The
History of Easter
 Easter
is a time of springtime festivals. In
Christian countries Easter is celebrated
as the religious holiday commemorating
the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the
son of God. But the celebrations of
Easter have many customs and legends
that are pagan in origin and have
nothing to do with Christianity
Scholars,
accepting the derivation proposed by the
8th-century English scholar St. Bede,
believe the name Easter is thought to
come from the Scandinavian "Ostra"
and the Teutonic "Ostern"
or "Eastre," both
Goddesses of mythology signifying spring
and fertility whose festival was
celebrated on the day of the vernal
equinox
Traditions
associated with the festival survive in
the Easter rabbit, a symbol of
fertility, and in colored easter eggs,
originally painted with bright colors to
represent the sunlight of spring, and
used in Easter-egg rolling contests or
given as gifts
The
Christian celebration of Easter embodies
a number of converging traditions with
emphasis on the relation of Easter to
the Jewish festival of Passover,
or Pesach, from which is derived Pasch,
another name used by Europeans for
Easter. Passover
is an important feast in the Jewish
calendar which is celebrated for 8 days
and commemorates the flight and freedom
of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt
The
early Christians, many of whom were of
Jewish origin, were brought up in the
Hebrew tradition and regarded Easter as
a new feature of the Passover festival,
a commemoration of the advent of the
Messiah as foretold by the prophets.
(For more information please visit our
Passover celebration - Passover
on the Net)
Easter
is observed by the churches of the West
on the first Sunday following the full
moon that occurs on or following the
spring equinox (March 2I). So Easter
became a "movable" feast which
can occur as early as March 22 or as
late as April 25
Christian
churches in the East which were closer
to the birthplace of the new religion
and in which old traditions were strong,
observe Easter according to the date of
the Passover festival
Easter
is at the end of the Lenten season,
which covers a forty-six-day period that
begins on Ash Wednesday and ends with
Easter. The Lenten season itself
comprises forty days, as the six Sundays
in Lent are not actually a part of Lent.
Sundays are considered a commemoration
of Easter Sunday and have always been
excluded from the Lenten fast. The
Lenten season is a period of penitence
in preparation for the highest festival
of the church year, Easter
Holy
Week, the last week of Lent, begins its
with the observance of Palm Sunday. Palm
Sunday takes its name from Jesus'
triumphal entry into Jerusalem where the
crowds laid palms at his feet. Holy
Thursday commemorates the Last Supper,
which was held the evening before the
Crucifixion. Friday in Holy Week is the
anniversary of the Crufixion, the day
that Christ was crucified and died on
the cross
Holy
week and the Lenten season end with
Easter Sunday, the day of resurrection
of Jesus Christ
Source:
http://www.holidays.net/easter/story.htm
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