The English term may derive from theAnglo-Saxon goddess nameĒostre; Easter is linked to the JewishPassover by its name (Hebrew:פֶּסַחpesach,Aramaic:פָּסחָאpascha are the basis of the term Pascha), by its origin (according to thesynoptic Gospels, both the crucifixion and the resurrection took place during the week of Passover)[20][21] and by much of its symbolism, as well as by its position in the calendar. In most European languages, both the Christian Easter and the Jewish Passover are called by the same name; and in the olderEnglish translations of the Bible, as well, the term Easter was used to translate Passover.[22]
The modern English termEaster,cognate withGermanOstern, developed from anOld English word that usually appears in the formĒastrun,Ēastron, orĒastran; but also asĒastru,Ēastro; andĒastre orĒostre.[nb 4] In the 8th century AD, Anglo-Saxon monk and scholarBede recorded in hisThe Reckoning of Time thatĒosturmōnaþ (Old English for 'Month of Ēostre', translated inBede's time as "Paschal month") was an English month, corresponding to April, which he says "was once called after agoddess of theirs namedĒostre, in whose honour feasts were celebrated in that month".[38]
In Latin and Greek, the Christian celebration was, and still is, calledPascha (Greek:Πάσχα), a word derived fromAramaicפסחא (Paskha), cognate to the Hebrewפֶּסַח (Pesach). The word originally denoted the Jewish festival known in English asPassover, commemorating theJewish Exodus from slavery in Egypt.[39][40] As early as 50 AD,Paul the Apostle, writing fromEphesus to the Christians inCorinth,[41] applied the term to Christ. It is unlikely that theEphesian and Corinthian Christians were the first to hear Exodus 12 interpreted as speaking about thedeath of Jesus, not just about the Jewish Passover ritual.[42] In most languages, the feast is known by names derived from the Greek and LatinPascha.[9][43] Pascha is also a name by which Jesus himself is remembered in the Orthodox Church, especially in connection with his resurrection and with the season of its celebration.[44] Others call the holiday "Resurrection Sunday" or "Resurrection Day", after the GreekἈνάστασις,Anastasis, 'Resurrection' day.[10][11][45][46]
Theological significance
A stained-glass window depicting thePassover Lamb, a concept integral to the foundation of Easter[43][47]
Easter celebrates Jesus'supernatural resurrection from the dead, which is one of the chief tenets of the Christian faith.[48] Paul writes that, for those who trust in Jesus's death and resurrection, "death is swallowed up in victory". TheFirst Epistle of Peter declares that God has given believers "a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead". Christian theology holds that, through faith in the working of God, those who follow Jesus are spiritually resurrected with him so that they may walk in a new way of life and receive eternalsalvation, and can hope to be physically resurrected to dwell with him in theKingdom of Heaven.[49]
Easter is linked toPassover and theExodus from Egypt recorded in theOld Testament through theLast Supper,sufferings, andcrucifixion of Jesus that preceded the resurrection.[43] According to the threeSynoptic Gospels, Jesus gave the Passover meal a new meaning, as in theupper room during the Last Supper he prepared himself and his disciples for his death.[43] He identified the bread and cup of wine ashis body, soon to be sacrificed, andhis blood, soon to be shed. The ApostlePaul states in hisFirst Epistle to the Corinthians: "Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed." This refers to the requirement in Jewish law that Jews eliminate allchametz, or leavening, from their homes in advance of Passover, and to the allegory of Jesus as thePassover lamb.[50][51]
Early Christianity
The Last Supper (1495–1498). Mural, tempera on gesso, pitch and mastic, 700 x 880 cm (22.9 x 28.8 ft). In theSanta Maria delle Grazie Church,Milan, Italy, it isLeonardo da Vinci's dramatic interpretation of Jesus' last meal before death. TheLast Supper celebrated by Jesus and his disciples. The early Christians, too, would have celebrated this meal to commemorate Jesus's death and subsequent resurrection.
As the Gospels assert that both the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus occurred during the week of Passover, the first Christians timed the observance of the annual celebration of the resurrection in relation to Passover.[52] Direct evidence for a more fully formed Christian festival of Pascha (Easter) begins to appear in the mid-2nd century. Perhaps the earliest extant primary source referring to Easter is a mid-2nd-century Paschalhomily attributed toMelito of Sardis, which characterizes the celebration as a well-established one.[53] Evidence for another kind of annually recurring Christian festival, those commemorating the martyrs, began to appear at about the same time as the above homily.[54]
While martyrs' days (usually the individual dates of martyrdom) were celebrated on fixed dates in the local solar calendar, the date of Easter was fixed by means of the local Jewish[55]lunisolar calendar. This is consistent with the celebration of Easter having entered Christianity during its earliest,Jewish period, but does not leave the question free of doubt.[56]
Easter and the holidays that are related to it aremoveable feasts, in that they do not fall on a fixed date in theGregorian orJulian calendars (both of which follow the cycle of the sun and the seasons). Instead, the date for Easter is determined on alunisolar calendar similar to theHebrew calendar.
A five-partRussian Orthodox icon depicting the Easter story.Eastern Orthodox Christians use a different computation for the date of Easter from the Western churches.
