Editorial: Celebrate our different holidays together

Faith is one of the things that defines us as people.

Ask any historian, any anthropologist, any archaeologist and how a people worships is always a defining part of a culture.

Unfortunately, it can also be a dividing aspect. That is seen in the footprints of war from our earliest days up to some of our most contentious modern arenas.

And so it is interesting to see the way the holidays of different religions overlap. Today is both the second day of Passover for the Jewish community and Easter Sunday for Christians.

For both, they are among the most important observances. While Christmas and Hanukkah have little in common beyond their proximity and most Christians have little idea when the Jewish High Holidays of Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah occur, the relationship between Passover and Easter is different.

The holidays illustrate the way the two faiths are rooted in common background and shared history. Both commemorate a journey through darkness and the liberation of a new life.

At the same time, pay attention to the differences and you gain an appreciation for the way in which they diverge. The tradition of Passover. The joy of Easter.

The religions are not the same. They have their own ceremonies and priorities. They have each branched into separate denominations and sects. They have individual problems and challenges.

But both faiths, like both holidays, bloom from the same seed — a belief in a higher power and a need for connection to it.

These similarities should foster a greater understanding of their relationships not only with each other, but to other religions and cultures.

To our Jewish readers: Chag Sameach.

To our Christian readers: Happy Easter.