THE STORY 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 21). 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 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. |
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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.
LENTON SEASON OR LENT
The Lenten Season or Lent refers to the forty-day period leading up to the
holiday of Easter. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, the seventh Wednesday
before Easter, and ends the Saturday before Easter Sunday.
Lent is considered a time of fasting, repentance and deep soul searching.
The heaviness of Lent is lifted each Sunday, since Sunday is the day on
which Jesus was resurrected and is therefore considered a "mini"-Easter.
A quick counting reveals that there are actually 46 days between Ash
Wednesday and Easter. However, Sundays are not counted in the total since
they are considered a celebratory day. Their removal results in the 40
days - rather than 46 days - of Lent.
The Significance of Forty
The origins of Lent can be traced back to the footsteps of Jesus, who
spent 40 days wandering in the desert wilderness, facing temptations from
Satan. Jesus is believed to have overcome the devil's temptations through
fasting and sincere repentance.
Forty is also a significant number throughout Judeo-Christian tradition.
The Jewish people are said to have spent forty years wandering in the
desert after escaping slavery in Egypt before they entered the Promised
Land. During their sojourn, Moses is believed to have received the Ten
Commandments on Mount Sinai - but only after he spent 40 days alone on the
mountain.
In the Book of Jonah, the prophet gave the evil-doers of Nineveh forty
days to repent their sins before God would destroy them. Likewise, sins
led God to bring the great flood of forty days and forty nights, which
Noah, his family and his fleet of paired animals survived on an ark.
PRACTICES AND TRADITIONS
While not scripturally proscribed, Lent has been practiced for over two
thousand years, since the earliest days of the Church. The first
Christians understood Lent as a period of preparation for Easter. Faithful
followers re-devoted themselves through fasting and repenting for their
sins. Many converts to Christianity were also baptized during the Lenten
season.
Today, Christians vow to give up something of temporal significance in
lieu of actual fasting. In Roman Catholic tradition, meat and chicken are
not eaten during Lent. In Protestant tradition, followers will often give
up something they consider a vice - junk food, cable TV or anything else
blocking their focus on true repentance.
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The other
customs of Lent include increased commitment to prayer, particularly
repentance, and almsgiving. A number of churches focus on increased
tithing during the Lenten season.
THE DAYS OF LENT
The days of Lent are set in relationship to Easter, which falls on the
first Sunday after the full moon of the spring equinox -sometime between
March 22 and April 25. The forty days of Lent (not including Sundays) are
counted backward from Easter.
Ash Wednesday is the first day of the Lenten season, commemorated by
priests, ministers and (Roman Catholic) parishioners who mark their
foreheads with ashes to remind themselves that they were created from -
and will be returned to - dust
Ash Wednesday is the first day of the Lenten season, commemorated by
priests, ministers and (Roman Catholic) parishioners who mark their
foreheads with ashes to remind themselves that they were created from -
and will be returned to - dust
In many cultures, the day
before Ash Wednesday is also a special day, marked by a boisterous
festival, such as Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Fat Tuesday in France, and
Carnival in Brazil. In fact, in Latin, the word Carnival means "farewell
to meat" - significant since Catholics abstain from eating meat during
Lent.
The fifth Sunday of the Lenten Season is known as Passion Sunday and marks
the beginning of the Passiontide, or the two weeks leading up to Easter
Sunday. Palm Sunday is the sixth Lenten Sunday, and marks the start of
Holy Week, or the final week of Lent before Easter.
During Holy Week, prayer, repentance, almsgiving and fasting are said to
increase in fervor and impact. The Wednesday of Holy Week is known as Spy
Wednesday, which remembers Judas spying on Jesus before he betrayed him.
The Thursday before Easter is called Maundy or Holy Thursday, and
commemorates Jesus' Last Supper with his disciples. In Roman Catholic
tradition, Holy Thursday also marks the beginning of the three-day Easter
Mass.
Two days before Easter, Good Friday marks the anniversary of Jesus'
crucifixion and his burial.
Churches hold Easter vigils beginning on Holy Saturday or the morning of
Easter Sunday, depending on the church. The culmination of the Lenten
Season is the Easter Sunday, which is religiously marked by mass or Sunday
service and an Easter feast, as well as the more commercial visit to the
Easter bunny and Easter egg hunt.
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