The precise date of Easter has at times been a matter of contention. By the later 2nd century, it was widely accepted that the celebration of the holiday was a practice of thedisciples and an undisputed tradition. TheQuartodeciman controversy, the first of severalEaster controversies, arose concerning the date on which the holiday should be celebrated.[57]
The term "Quartodeciman" refers to the practice of ending the Lenten fast onNisan 14 of theHebrew calendar, "the LORD's passover".[58] According to the church historianEusebius, the QuartodecimanPolycarp (bishop ofSmyrna, by tradition a disciple ofJohn the Apostle) debated the question withAnicetus (bishop of Rome). TheRoman province of Asia was Quartodeciman, while the Roman and Alexandrian churches continued the fast until the Sunday following (the Sunday of Unleavened Bread), wishing to associate Easter with Sunday. Neither Polycarp nor Anicetus persuaded the other, but they did not consider the matterschismatic either, parting in peace and leaving the question unsettled.[59]
It is not known how long the Nisan 14 practice continued. But both those who followed the Nisan 14 custom, and those who set Easter to the following Sunday, had in common the custom of consulting their Jewish neighbors to learn when the month of Nisan would fall, and setting their festival accordingly. By the later 3rd century, however, some Christians began to express dissatisfaction with the custom of relying on the Jewish community to determine the date of Easter. The chief complaint was that the Jewish communities sometimes erred in setting Passover to fall before theNorthern Hemisphere spring equinox.[65][66] TheSardica paschal table[67] confirms these complaints, for it indicates that the Jews of some eastern Mediterranean city (possiblyAntioch) fixed Nisan 14 on dates well before the spring equinox on multiple occasions.[68]
Because of this dissatisfaction with reliance on the Jewish calendar, some Christians began to experiment with independent computations.[nb 5] Others, however, believed that the customary practice of consulting Jews should continue, even if the Jewish computations were in error.[71]
The settlement of thecontroversy about the Paschal season caused by theQuartodeciman practice of Asianchurches is listed in our principal source for the works of theCouncil of Nicaea,Socrates Scholasticus'sEcclesiastical History, as one of the two reasons for which emperorConstantine convened the Council in 325.[72] The Canons of the Council preserved byDionysius Exiguus and his successors do not include any relevant provision, but letters of individuals present at the Council mention a decision prohibiting Quartodecimanism and requiring that all Christians adopt a common method to independently determine Paschal observance following the churches of Rome and Alexandria, the latter "sincethere was among the Egyptians an ancient science for the computation."[73]Already in the end of the 4th century and, later on,Dionysius Exiguus and others following him maintained that the bishops assembled at Nicaea had promulgated the celebration of Easter on the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the vernal equinox and that they had adopted the use of the 19-year lunar cycle, better known asMetonic cycle, to determine the date; subsequent scholarship has refuted this tradition, but, with regards to the rule of the equinox, evidence that the church of Alexandria had implemented it before 325 suggests that the Council of Nicaea implicitly endorsed it.[74]
Canons[75] and sermons[76] condemning the custom of computing Easter's date based on the Jewish calendar indicate that this custom (called "protopaschite" by historians) did not die out at once, but persisted for a time after the Council of Nicaea.[77] In any case, in the years following the council, the computational system that was worked out by the church of Alexandria came to be normative. The Alexandrian system, however, was not immediately adopted throughout Christian Europe. FollowingAugustalis' treatiseDe ratione Paschae (On the Measurement of Easter), Rome retired the earlier8-year cycle in favor of Augustalis' 84-yearlunisolar calendar cycle, which it used until 457. It then switched toVictorius of Aquitaine's adaptation of the Alexandrian system.[78][79]
Because this Victorian cycle differed from the unmodified Alexandrian cycle in the dates of some of the Paschal full moons, and because it tried to respect the Roman custom of fixing Easter to the Sunday in the week of the 16th to the 22nd of the lunar month (rather than the 15th to the 21st as at Alexandria), by providing alternative "Latin" and "Greek" dates in some years, occasional differences in the date of Easter as fixed by Alexandrian rules continued.[78][79] The Alexandrian rules were adopted in the West following the tables of Dionysius Exiguus in 525.[80]
Early Christians in Britain and Ireland also used an 84-year cycle. From the 5th century onward this cycle set its equinox to 25 March and fixed Easter to the Sunday falling in the 14th to the 20th of the lunar month inclusive.[81][82] This 84-year cycle was replaced by the Alexandrian method in the course of the 7th and 8th centuries. Churches in western continental Europe used a late Roman method until the late 8th century during the reign ofCharlemagne, when they finally adopted the Alexandrian method. Since 1582, when theRoman Catholic Church adopted the Gregorian calendar while most of Europe used the Julian calendar, the date on which Easter is celebrated has again differed.[83]
A calendar of the dates of Easter, for the 95 years 532–626, marble, in the Museum ofRavenna Cathedral,Italy. Five 19-year cycles are represented as concentric circles. Dates are given using the system of theRoman calendar, as well as the day of the lunar month.
In 725,Bede succinctly wrote: "The Sunday following the full Moon which falls on or after theequinox will give the lawful Easter."[84] However, this does not precisely reflect the ecclesiastical rules. The full moon referred to (called thePaschal full moon) is not an astronomical full moon, but the14th day of alunar month. Another difference is that theastronomical equinox is a natural astronomical phenomenon, which can fall on 19, 20 or 21 March,[85] while the ecclesiastical date is fixed by convention on 21 March.[86]
In addition, the lunar tables of the Julian calendar are currently five days behind those of the Gregorian calendar. Therefore, the Julian computation of the Paschal full moon is a full five days later than the astronomical full moon. The result of this combination of solar and lunar discrepancies is divergence in the date of Easter in most years (see table).[87]
Easter is determined on the basis oflunisolar cycles. The lunar year consists of 30-day and 29-day lunar months, generally alternating, with anembolismic month added periodically to bring the lunar cycle into line with the solar cycle. In each solar year (1 January to 31 December inclusive), the lunar month beginning with anecclesiastical new moon falling in the 29-day period from 8 March to 5 April inclusive is designated as the paschal lunar month for that year.[88]
Easter is the third Sunday in the paschal lunar month, or, in other words, the Sunday after the paschal lunar month's 14th day. The 14th of the paschal lunar month is designated by convention as thePaschal full moon, although the 14th of the lunar month may differ from the date of the astronomical full moon by up to two days.[88] Since the ecclesiastical new moon falls on a date from 8 March to 5 April inclusive, the paschal full moon (the 14th of that lunar month) must fall on a date from 22 March to 18 April inclusive.[87]
The Gregorian calculation of Easter was based on a method devised by theCalabrian doctorAloysius Lilius (or Lilio) for adjusting theepacts of the Moon,[89] and has been adopted by almost all Western Christians and by Western countries which celebrate national holidays at Easter. For the British Empire and colonies, a determination of the date of Easter Sunday usingGolden Numbers andSunday letters was defined by theCalendar (New Style) Act 1750 with its Annexe. This was designed to match exactly the Gregorian calculation.[90]
Western-Eastern divergence
In Western Christianity, using the Gregorian calendar, Easter always falls on a Sunday between 22 March and 25 April,[91] within about seven days after the astronomical full moon.[92] The preceding Friday,Good Friday, and following Monday,Easter Monday, arelegal holidays in many countries with predominantly Christian traditions.[93]
Eastern Orthodox Christians use the same rule but base their 21 March according to the Julian calendar. Because of the thirteen-day difference between the calendars from 1900 through 2099, 21 March Julian corresponds to 3 April in the Gregorian calendar (during the 20th and 21st centuries). Consequently, the date of Orthodox Easter varies between 4 April and 8 May in the Gregorian calendar. Orthodox Easter is usually several days or more than a month later than Western Easter.
