What do colored eggs, jelly beans, marshmallow chicks and a gift-bearing cotton tail have to do with Easter? Well, as far as popular customs in Mexico go, nothing at all.

In predominantly Roman Catholic Mexico, the most important holiday on the Christian calendar is referred to as Domingo de Resurrección, Domingo de Gloria or La Pascua Florida. 

Curiously, the English term was taken from the pagan goddess Ēastre and festivities celebrated in conjunction the spring equinox. This deity of fertility was associated with the hare, an animal distinguished for its prodigious reproductive faculties.

Scholars say that one of the tactics early Christian missionaries used to win over converts in northern Europe was to weave their religious observances into customary heathen rites. That same method was employed centuries later by the first Catholic friars who arrived on Mexican shores. 

Eventually, ecclesiastic authorities determined that Easter should be celebrated on the Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox.

Throughout the history of mankind the arrival of spring has been a time for celebrating the great circle of life and the miracle of rebirth. The egg has been a universal symbol of fertility and the source of new life since ancient times, including the Egyptian, Greek and Roman civilizations.  

Christians in many countries see the Easter egg as a symbol the sealed tomb of Jesus and cracking the egg a representation of his resurrection.  Another link between the egg and Christian beliefs is the old legend of Simon of Cyrene, the egg merchant who helped Christ lug the cross to Calvary. As the story goes, after completing the task, he went to retrieve the merchandise left behind, finding a full basket of eggs mysteriously turned into bright colors.

Historians credit Protestant Reformer Martin Luther with dreaming up the Easter egg hunt as game for women and children embodying the search for Jesus in his tomb. That custom and the figure of the Easter bunny were introduced to North America by German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania in the 1700’s, and eventually gained acceptance nationwide following the Civil War. 

Back in 1875 Englishman John Cadbury created the first dark chocolate egg and in 1905, a milk chocolate version that set off another lasting trend for the Easter season sweet-tooth.   

All these Easter customs, and the host of consumer goods they spawned, have yet to gain significant traction in Mexico. I have noticed that the local Walmart store recently set up a display of Easter merchandise just inside the entrance, consisting mostly of cheesy decorative items imported from China. But shoppers trying to hunt down typical holiday goodies will have to go the import specialists like SuperLake – and pay through the nose – to satisfy their cravings.   

Even with the introduction of foreign products, Easter season activities in this part of the world remain largely focused on the religious angle. 

For the faithful next Sunday will be a quiet day to recover from the intense activities of Semana Santa (Holy Week). No parading around in fancy Easter bonnets, no big family gatherings to feast on ham, no baskets filled with fake grass and candy treats for the kids, no backyard egg hunts. 

For the less devout, the entire two-week span between Domingo de Ramos (Palm Sunday) and the end of Semana de Pascua (Easter Week) is a vacation period to enjoy family outings at near and distant destinations, or to relax, hang out and revel with friends and relatives. 

With that in mind, lakeside residents would be wise to stock up the larder and gird their loins for the flood of outside visitors who will invade the area until the holiday frenzy subsides.