanly silence. RC ocean this is the United States of America. You got to learn to stand up for yourself buddy because in the land of milk and honey you still have to put it on the table. Like I said before freedom of speech is a harsh Mistress.

But go on don't let me stop you let your cuck flag fly; 4/12/20, 8:25 AM
jaydub said...: Howard: "Feral hogs who are called wild pigs that tear up the land make the best ham. The Virginia ham I've had is usually too salty"

And I thought Virginia ham is salty because it is salt cured. Who, other than Howard, knew different types of porcine units existed in nature in salted and salt-free versions?

This type of insight is why I always value Howard's posts, particularly his theological musings.; 4/12/20, 8:33 AM
Ken B said...: “ Think of it as opening a new front in the War against Christmas.”

Ok, that is funny!; 4/12/20, 8:44 AM
Ken B said...: And rcocean topped it!; 4/12/20, 8:46 AM
Just asking questions (Jaq) said...: "except when its very, very expensive ham and comes with pineapple. “

Pineapple? The very best ham comes from Spain, but not with pineapple. The story I heard is that they forced merchants to sell ham after the Reconquista to figure out who had hidden Muslim sympathies. They have raised the ham to an art form there.; 4/12/20, 8:57 AM
NCMoss said...: Religion bashing as a variant of cancel culture is really pathetic; the serpent in the garden was way more clever.; 4/12/20, 8:58 AM
JPS said...: Howard, 7:56:

"They keep their head down for some reason I don't know why. oh yeah that's right they're afraid if they advertise themselves too much they will be subject to Christian persecution"

Not sure what country you're talking about. I for one am grateful that in this country, for every Christian I've encountered who disdained Jews - and I've encountered rather few - I've known a lot more who have no problem with them, and who do have a problem with such hostility.

I think American Jews couldn't be luckier than to live in a country founded by religiously tolerant Christians, going back to George Washington's letter to the Newport, RI congregation.; 4/12/20, 9:00 AM
mockturtle said...: My sister's having "ham and latkes".; 4/12/20, 9:03 AM
mockturtle said...: He is risen! And you can't cancel that.; 4/12/20, 9:04 AM
J. Farmer said...: @tim in vermont:

The very best ham comes from Spain, but not with pineapple.

I tried Ibérico ham once, and I have to admit I was pretty underwhelmed. Maybe it was just the hype. Or it could just be one of those elitist, overpriced offerings that are so prevalent in the culinary world.; 4/12/20, 9:04 AM
Howard said...: JPS. good points. Eric Weinstein was lamenting that American Jews were losing their edge because of the relatively low anti-Semitism in the US.; 4/12/20, 9:09 AM
JPS said...: Thanks, Howard. At first that made me laugh, but there's a serious side to it.; 4/12/20, 9:19 AM
jaydub said...: Farmer: "I tried Ibérico ham once, and I have to admit I was pretty underwhelmed."

Jamon Iberico de bellota, or ham from acorn fed Iberian black pigs is high in HDL and melts in your mouth. Serrano ham, which is probably what you had, comes from the white pigs and is a grade below. If you had eaten Iberico de bellota, unarguably the best ham in the world, and were underwhelmed your taste buds are dead.; 4/12/20, 9:38 AM
J. Farmer said...: @jaydub:

It was most certainly Ibérico ham. But not de bellota. It was the next step down. I can’t recall the term.; 4/12/20, 9:46 AM
Howard said...: We should all bow down to j-dub and his expertise on the hindquarters of hogs. Apparently the hogs eat a lot of acorns down on the Tejon Ranch. That must explain what I experienced in wild ham, smoked not salted.; 4/12/20, 9:47 AM
Otto said...: " Why do the heathen rage,and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together , against the Lord and against the anointed saying, Let us break their bands and cast away their cord from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall LAUGH: The Lord shall have them in derision .; 4/12/20, 9:59 AM
Lurker21 said...: You won't have more than 6 or 7 people in a liquor store or pot dispensary at any given time. They don't spend much time there and they can spread themselves out. If you've got 50 or 100 or more in a church or synagogue or temple or mosque, that's more people and they are probably packed closer together for a longer time, so that's more risk of spreading the virus. Of course, over the course of the day, you could have more people going in and out of the liquor store than attend two religious services in the church on Sunday, but still, the judgment is probably that the risk is less. If it would be a balm to the soul, atheist and Wiccan meetings most likely also fall under the ban.; 4/12/20, 10:38 AM
J. Farmer said...: Wiccan meetings most likely also fall under the ban.

Fat chicks hardest hit.; 4/12/20, 10:42 AM
Birkel said...: Lurker21,
Some governors and mayors tried to ban drive-in services. Families parked in their own cars just like at the drive-in theaters of old.

I cannot imagine how that would be dangerous.

This is exactly the sort of "arbitrary and capricious" behavior that makes it illegal.; 4/12/20, 10:46 AM
Mark said...: There's a lot of raging today. As there was that morning 2000 years ago.

But you can't stop Easter from coming. It comes, it always comes, despite all attempts by man or by nature to prevent it or to mock it.