Among theOriental Orthodox, some churches have changed from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar and the date for Easter, as for other fixed and moveable feasts, is the same as in the Western church.[94]
The Greek island ofSyros, whose population is divided almost equally between Catholics and Orthodox, is one of the few places where the two Churches share a common date for Easter, with the Catholics accepting the Orthodox date—a practice helping considerably in maintaining good relations between the two communities.[95] Conversely, Orthodox Christians in Finland celebrate Easter according to theWestern Christian date.[96]
In the 20th and 21st centuries, some individuals and institutions have propounded changing the method of calculating the date for Easter, the most prominent proposal being the Sunday after the second Saturday in April. Despite having some support, proposals to reform the date have not been implemented.[97] An Orthodox congress of Eastern Orthodox bishops, which included representatives mostly from thePatriarch of Constantinople and theSerbian Patriarch, met inConstantinople in 1923, where the bishops agreed to theRevised Julian calendar.[98]
The original form of this calendar would have determined Easter using precise astronomical calculations based on the meridian ofJerusalem.[99][100] However, all the Eastern Orthodox countries that subsequently adopted the Revised Julian calendar adopted only that part of the revised calendar that applied to festivals falling on fixed dates in the Julian calendar. The revised Easter computation that had been part of the original 1923 agreement was never permanently implemented in any Orthodox diocese.[98]
In theUnited Kingdom,Parliament passed theEaster Act 1928 to change the date of Easter to be the first Sunday after the second Saturday in April (or, in other words, the Sunday in the period from 9 to 15 April). However, the legislation has not been implemented, although it remains on the Statute book and could be implemented, subject to approval by the various Christian churches.[101]
At a summit inAleppo, Syria, in 1997, theWorld Council of Churches (WCC) proposed areform in the calculation of Easter which would have replaced the present divergent practices of calculating Easter with modern scientific knowledge taking into account actual astronomical instances of the spring equinox and full moon based on the meridian of Jerusalem, while also following the tradition of Easter being on the Sunday following the full moon.[102] The recommended World Council of Churches changes would have sidestepped the calendar issues and eliminated the difference in date between the Eastern and Western churches. The reform was proposed for implementation starting in 2001, and despite repeated calls for reform, it was not ultimately adopted by any member body.[103][104]
In January 2016, theAnglican Communion,Coptic Orthodox Church,Greek Orthodox Church, and Roman Catholic Church again considered agreeing on a common, universal date for Easter, while also simplifying the calculation of that date, with either the second or third Sunday in April being popular choices.[105]
In November 2022, the Patriarch of Constantinople said that conversations between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches had begun to determine a common date for the celebration of Easter. The agreement is expected to be reached for the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea in 2025.[106]
Table of the dates of Easter by Gregorian and Julian calendars
^Jewish Passover is on Nisan 15 of its calendar. It commences at sunset preceding the date indicated (as does Easter by some traditions).
^Astronomical Easter is the first Sunday after the astronomicalfull moon after the astronomicalMarch equinox as measured at the meridian of Jerusalem according to thisWCC proposal.
Easter and other named days and day ranges around Lent and Easter in Western Christianity, with the fasting days of Lent numbered
In most branches of Western Christianity, Easter is preceded byLent, a period of penitence that begins onAsh Wednesday, lasts 40 days (not counting Sundays), and is often marked with fasting. The week before Easter, known asHoly Week, is an important time for observers to commemorate the final week of Jesus' life on earth.[108] The Sunday before Easter isPalm Sunday, with the Wednesday before Easter being known asSpy Wednesday (or Holy Wednesday). The lastthree days before Easter areMaundy Thursday,Good Friday andHoly Saturday (sometimes referred to as Silent Saturday).[109]
Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday respectively commemorate Jesus's entry in Jerusalem, theLast Supper and thecrucifixion. Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday are sometimes referred to as theEaster Triduum (Latin for "Three Days"). Many churches begin celebrating Easter late in the evening of Holy Saturday at a service called theEaster Vigil.[110]
The week beginning with Easter Sunday is called Easter Week or theOctave of Easter, and each day is prefaced with "Easter", e.g.Easter Monday (a public holiday in many countries),Easter Tuesday (a much less widespread public holiday), etc.Easter Saturday is therefore the Saturdayafter Easter Sunday. The day before Easter is properly called Holy Saturday.Eastertide, or Paschaltide, the season of Easter, begins on Easter Sunday and lasts until the day ofPentecost, seven weeks later.[111][112][113]
InEastern Christianity, the spiritual preparation for Easter/Pascha begins withGreat Lent, which starts onClean Monday and lasts for 40 continuous days (including Sundays). Great Lent ends on a Friday, and the next day isLazarus Saturday. TheVespers which begins Lazarus Saturday officially brings Great Lent to a close, although the fast continues through the following week.[114][115]
The liturgical season from Easter to the Sunday ofAll Saints (the Sunday afterPentecost) is known as thePentecostarion (the "50 days"). The week which begins on Easter Sunday is calledBright Week, during which there is no fasting, even on Wednesday and Friday. TheAfterfeast of Easter lasts 39 days, with itsApodosis (leave-taking) on the day before theFeast of the Ascension. Pentecost Sunday is the 50th day from Easter (counted inclusively).[117] In the Pentecostarion published by Apostoliki Diakonia of the Church of Greece, the Great Feast Pentecost is noted in the synaxarion portion of Matins to be the 8th Sunday of Pascha. However, thePaschal greeting of "Christ is risen!" is no longer exchanged among the faithful after the Apodosis of Pascha.[118][119]
The Easter festival is kept in many different ways among Western Christians. The traditional,liturgical observation of Easter, as practised among Roman Catholics,Lutherans,[122] and someAnglicans begins on the night ofHoly Saturday with theEaster Vigil which follows an ancient liturgy involving symbols of light, candles and water and numerous readings from the Old and New Testament.[123]
Services continue on Easter Sunday and in a number of countries onEaster Monday. In parishes of theMoravian Church, as well as some other denominations such as theMethodist Churches, there is a tradition of Eastersunrise services,[124] often starting incemeteries[125] in remembrance of the biblical narrative in the Gospels, or other places in the open where the sunrise is visible.[126]
In some traditions, Easter services typically begin with thePaschal greeting: "Christ is risen!" The response is: "He is risen indeed. Alleluia!"[127]
Eastern Christianity
The congregation lighting their candles from the new flame, just as the priest has retrieved it from the altar. The picture isflash-illuminated; all electric lighting is off, and only theoil lamps in front of theIconostasis remain lit. (St. George Greek Orthodox Church, Adelaide).
