What's a Holiday Without a Mascot?

When it comes to holidays, we all have certain memories or pictures that we associate with them. For Thanksgiving in my family the picture is a pickup football game in the backyard. For the Fourth of July, its my family in lawn chairs gathered around a growing stack of fireworks with an extinguisher on hand just in case. For Easter, its the Easter bunny and an egg hunt. The fact that these are the first images that come to mind is completely harmless. While it is true that these holidays are about so much more, the fact that they even bring families together at all is a cause for celebration. I can think of few ways that the Savior would prefer his birthday to be celebrated than by large family get togethers, creating and recalling memories, and of course taking at least an hour to remember the true reason for the celebration. So no, i don't think that these traditions take away from holidays. In fact i can only hope that the Easter Bunny, fireworks, and football instill as much joy and family unity in the lives of my children and grandchildren as they have in my own.