Radorth

I thought you were trying not to waste money.

Rad

abe smith

Last year (2002) the illegal imprisoners let me loose from the month's jailing (I kid you not.) and I went two nights later, se dice *Holy Saturday*, to the RC Cathedral here early evg (altho I never go out alone after dark) for the once-a-year-only "Easter Vigil" event. ("Now of my 3 score years & ten, (Seventy-seven) will not come again". THAT's why.)
I am a once-upon -a-time RC; now, since the early 1960s, a STONECOLD Atheist. Let's be sure that ineluctable FACT is clear.
I attend the so-called "Easter vigil " ceremony (after-all, "Easter" has nothing to do with Xtianity) because it is a/the consummately-pre-everything human festival event. Once the so-called "Paschal candle" called "lumen Christi" was carried around into the chancel, and the Deacon had sung its praise = (the) "EXULTET", and the long-as a sleepless-night bible readings began, I left/leave. (I can't hear public speech.)
The fact that the Roman Catholic *sect* has chosen to appropriate the Vernal feast of the Sun for its own (power) purposes is neither here nor there. That event belongs to ME because it is human.
If you here think you have your heads on straight by now, I suggest you might go to the local (RC) building where this event happens, *the Saturday night/evening before Easter sunday* and see it happen. IMO, it has nothing to do w/ "religion".

Ab_Normal

Nope. Both my mom and my in-laws are pretty understanding that I don't share their religious beliefs. As Rhea said, if it was necessary for family harmony, then we need to work together to better define family harmony in a way that is actually harmonious for the whole family.

I must admit that I have, in the past, done religious ceremonies just to make my mother happy. (She's RC, and gets a bit pissy if I don't do the "stand up sit down fight fight fight".) But we've reached a better understanding of each other since that time.

Vashtarah

Yeah, I'm going. It will please my parents and I'll get to sing my favourite hymn: Thine Is the Glory, with music by Händel. I don't think it compromises my personal beliefs any, as I am going because it's a family thing and they know that.

Selsaral

Probably not. At the same time, my cousin was married in an extremely religious ceremony, and I didn't stomp out in a huff. Easter means nothing to me, but my cousin's wedding did, so I can tolerate it all if I must.

Glass*Soul

I'll be staying with my Dad so my Mom can go.

Going into a church makes me want to scream. Any family member who managed to wrestle me there would probably regret it as I fidgeted, heaved sighs and gave off general panic vibes. It would be very unlikely to contribute to anyone's sense of peace.

mike_decock

I'm not going and I can't think of any situation where my family would try to make me go. I occasionally get the invitation but they know that I don't go to church. They never get pushy and respect my polite "no thanks".

My family is dysfunctionally non-confrontational.

-Mike...

Mageth

What joedad said. I sometime go to church with my parents when I'm in town. It's an interesting anthropological experience.

But this Easter I'll probably be at home, hiding eggs for my six-year-old.

christ-on-a-stick

No. My family is local so I don't have to "visit" them although I will pop by for brunch and my husband's family does Easter "dinner". Both sides will do their thing (mine fundy Xian sunrise service, his family RC mass) but it wouldn't occur to either side to ask us to attend since they know that I am a Rabid Atheist and my husband is an apathetic atheistic agnostic

I tend to refer to Easter around my family (jokingly) as the Festival of the Mythical Undead or Zombie Worship Day, which I find much funnier than they do but hey, if ya want to walk around telling silly stories (as though they're real) about some guy getting killed, decomposing for a couple days and then magically rising from the dead ~ooooh~ and walking around, you gotta accept some people callin' ya out on the fact that you are deifying a zombie . Freaky-deaky.

I mean, if I ran around insisting that the Easter Bunny IS REAL, I'd expect people to thing I was a little "off" as well.

never been there

Heh, heh. Us dutiful sons-in-law would go if it were expected, but our luvvies aren't going and aren't expected to. If I'm in the mood to push my luck, I'll try to get out of Easter dinner because I can take a long weekend to go camping without using up a vacation day.