Preparation for Easter begins with the season ofGreat Lent, which begins onClean Monday.[129] While the end of Lent isLazarus Saturday, fasting does not end until Easter Sunday.[130] The Orthodox service begins late Saturday evening, observing the Jewish tradition that evening is the start of liturgical holy days.[130]
The church is darkened, then the priest lights a candle at midnight, representing the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Altar servers light additional candles, with a procession which moves three times around the church to represent the three days in the tomb.[130] The service continues early into Sunday morning, with a feast to end the fasting. An additional service is held later that day on Easter Sunday.[130]
Easter is rejected by groups such as theRestored Church of God, who claim it originated as a pagan spring festival adopted by the Roman Catholic Church.[135][136]
Jehovah's Witnesses maintain a similar view, observing a yearly commemorative service of theLast Supper and the subsequent execution of Christ on the evening of Nisan 14 (as they calculate the dates derived from the lunarHebrew calendar). It is commonly referred to by many Witnesses as simply "The Memorial". Jehovah's Witnesses believe that such verses asLuke 22:19–20 and1 Corinthians 11:26 constitute a commandment to remember the death of Christ, though not the resurrection.[137][138]
Members of theReligious Society of Friends (Quakers), as part of their historictestimony against times and seasons, do not celebrate or observe Easter or any traditional feast days of the established Church, believing instead that "every day is theLord's Day", and that elevation of one day above others suggests that it is acceptable to do un-Christian acts on other days.[139][140] During the 17th and 18th centuries, Quakers were persecuted for this non-observance of Holy Days.[141]
TraditionalSlovenian Easter breakfast with eggs, ham with horseradish, andpoticaPastel colors are commonly associated with Easter.[142]
Easter traditions (also known as Paschal traditions) are customs and practices that are followed in various cultures and communities around the world to celebrate Easter, which is the central feast inChristianity, commemorating theresurrection of Jesus. TheEaster season is seen as a time of celebration and feasting, in contrast to the antecedent season ofLent, which is a time of penitence and fasting.[143]
In countries where Christianity is astate religion, or those with large Christian populations, Easter is often apublic holiday.[152] As Easter always falls on a Sunday, many countries in the world also recognizeGood Friday and Easter Monday as public holidays.[153] Depending on the country, retail stores, shopping malls and restaurants may be closed on the Friday, Monday or Sunday.[154]
In theNordic countries, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, and Easter Monday are public holidays,[155] and Good Friday and Easter Monday are bank holidays.[156] In Denmark, Iceland and Norway, Maundy Thursday is also a public holiday; it is a holiday for most workers, except those operating some shopping malls which keep open for a half-day. Many businesses give their employees almost a week off, called Easter break.[157] Schools are closed between Palm Sunday and Easter Monday. According to a 2014 poll, 6 of 10 Norwegians travel during Easter, often to a countryside cottage; 3 of 10 said their typical Easter included skiing.[158]
Easter in Italy is one of that country's major holidays.[159] Easter in Italy entersHoly Week with Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday, concluding with Easter Day and Easter Monday. Each day has a special significance. In Italy, both Easter Sunday and Easter Mondayare national holidays,[160] which results in a first and a second Easter Sunday, after which the week continues to a Tuesday.[160] Also in the Netherlands, both Easter Sunday and Easter Mondayare national holidays, and like first and second Christmas Day, they areboth considered Sundays, resulting in a first and a second Easter Sunday, after which the week continues to a Tuesday.[161]
Good Friday and Saturday as well as Easter Sunday and Monday are traditionally observedpublic holidays in Greece. It is customary for employees of thepublic sector to receive Easter bonuses as a gift from the state.[162]
InCommonwealth nations, Easter Sunday is rarely a public holiday, as is the case for celebrations which fall on a Sunday. In the United Kingdom, both Good Friday and Easter Monday arebank holidays, except in Scotland, where only Good Friday is a bank holiday.[163] In Canada, Easter Monday is astatutory holiday for federal employees. In the Canadian province ofQuebec, either Good Friday or Easter Monday are statutory holidays (although most companies give both).[164] In Australia, Easter is associated withharvest time;[165] Good Friday and Easter Monday are public holidays across all states and territories. The Saturday before Easter is a public holiday in every Australian state exceptTasmania andWestern Australia, while Easter Sunday itself is a public holiday only inNew South Wales;Easter Tuesday is additionally a conditional public holiday in Tasmania, varying betweenaward, and was also a public holiday in Victoria until 1994.[166]In New Zealand, Good Friday and Easter Monday are both state holidays.
In the United States, which is a secular country, Easter is not designated as a federal holiday.[167]Easter parades are held in many American cities, though not sponsored by any government, involving festive strolling processions.[33]
The holiday of Easter is associated with variousEaster customs andfoodways (food traditions that vary regionally). Preparing, coloring, and decoratingEaster eggs is one such popular tradition.Lamb is eaten in many countries, mirroring the JewishPassover meal.[168] Eating lamb at Easter has a religious meaning.[169] ThePaschal Lamb of theNew Testament is in fact, for Christianity, the son of God Jesus Christ.[170] The Paschal Lamb, in particular, represents the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for the sins of humanity.[169] Eating lamb at Easter therefore commemorates theDeath and Resurrection of Jesus.[169]
For lunch or dinner onHoly Saturday, families inSweden andDenmark traditionally feast on asmörgåsbord of herring, salmon, potatoes, eggs, and other kinds of food. InFinland, it is common to eat roasted lamb with potatoes and other vegetables. In Finland, the Lutheran majority enjoysmämmi as another traditional Easter treat, while the Orthodox minority's traditions include eating pasha (also spelledpaskha) instead. InGreece, the traditional Easter meal ismageiritsa, a hearty stew of chopped lamb liver and wild greens seasoned with egg-and-lemon sauce. Traditionally, Easter eggs, hard-boiled eggs dyed bright red to symbolize the spilt Blood of Christ and the promise of eternal life, are cracked together to celebrate the opening of the Tomb of Christ. Greek foods of the Easter tradition areFlaouna,Lazarakia,Koulourakia,Magiritsa andTsoureki.
