Easter is a Christian holiday that celebrates...bunnies???
MRCTV/Culture went through Target's and Walmart’s selection of Easter items through the search term “Easter candy” and found that the overwhelming majority of the results had nothing to do with Jesus, the resurrection or the cross. Instead, the companies, as well as likely many more, flooded their selection with pastel flowers, carrots, bunnies and decorated egg candies for purchase.
We knew that Target would have no problem concealing the real meaning of the holiday. Afterall, they care more about pride month than any other day, holiday or occasion.
When we searched for “Easter candy,” the company provided 499 results. Only five of those results had anything to do with the real meaning of Easter and honestly, one of them was just a little lamb and I’d argue that creators weren’t even intending to represent the blood of the lamb during the manufacturing process.
Among the results was one Russell Stover chocolate cross, which is only available via the shipping option. The other items were just decorated boxes or packages of regular shaped and themed candy. For example, Target sold a box of assorted chocolates in a tin with a purple sticker with the words “Happy Easter” and a cross on it. The kicker is that Target is just the middle man of those products, as they’re actually sold and shipped from distributors that merely use Target to get more sales.
So, essentially, Target actually only sells 1.5 (half a point for the lamb) Easter candies.
Walmart provided similar results. Among the 1000+ items that showed up when searching “Easter candy,” Walmart waited til the third page to show a Hershey’s chocolate cross. Unlike Target, Walmart's cross is available for in-store pick up.
It wasn’t until page 16 of Walmart’s results that a “little lamby” was displayed, and honestly, it didn’t allude to Jesus’ resurrection in any other way than being a lamb. So likely, it also was not a religious item. Plus, it was out of stock.
Page 21 displayed little mints that had various phrases about Jesus on the wrapper, like “Jesus Guides Me,” “Jesus Loves Me,” and “Jesus Saves Me.” The mints, which weren't even marketed as "Easter candy," were sold and shipped by an external company that went through Walmart to execute sales, just like Target's. No other items that related to the Resurrection showed up via this search.
Searching “Easter candy religious” did merit a few more results for Walmart, but it took that extra step of adding the word “religious” to get more options. Even then, for Walmart, only three more options popped up and all of the items, again, were sold and shipped by external companies through Walmart’s check out system.
This is odd considering Easter has absolutely nothing to do with bunnies, carrots or little decorated eggs and everything to do with the cross.
Roughly 3000 years ago, the hare was a symbol of death and rebirth to ancient people in Mesopotamia and Syria. Similarly, as noted by ExploreGod, the word “Easter” was linked to the German fertility goddess Eostra, “who in some traditions was even associated with hares.” Critics also note that the egg represents an "unexpected resurrection" through the unexpected chick that comes out of it. But in reality, the bunnies, the eggs, the carrots and the rest of the pastels have nothing to do with the actual meaning of Easter.
Nonetheless, MRC also took a look at gifts, too.
The Easter basket category on Target’s website generated 66 items. Zero items had anything to do with Jesus.
For Walmart, results were way more chaotic. Even when generating items by clicking “Easter” at the top of the site then selecting “Baskets,” 1000+ items popped up.
Out of all 25 pages, there were no baskets that had anything related to Jesus, but page one of the search did feature a spell book set with “Pagan Witchcraft Supplies.”
Now, are these two companies to blame for the secularization of the religious holiday? Of course not. As a matter of fact, they’re likely just appealing to what customers are interested in, and unfortunately, these days, it isn't God.
While celebrating in these more secular ways may be fun for little kiddos, it’s important as consumers and as parents, if you are one, to remind them about the real meaning of Easter. But if that isn’t your goal, Target and Walmart are great places to feed your your anti-Jesus traditions.