How sad it is indeed, that the message of Easter -- that new life is possible, that despite all the bad in the world, life can be recreated anew, that sorrow and suffering and death do not have the final word -- should be spurned and treated with contempt.

Still Easter comes. And with it the spirit of rejoicing and also the spirit of embracing, with a desire for only good, those that are in such dark moods.

A blessed Easter to everyone here.; 4/12/20, 11:00 AM
Mark said...: Disease, war, oppression, the unavailability of communal worship and the sacraments: Easter cannot be denied. Not even death and stones moved across tombs can prevent it. You can't stop Easter from coming.

It works for Easter too:
https://youtu.be/hqOOUJFv1n0?t=7; 4/12/20, 11:09 AM
Mark said...: A continuing Happy Passover too to JPS and others --

The deliverance from slavery to freedom, from suffering to rejoicing, from evil to good, with death passing over, also cannot be denied or prevented from coming.; 4/12/20, 11:18 AM
Marc in Eugene said...: Just finished following the stational Vespers service from Saint Eugène in Paris and they included these pieces that featured on the Marcel Pérès-directed Ensemble Organum album Chants de l'Eglise de Rome, the 'Old Roman' chant. Probably 11th or 10th c.; 4/12/20, 11:33 AM
hombre said...: “If New York is looking for sympathy in their fight against COVID-19 stuff like that is not a good first step.”

We can pray for New Yorkers without losing sight of the fact that The city is full of assholes.; 4/12/20, 11:36 AM
JPS said...: Mark, thank you for your kind wishes at 11:18 - and for your beautifully worded post at 11:00. A blessed Easter to you and yours.

mockturtle, I managed to miss "ham and latkes" at 9:03, which just made the delayed reaction funnier.; 4/12/20, 11:44 AM
traditionalguy said...: The shut down offense is now called Conduct Unbecoming a Prisoner.of House Arrest.; 4/12/20, 11:45 AM
jaydub said...: Howard: "We should all bow down to j-dub and his expertise on the hindquarters of hogs."

Via our interaction here I also have become conversant with swine in general.; 4/12/20, 12:09 PM
Critter said...: It doesn't look like, doesn't smell like, doesn't feel like Easter. But it's Easter nonetheless. Just like the first Easter.; 4/12/20, 12:25 PM
mockturtle said...: We can pray for New Yorkers without losing sight of the fact that The city is full of assholes.

Right you are, hombre! ;-); 4/12/20, 1:31 PM
Mark said...: Absent a café, I'll post this here, the theme of which fits the day --

Le temps de l'amour
Françoise Hardy
https://youtu.be/F9we8i2Lj5w?t=2s

It is the time of love,
the time of friends and adventure.
As the time comes and goes,
one thinks of nothing in spite of one's wounds.
Because the time of love
it's long and it's short,
it lasts forever, one remembers it.

At twenty, we tell ourselves that we rule the world,
and that all the blue sky will be in our eyes forever.

It is the time of love,
the time of friends and adventure.
As the time comes and goes,
We think of nothing in spite of our wounds.
For the time of love
it fills your heart
with so much warmth and happiness.

One fine day it's love and the heart beats faster,
for life follows its course
and one is totally happy to be in love.

It is the time of love,
the time of friends and adventure.
When the time comes and goes,
one thinks of nothing in spite of one's wounds.
For the time of love
it's long and it's short,
it lasts forever, one remembers it.; 4/12/20, 2:00 PM
Just asking questions (Jaq) said...: I admit I eat ham sliced very thin usually as part of a charcuterie with other meats, fine salami, perhaps, and a nice cheese or two and maybe some nuts of some sort and some honey or jelly. Not sliced an inch thick, fried in a pan and served with eggs and home fries.; 4/12/20, 3:12 PM
narciso said...: it does indeed, but it's more redolent of Pesach, regardless, the progs are up to their old games, only by staking them do you stop them, and even that can't be ascertained, more like parademons,; 4/12/20, 4:41 PM
Nichevo said...: rcocean said...
When I hear Atheists sniping at YOm Kippur I'll start taking them seriously. They need to stop calling themselves Anti-religious, when they're really only anti-Christian. I wonder if that left-wing stalinist Louisville Mayor would've thrown orthodox jews in jail for having a drive-in service? Not bloody likely.

4/12/20, 7:54 AM

FYI participants at a Bar Mitzvah celebration in NJ were arrested and fined.; 4/12/20, 5:34 PM
gadfly said...: Speaking of closings, we will soon witness the monumental closing of the United States Postal Service. Republican have long wanted to privatize the delivery service but NIMBY politics have kept too many overpaid workers on-board in the face of reduced ink-on-paper documents.

What has been helpful of late has been package delivery services online, led by Amazon. Strangely, our incredibly stupid president cannot get past his obsession with sticking it to Jeff Bezos . Guess who will pay for re-establishing door-to-door postal services plus billions to upgrade 100% of USPS vehicles now on the road.. Ka-Ching!; 4/12/20, 6:10 PM
The Godfather said...: He is risen. Christ is risen indeed.

It's true even if you can't go to church.

Happy Easter!; 4/12/20, 9:18 PM