Capirotada or Capilotade, also known as Capirotada de vigilia, is atraditionalMexican food similar to abread pudding that is usually eaten during theLenten period. It is one of the dishes served onGood Friday. Despite originally being consumed before Lent,capirotada is now consumedduring Lent, especially duringHoly Week and on Good Friday.[186] Recently, it has been given a spiritual meaning in relation to the passion of Christ and the Lenten season, thus, for many people, the bread represents the Body of Christ, the syrup is his blood, the cloves are the nails of the cross, and the whole cinnamon sticks are the wood of the cross.[187] The melted cheese stands for theHoly Shroud.[188]
TheEaster mona is a Spanish kind ofcake that is especially eaten on Easter Sunday orEaster Monday in theSpanish regions ofCatalonia,Valencia andMurcia.[189] In other Spanish regions, these Easter cakes are common with variations in the recipe and name. According to the writing ofJoan Amades, mentions of themona date back to the 15th century,[190] though in the Joan Lacavalleria's 1696 dictionary,Gazophylacium Catalano-Latinum,mona still has a purelyzoological definition (meaning female monkey). The 1783 edition of the dictionary of theRoyal Spanish Academy has the following definition: "Catalonia, Valencia and Murcia. Cake baked with eggs in their shell at Easter, known in other parts of the Iberian Peninsula as Hornazo".[191]
Paskha (also spelledpascha, orpasha) is a Slavic festive dish made inEastern Orthodox countries which consists of food that is forbidden during thefast ofGreat Lent. It is made duringHoly Week and then brought to Church onGreat Saturday to be blessed after thePaschal Vigil. The name of the dish comes from Pascha, the Eastern Orthodox celebration of Easter. BesidesRussia,Ukraine, etc. Pasha is also often served inFinland. Cheese paskha is a traditional Easter dish made fromtvorog (likecottage cheese,‹ThetemplateLang-rus is beingconsidered for deletion.› Russian:творог,romanized:tvorog),[192] which is white, symbolizing the purity of Christ, thePaschal Lamb, and the joy of theResurrection. It is formed in a mold, traditionally in the shape of a truncatedpyramid which symbolizes the firstPassover in Egypt, a nod to Christianity's early Jewish beginnings and a reminder that theLast Supper ofJesus was aPassover Seder. Others believe the pyramid is a symbol of theTrinity, theChurch;Tomb of Christ). It is usually served as an accompaniment to richEaster breads calledpaska in Ukraine andkulich in Russia (where the "paskha" name is also used in the Southern regions).[193] The Easter foods; bread and cheese paska are very rich and made of many dairy items given up duringGreat Lent. They are brought to church on Easter to be blessed by the priest.
The egg is an ancient symbol of new life and rebirth.[194] In Christianity it became associated with Jesus's crucifixion and resurrection.[195] The custom of the Easter egg originated in the early Christian community ofMesopotamia, who stained eggs red in memory of theblood of Christ, shed at his crucifixion.[196][197] As such, for Christians, the Easter egg is a symbol of theempty tomb.[26][27] The oldest tradition is to use dyedchicken eggs.
In theEastern Orthodox Church Easter eggs are blessed by a priest[198] both in families' baskets together with other foods forbidden duringGreat Lent and alone for distribution or in church or elsewhere.
Traditional red Easter eggs for blessing by a priest
A priest blessing baskets with Easter eggs and other foods forbidden duringGreat Lent
A priest distributing blessed Easter eggs after blessing the Soyuz rocket
Easter eggs are a widely popular symbol of new life among the Eastern Orthodox but also in folk traditions inSlavic countries and elsewhere. A batik-like decorating process known aspisanka produces intricate, brilliantly colored eggs. The celebratedHouse of Fabergé workshops createdexquisite jewelled Easter eggs for the Russian Imperial family from 1885 to 1916.[199]
Modern customs
A modern custom in theWestern world is to substitute decorated chocolate, or plastic eggs filled with candy such as jellybeans; as many people give up candy (sweets) as theirLenten sacrifice, individuals indulge in them at Easter after having abstained during the preceding forty days ofLent.[200]
Easter eggs, a symbol of theempty tomb, are a popular cultural symbol of Easter.[25]
Marshmallow rabbits, candy eggs and other treats in an Easter basket
Manufacturing their first Easter egg in 1875, British chocolate companyCadbury sponsors the annualegg hunt which takes place in over 250National Trust locations in the United Kingdom.[201][202] On Easter Monday, the President of the United States holds an annualEaster egg roll on theWhite House lawn for young children.[203]
In some traditions, the children put out their empty baskets for the Easter Bunny to fill while they sleep. They wake to find their baskets filled with candy eggs and other treats.[204][34] A custom originating in Germany,[204] the Easter Bunny is a popular legendaryanthropomorphic Easter gift-giving character analogous toSanta Claus in American culture. Many children around the world follow the tradition ofcoloring hard-boiled eggs and giving baskets of candy.[34] Historically, foxes, cranes and storks were also sometimes named as the mystical creatures.[204] Since therabbit is a pest in Australia, theEaster Bilby is available as an alternative.[205]
^Eusebius reports that Dionysius, Bishop of Alexandria, proposed an 8-year Easter cycle, and quotes a letter from Anatolius, Bishop of Laodicea, that refers to a 19-year cycle.[69] An 8-year cycle has been found inscribed on a statue unearthed in Rome in the 17th century, and since dated to the 3rd century.[70]
References
^Abdel Bari Atwan (2015).Islamic State: The Digital Caliphate. Oakland, California, USA: University of California. p. 58.ISBN978-0-520-28928-4.The Alawites celebrate the Christian festivals of Christmas, Easter, and Epiphany and believe in reincarnation (though not for women).
^Myhill, Prof John (4 May 2011)."The Alawites and Israel".Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies. Retrieved11 February 2025.
^Ferguson, Everett (2009).Baptism in the Early Church: History, Theology, and Liturgy in the First Five Centuries. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 351.ISBN978-0802827487.Archived from the original on 1 August 2020. Retrieved23 April 2014.The practices are usually interpreted in terms of baptism at the pasch (Easter), for which compare Tertullian, but the text does not specify this season, only that it was done on Sunday, and the instructions may apply to whenever the baptism was to be performed.
^abDavies, Norman (1998).Europe: A History.HarperCollins. p. 201.ISBN978-0060974688.In most European languages Easter is called by some variant of the late Latin wordPascha, which in turn derives from the Hebrewpesach, meaningpassover.
^abGamman, Andrew; Bindon, Caroline (2014).Stations for Lent and Easter. Kereru Publishing Limited. p. 7.ISBN978-0473276812.Easter Day, also known as Resurrection Sunday, marks the high point of the Christian year. It is the day that we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
^abBoda, Mark J.; Smith, Gordon T. (2006).Repentance in Christian Theology. Liturgical Press. p. 316.ISBN978-0814651759.Archived from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved19 April 2014.Orthodox, Catholic, and all Reformed churches in the Middle East celebrate Easter according to the Eastern calendar, calling this holy day "Resurrection Sunday", not Easter.
^Trawicky, Bernard; Gregory, Ruth Wilhelme (2000).Anniversaries and Holidays.American Library Association.ISBN978-0838906958.Archived from the original on 12 October 2017. Retrieved17 October 2020.Easter is the central celebration of the Christian liturgical year. It is the oldest and most important Christian feast, celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The date of Easter determines the dates of all movable feasts except those of Advent.
