Church historians tell us that there is considerable evidence that during the early centuries of Christianity, Easter celebrations went on for days and even weeks. With it, the tradition of “Holy Hilarity Sunday” developed. This custom of celebrating the resurrection with humor and lightheartedness is especially rooted in the religious life of Eastern Europe.
The theological reason for it is that the resurrection can been viewed as God’s great joke on the devil. You see, the devil thought he’d won: Christ had been crucified and was now dead in the tomb. Then three days later—ha ha ha—Christ is risen! It’s the unexpected ending that makes it funny. Some call the resurrection the "banana peel" of the Christian faith, the "cosmic pratfall." For indeed, because the resurrection, God has the last laugh.
And we can laugh, too, because the joy of the Lord is our strength. Laughter is a holy thing that helps us embody the exciting reality that Jesus is risen from the dead. Now death has no more sting. We can even laugh in the face of death, fully confident in the redemptive power of God.
Two years ago, Pastor read about the tradition of Holy Hilarity Sunday in The Lutheran, the official magazine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. She found it to be an exciting option for worship and since our church had just launched a laughter club, we decided to try celebrating Holy Hilarity Sunday ourselves.
We have now held three such Holy Hilarity Sundays and it has been an absolute delight. These celebrations have kept worship attendance up on the Sunday after Easter—a traditionally low attendance day across the denominational lines.
At this service, people are invited to wear silly hats and costumes. It is hilarious to see the funny things people wear to worship. Many get creative and make their own hats with flowers, bows, rabbits and other animals perched upon it.
This year, Bob Wood of Desoto, Wisconsin, wore a costume with two sets of arms. “This way, when I fold my hands in prayer is has twice the power,” he jokes.
Gary Bahlmann wore the Holy Hilarity T-shirt his wife, Gayle, made him last year. On the back of the shirt, it has a greeting to the people who normally sit behind them and declares them all “West Pew Friends.”
Because of our new musician, Tom Bourcier, we were able to introduce some playful songs as well. These included interactive Sunday school songs that are fun for the whole family. We also debuted two original laughing songs written by Tom. Not only that, we did the “Bunny Hop” to the song “Lord of the Dance.”
Throughout the service, the praise word “Halleluia!” is replaced by a burst of hearty laughter, which also expresses praise. So we say: “Ha ha ha! Christ is risen! Christ is Risen, indeed! Ha ha ha!” We also do the passing of the peace by shaking hands, joyfully looking into one another’s faces and laughing. And, of course, we heard some Easter jokes during the sermon. You can see Pastor hamming it up below.
May we all live as joyful resurrection people today and every day. Christ is risen, indeed! ha ha ha!
More photos of Holy Hilarity Sunday and the entire sermon can be found Pastor's sermon blog. This link will take you to last year's sermon and photos.
