When people think of Christmas, they typically think of Santa Claus, presents, Christmas trees and bright lights as symbols of the season. Similarly, when people think of Easter, dreams of the Easter Bunny, Easter egg hunts, chocolate bunnies and jelly beans dance in their heads.
Utah faith leaders find the holiday is defined by a different set of sights and sounds.
For Carole Drake, the days leading up to Easter are a whirlwind of activity, from organizing youth services to participating in a mile-long interfaith walk in St. George. However, when the pews clear after St. George Catholic Church’s Sunday service, Drake’s celebration shifts to something far quieter: an afternoon of grilling, relaxing and reflecting at home with her husband.
“There’s joy in being together with everybody in the community and then the other element of a relaxed joy, enjoying what we’ve just celebrated and looking forward to the days ahead,” Drake said. “It all comes together beautifully.”
Her experience mirrors a broader trend among Utahns who are increasingly blending religious, secular and family traditions. While symbols like the Easter Bunny or Easter eggs hold significance for many, members of Utah’s Christian community emphasize that Jesus Christ remains the central figure uniting followers during the season.
How Utahns are celebrating Easter
A recent poll by the Deseret News and the Hinckley Institute of Politics reveals a change in how residents plan to celebrate the holiday. In 2026, 21% of Utahns plan to celebrate Easter primarily as a religious holiday.
Data suggests this isn’t necessarily a move away from faith, but a move toward a “both/and” approach. Thirty-four percent of adults say they plan to celebrate with a mix of religious and secular traditions this Easter, while 32% said they plan to celebrate as a secular/family holiday, and 13% say they don’t celebrate at all.
The poll also highlighted a generational divide: 14% of those ages 18-34 are planning for a primarily religious holiday, compared to 36% of Utahns 65 and up.
Different Christian denominations reported they plan to celebrate the holiday as mainly a religious holiday or a combination of both religious and secular/family traditions.
Among members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 32% are celebrating primarily in religious terms, while 46% are opting for a combination. Similarly, 31% of those with non-Protestant or Catholic beliefs plan a religious celebration, with 46% choosing a mix.
Of those identifying as agnostic, 52% are celebrating secularly, while 14% will observe Easter as a religious and secular holiday.
Local churches facilitate places for religious and family traditions
Local churches are facilitating these blended celebrations, with clergy noting that Jesus Christ serves as a unifying force for families and different denominations.
Pastor Casey Swails of Redemption Church Ogden oversees services that include both spiritual and family observances. He argues that in a biblical worldview, the divide between the “secular” and the “sacred” does not really exist.
“For a follower of Jesus, there is nothing that shouldn’t be sacred,” said Pastor Swails. “We interact in a world God has made, and we have to delineate between good and bad, but interacting in the world should be holy to the Lord.”
What the story of Easter does is it puts and tells the story that we are all on the same plane before God. The Christian life is really about a life fully encapsulated by worship to the Lord Jesus.
— Pastor Casey Swails, Redemption Church Ogden
Pastor Swails shared he hides Easter eggs for his children at home but does so “with the recognition that all of this is for the Lord Jesus.”
“The Christian life is about a life fully encapsulated by worship to Him,” he continued.
At Park City Community Church, Marc DeCoste, director of outreach and communications who oversees outreach at the church, sees these more secular and family traditions, like Easter egg hunts, as vital ways to support local families.
He noted that the church’s classic Easter egg hunt is a major draw for the community. Whether dyeing eggs with youth or hosting an Easter brunch between services, the goal is to provide a space where families recognize their own traditions within church walls.
A blend of traditions is intentional for many Utah leaders.
A focus on Jesus Christ
For many faiths, Holy Week remains anchored in rituals that commemorate Jesus Christ and his life and ministry. Drake detailed that the St. George Catholic Church holds several services, including Palm Sunday, the Thursday Eucharist of the Last Supper and Good Friday services focusing on the life and death of Christ.
Leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are also using the season to share testimonies of the life and resurrection of Christ. “This Easter season, we testify that Jesus Christ is risen. He lives. He is the Way. Jesus Christ’s atoning sacrifice and resurrection are the ultimate evidence of God’s love,” President Dallin H. Oaks shared.
To amplify these celebrations, two new statues depicting Christ in Gethsemane and bearing the cross recently debuted on the south side of the Salt Lake Temple, as previously reported by the Deseret News.
In a recent video, sculptor Roger Hunt said he hopes the art helps visitors “understand what Gethsemane was, what Christ did there, and what he went through there as part of the atonement alongside his crucifixion on the cross.”
In a 2024 statement, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints noted that typical two-hour Sunday services would be limited to a one-hour sacrament meeting on Easter to support home-centered gospel learning for families.
This year, the one-hour sacrament meeting is being held on Palm Sunday, as the church’s annual general conference is being held on Easter Sunday, April 5.
“Easter, general conference and Palm Sunday are wonderful opportunities to commemorate the Savior’s Atonement and Resurrection,” wrote the First Presidency. “We encourage all to invite friends, family and neighbors to join in these worship services of our Savior, Jesus Christ.”
Easter unites families and faiths
This worship of Jesus Christ transcends denominations, uniting them in a common belief. In St. George, the 20th annual “Ecumenical Way of the Cross” will take place on Good Friday, bringing together Methodists, Presbyterians, Catholics and Latter-day Saints to walk a mile through the city together.
“What the story of Easter does is it puts and tells the story that we are all on the same plane before God,” Pastor Swails said. “The Christian life is really about a life fully encapsulated by worship to the Lord Jesus.”
DeCoste observed unity extends beyond the pews to the family unit itself. While typical Sundays at Park City Community Church often see adults and children separated into different classes, Easter is a time when the entire congregation stays together in the sanctuary. He noted that it is common to see a “devout” spouse attending alongside a spouse who rarely goes to church, or families from different faith backgrounds uniting for the day.
“We’re all reading the same stories, we’re often singing the same hymns,” DeCoste said, highlighting that the holiday acts as a “nice representation” of shared celebration across the various denominations in the community.
Pastor Swails, DeCoste and Drake invited any and all to worship with them at their services during this Easter season.
Whether religious, secular or a mix of both, Utahns are finding their own way to participate in the season that Pastor Swails describes as “fully encapsulated by worship” and joy.