^Cooper, J.HB. (23 October 2013).Dictionary of Christianity. Routledge. p. 124.ISBN9781134265466.Holy Week. The last week in LENT. It begins on PALM SUNDAY; the fourth day is called SPY WEDNESDAY; the fifth is MAUNDY THURSDAY or HOLY THURSDAY; the sixth is Good Friday; and the last 'Holy Saturday', or the 'Great Sabbath'.
^Peter C. Bower (2003).The Companion to the Book of Common Worship.Geneva Press.ISBN978-0664502324.Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved11 April 2009.Maundy Thursday (orle mandé; Thursday of theMandatum, Latin, commandment). The name is taken from the first few words sung at the ceremony of the washing of the feet, "I give you a new commandment" (John 13:34); also from the commandment of Christ that we should imitate His loving humility in the washing of the feet (John 13:14–17). The termmandatum (maundy), therefore, was applied to the rite of foot-washing on this day.
^abWhitehouse, Bonnie Smith (15 November 2022).Seasons of Wonder: Making the Ordinary Sacred Through Projects, Prayers, Reflections, and Rituals: A 52-week devotional. Crown Publishing Group. pp. 95–96.ISBN978-0-593-44332-3.
^abcJordan, Anne (2000).Christianity.Nelson Thornes.ISBN978-0748753208.Archived from the original on 8 February 2021. Retrieved7 April 2012.Easter eggs are used as a Christian symbol to represent the empty tomb. The outside of the egg looks dead but inside there is new life, which is going to break out. The Easter egg is a reminder that Jesus will rise from His tomb and bring new life. Eastern Orthodox Christians dye boiled eggs red to represent the blood of Christ shed for the sins of the world.
^abcThe Guardian, Volume 29. H. Harbaugh. 1878.Archived from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved7 April 2012.Just so, on that first Easter morning, Jesus came to life and walked out of the tomb, and left it, as it were, an empty shell. Just so, too, when the Christian dies, the body is left in the grave, an empty shell, but the soul takes wings and flies away to be with God. Thus you see that though an egg seems to be as dead as a stone, yet it really has life in it; and also it is like Christ's dead body, which was raised to life again. This is the reason we use eggs on Easter. (In olden times they used to color the eggs red, so as to show the kind of death by which Christ died, – abloody death.)
^abcGordon Geddes, Jane Griffiths (2002).Christian belief and practice.Heinemann.ISBN978-0435306915.Archived from the original on 29 July 2020. Retrieved7 April 2012.Red eggs are given to Orthodox Christians after the Easter Liturgy. They crack their eggs against each other's. The cracking of the eggs symbolizes a wish to break away from the bonds of sin and misery and enter the new life issuing from Christ's resurrection.
^Collins, Cynthia (19 April 2014)."Easter Lily Tradition and History".The Guardian.Archived from the original on 17 August 2020. Retrieved20 April 2014.The Easter Lily is symbolic of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Churches of all denominations, large and small, are filled with floral arrangements of these white flowers with their trumpet-like shape on Easter morning.
^Schell, Stanley (1916).Easter Celebrations. Werner & Company. p. 84.We associate the lily with Easter, as pre-eminently the symbol of the Resurrection.
^Black, Vicki K. (2004).The Church Standard, Volume 74. Church Publishing, Inc.ISBN978-0819225757.Archived from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved7 April 2012.In parts of Europe, the eggs were dyed red and were then cracked together when people exchanged Easter greetings. Many congregations today continue to have Easter egg hunts for the children after the services on Easter Day.
^The Church Standard, Volume 74. Walter N. Hering. 1897.Archived from the original on 30 August 2020. Retrieved7 April 2012.When the custom was carried over into Christian practice the Easter eggs were usually sent to the priests to be blessed and sprinkled with holy water. In later times the coloring and decorating of eggs was introduced, and in a royal roll of the time of Edward I., which is preserved in the Tower of London, there is an entry of 18d. for 400 eggs, to be used for Easter gifts.
^Brown, Eleanor Cooper (2010).From Preparation to Passion. Xulon Press.ISBN978-1609577650.Archived from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved7 April 2012.So what preparations do most Christians and non-Christians make? Shopping for new clothing often signifies the belief that Spring has arrived, and it is a time of renewal. Preparations for the Easter Egg Hunts and the Easter Ham for the Sunday dinner are high on the list too.
^"History of Easter".The History Channel website. A&E Television Networks. 27 October 2009.Archived from the original on 31 May 2013. Retrieved9 March 2013.
^Karl Gerlach (1998).The Antenicene Pascha: A Rhetorical History. Peeters Publishers. p. xviii.ISBN978-9042905702.Archived from the original on 8 August 2021. Retrieved9 January 2020.The second century equivalent of easter and the paschal Triduum was called by both Greek and Latin writers "Pascha (πάσχα)", a Greek transliteration of the Aramaic form of the Hebrew פֶּסַח, the Passover feast of Ex. 12.
^Karl Gerlach (1998).The Antenicene Pascha: A Rhetorical History. Peters Publishers. p. 21.ISBN978-9042905702.Archived from the original on 28 December 2021. Retrieved17 October 2020.For while it is from Ephesus that Paul writes, "Christ our Pascha has been sacrificed for us", Ephesian Christians were not likely the first to hear that Ex 12 did not speak about the rituals of Pesach, but the death of Jesus of Nazareth.
^abcdVicki K. Black (2004).Welcome to the Church Year: An Introduction to the Seasons of the Episcopal Church. Church Publishing, Inc.ISBN978-0819219664.Archived from the original on 8 August 2021. Retrieved9 January 2020.Easter is still called by its older Greek name,Pascha, which means "Passover", and it is this meaning as the Christian Passover-the celebration of Jesus's triumph over death and entrance into resurrected life-that is the heart of Easter in the church. For the early church, Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of the Jewish Passover feast: through Jesus, we have been freed from slavery of sin and granted to the Promised Land of everlasting life.
^Orthros of Holy Pascha, Stichera: "Today the sacred Pascha is revealed to us. The new and holy Pascha, the mystical Pascha. The all-venerable Pascha. The Pascha which is Christ the Redeemer. The spotless Pascha. The great Pascha. The Pascha of the faithful. The Pascha which has opened unto us the gates of Paradise. The Pascha which sanctifies all faithful."
^Karl Gerlach (1998).The Antenicene Pascha: A Rhetorical History. Peeters Publishers. p. 21.ISBN978-9042905702.Archived from the original on 8 August 2021. Retrieved9 January 2020.Long before this controversy, Ex 12 as a story of origins and its ritual expression had been firmly fixed in the Christian imagination. Though before the final decades of the 2nd century only accessible as an exegetical tradition, already in the Pauline letters the Exodus saga is deeply involved with the celebration of bath and meal. Even here, this relationship does not suddenly appear, but represents developments in ritual narrative that must have begun at the very inception of the Christian message. Jesus of Nazareth was crucified during Pesach-Mazzot, an event that a new covenant people of Jews and Gentiles both saw as definitive and defining. Ex 12 is thus one of the few reliable guides for tracing the synergism among ritual, text, and kerygma before the Council of Nicaea.
^Cheslyn Jones, Geoffrey Wainwright, Edward Yarnold, and Paul Bradshaw, Eds.,The Study of Liturgy, Revised Edition, Oxford University Press, New York, 1992, p. 474.
^Genung, Charles Harvey (1904). "The Reform of the Calendar".The North American Review.179 (575):569–583.JSTOR25105305.
^Cheslyn Jones, Geoffrey Wainwright, Edward Yarnold, and Paul Bradshaw, Eds.,The Study of Liturgy, Revised Edition, Oxford University Press, New York, 1992, p. 459: "[Easter] is the only feast of the Christian Year that can plausibly claim to go back to apostolic times ... [It] must derive from a time when Jewish influence was effective ... because it depends on the lunar calendar (every other feast depends on the solar calendar)."
^Thurston, Herbert (1 May 1909)."Easter Controversy".The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Archived fromthe original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved23 April 2023 – via New Advent.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
^Socrates,Church History, 6.11, atSchaff, Philip (13 July 2005)."Of Severian and Antiochus: their Disagreement from John".Socrates and Sozomenus Ecclesiastical Histories. Calvin College Christian Classics Ethereal Library.Archived from the original on 13 October 2010. Retrieved28 March 2009.
^Peter of Alexandria, quoted in theChronicon Paschale. In Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, eds.,Ante-Nicene Christian Library, Volume 14: The Writings of Methodius, Alexander of Lycopolis, Peter of Alexandria, And Several Fragments, Edinburgh, 1869, p. 326, atDonaldson, Alexander (1 June 2005)."That Up to the Time of the Destruction of Jerusalem, the Jews Rightly Appointed the Fourteenth Day of the First Lunar Month".Gregory Thaumaturgus, Dionysius the Great, Julius Africanus, Anatolius and Minor Writers, Methodius, Arnobius. Calvin College Christian Classics Ethereal Library.Archived from the original on 15 April 2009. Retrieved28 March 2009.
^Allen Brent,Hippolytus and the Roman Church in the Third Century, Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1995.
^Philip Schaff; Henry Wace, eds. (1 January 1890).Church History, Book II (Eusebius). Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, second series. Vol. 1. Translated by Arthur Cushman McGiffert. Christian Literature Publishing Co. Retrieved23 April 2023 – via New Advent.
^Mosshammer, Alden A. (2008).The Easter Computus and the Origins of the Christian Era. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 50.ISBN978-0-19-954312-0.
^Mosshammer, Alden A. (2008).The Easter Computus and the Origins of the Christian Era. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 51, 65.ISBN978-0-19-954312-0.
^Mosshammer, Alden A. (2008).The Easter Computus and the Origins of the Christian Era. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 50–52, 53,62–65.ISBN978-0-19-954312-0.
^Apostolic Canon 7: "If any bishop, presbyter, or deacon shall celebrate the holy day of Easter before the vernal equinox with the Jews, let him be deposed."A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, Second Series, Volume 14: The Seven Ecumenical Councils, Eerdmans, 1956, p. 594.
^St. John Chrysostom, "Against those who keep the first Passover", inSaint John Chrysostom: Discourses against Judaizing Christians, translated by Paul W. Harkins, Washington, DC, 1979, pp. 47ff.
^McGuckin, John Anthony (2011).The encyclopedia of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Maldin, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. p. 223.ISBN978-1-4443-9253-1.OCLC703879220.
^abMosshammer, Alden A. (2008).The Easter Computus and the Origins of the Christian Era. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 239–244.ISBN978-0-19-954312-0.
^Declercq, Georges (2000).Anno Domini : the origins of the Christian era. Belgium: Turnhout. pp. 143–144.ISBN2-503-51050-7.OCLC45243083.
^Mosshammer, Alden A. (2008).The Easter Computus and the Origins of the Christian Era. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 223–224.ISBN978-0-19-954312-0.
^"The Church in Malankara switched entirely to the Gregorian calendar in 1953, following Encyclical No. 620 from Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem I, dt. December 1952."Calendars of the Syriac Orthodox ChurchArchived 24 February 2010 at theWayback Machine. Retrieved 22 April 2009
^"Easter: A date with God".The Economist. 20 April 2011.Archived from the original on 23 April 2018. Retrieved23 April 2011.Only in a handful of places do Easter celebrants alter their own arrangements to take account of their neighbours. Finland's Orthodox Christians mark Easter on the Western date. And on the Greek island of Syros, a Papist stronghold, Catholics and Orthodox alike march to Orthodox time. The spectacular public commemorations, involving flower-strewn funeral biers on Good Friday and fireworks on Saturday night, bring the islanders together, rather than highlighting division.
^"Easter: A date with God".The Economist. 20 April 2011.Archived from the original on 23 April 2018. Retrieved23 April 2011.Finland's Orthodox Christians mark Easter on the Western date.
^"Easter (holiday)".Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica.Archived from the original on 3 May 2015. Retrieved9 March 2013.
^abHieromonk Cassian,A Scientific Examination of the Orthodox Church Calendar, Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies, 1998, pp. 51–52,ISBN0-911165-31-2.
^M. Milankovitch, "Das Ende des julianischen Kalenders und der neue Kalender der orientalischen Kirchen",Astronomische Nachrichten 200, 379–384 (1924).
^"Towards a Common Date for Easter". Aleppo, Syria: World Council of Churches (WCC) / Middle East Council of Churches Consultation (MECC). 10 March 1997.
^MacKinnon, Grace (March 2003)."The Meaning of Holy Week". Catholic Education Resource Center.Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved16 April 2022.
^Sfetcu, Nicolae (2 May 2014).Easter Traditions. Nicolae Sfetcu.Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved25 January 2023.
^"Holy Saturday".Encyclopedia Britannica. 20 July 1998. Retrieved23 April 2023.
^Huck, Gabe; Ramshaw, Gail; Lathrop, Gordon W. (1988).An Easter sourcebook : the fifty days. Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications.ISBN0-930467-76-0.OCLC17737025.
^McGuckin, John Anthony (2011).The Orthodox Church : an introduction to its history, doctrine, and spiritual culture. Chichester, England.ISBN978-1-4443-9383-5.OCLC1042251815.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Lash, Ephrem (Archimandrite) (25 January 2007)."On the Holy and Great Sunday of Pascha". Monastery of Saint Andrew the First Called, Manchester, England. Archived fromthe original on 9 April 2007. Retrieved27 March 2007.
^The Pentecostarion. Massachusetts: Holy Transfiguration Monastery. 1990. pp. 6–7.ISBN0-943405-02-5.
^Liturgical Commission Of The Sisters Of The Order Of St Basil The Great (1970).The Pentecostarion(PDF).Archived(PDF) from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved23 April 2023 – via melkite.org.
^"These Are the Real Meanings behind the Colors of Easter".Southern Living. 14 February 2023. Retrieved10 April 2023.On Easter, the color white symbolizes purity, grace, and, ultimately, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is the joyful culmination of the Easter season. On this holiday, white Easter lilies are displayed in churches and homes, symbolizing the purity of Christ and representing a trumpet sharing the message that Jesus has risen.
^"Meaning of Cross Drape Colors". Wake Union Baptist Church. Retrieved10 April 2023.The cross is draped in white on Easter Sunday, representing the resurrection of Christ and that He was "...raised again for our justification".
^Moroz, Vladimir (10 May 2016).Лютерани східного обряду: такі є лише в Україні (in Ukrainian). РІСУ – Релігійно-інформаційна служба України.Archived from the original on 15 August 2020. Retrieved19 September 2018.В українських лютеран, як і в ортодоксальних Церквах, напередодні Великодня є Великий Піст або Чотиридесятниця.
^"Easter".History.com.History. 27 October 2009.Archived from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved20 April 2019.
^Daniels, Bruce Colin (1995). Puritans at Play: Leisure and Recreation in Colonial New England. Macmillan, p. 89,ISBN978-0-31216124-8
^Roark, James; Johnson, Michael; Cohen, Patricia; Stage, Sarah; Lawson, Alan; Hartmann, Susan (2011).Understanding the American Promise: A History, Volume I: To 1877. Bedford/St. Martin's. p. 91.Puritans mandated other purifications of what they considered corrupt English practices. They refused to celebrate Christmas or Easter because the Bible did not mention either one.
^"The Regulative Principle of Worship". Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland.Archived from the original on 14 February 2022. Retrieved12 April 2022.Those who adhere to the Regulative Principle by singing exclusively the psalms, refusing to use musical instruments, and rejecting "Christmas", "Easter" and the rest, are often accused of causing disunity among the people of God. The truth is the opposite. The right way to move towards more unity is to move to exclusively Scriptural worship. Each departure from the worship instituted in Scripture creates a new division among the people of God. Returning to Scripture alone to guide worship is the only remedy.
^Minutes of Session of 1905. Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America. 1905. p. 130.WHEREAS, There is a growing tendency in Protestant Churches, and to some extent in our own, to observe days and ceremonies, as Christmas and Easter, that are without divine authority; we urge our people to abstain from all such customs as are popish in their origin and injurious as lending sacredness to rites that come from paganism; that ministers keep before the minds of the people that only institutions that are Scriptural and of Divine appointment should be used in the worship of God.
^Pennoyer, Greg; Wolfe, Gregory (1 December 2015).God For Us: Rediscovering the Meaning of Lent and Easter (Reader's ed.). Paraclete Press.ISBN978-1-61261-822-7.With the creation of Lent, the church brought together many of these preexisting customs and directed them to a common need--not only among those entering the life of the church for the first time, but also among practicing Christians for whom the mystery of Easter might threaten to become a mere commonplace. Lenet became a way for Christians to mindfully prepare for the coming feast, to open themselves to their own spiritual hunger in order to make room for the life and fulfillment offered at Easter.
^Collins, Cynthia (19 April 2014)."Easter Lily Tradition and History".The Guardian.Archived from the original on 17 August 2020. Retrieved20 April 2014.The Easter Lily is symbolic of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Churches of all denominations, large and small, are filled with floral arrangements of these white flowers with their trumpet-like shape on Easter morning.
^Schell, Stanley (1916).Easter Celebrations. Werner & Company. p. 84.We associate the lily with Easter, as pre-eminently the symbol of the Resurrection.
^abHunt, Scott (15 March 2016)."What's Up with Eggs and Easter?". St. George's Anglican Church. Retrieved10 April 2023.The egg, with its hard shell, was used to represent Jesus' tomb. Outside it looks lifeless. But, after a time, from inside breaks out new life. In some traditions the eggs were painted red to represent the blood of Christ shed for us. Easter egg hunts were organized to represent searching out the risen Jesus. Egg rolling was a game to remember how the stone was rolled away from the entrance of Jesus' tomb. Even Martin Luther is said to have been a fan of Easter Eggs and Easter Egg hunts.
^Black, Vicki K. (2004).The Church Standard, Volume 74. Church Publishing, Inc.ISBN978-0819225757.Archived from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved7 April 2012.In parts of Europe, the eggs were dyed red and were then cracked together when people exchanged Easter greetings. Many congregations today continue to have Easter egg hunts for the children after the services on Easter Day.
^Davis, David (20 April 2014)."Easter Traditions Explained".CBS News. Retrieved20 April 2014.The German church reformer Martin Luther, Larson-Miller said, also appeared to encourage the tradition. "We know that Martin Luther had Easter egg hunts where the men hid the eggs for the women and children went and it probably has this connection back to this idea of eggs being the tomb."
^Agency, Canada Revenue (21 January 2016)."Public holidays".Canada.ca. Retrieved23 April 2023.
^"American holidays".USAGov. U.S. General Services Administration. 6 December 2023. Retrieved29 May 2024.Many government offices and some private businesses close on annual federal holidays.If the holiday falls during the weekend, the government may observe it on a different day. [emphasis added]
^Turner, Ina; Taylor, Ina (1999).Christianity. Nelson Thornes. p. 50.ISBN9780748740871.To mark the end of the Lent fast Christians eat hot cross buns. These have a special meaning. The cross in the middle shows how Jesus died. Spices inside remind Christians of the spices put on the body of Jesus. Sweet fruits in the bun show that Christians no longer have to eat plain foods.
^Fakes, Dennis R. (1 January 1994).Exploring Our Lutheran Liturgy. CSS Publishing. p. 33.ISBN9781556735967.Since people often gave up meat during Lent, bread became one of the staples of Lent. Bakers even began making dough pretzels--a knotted length of dough that represented a Christian praying, with arms crossed and hands placed on opposite shoulders. Hot cross buns are popular during Lent. The cross of course reminds the eater of Christ's cross.
^Siemaszkiewicz, Wojciech; Deyrup, Marta Mestrovic (2013).Wallington's Polish Community. Arcadia Publishing. p. 101.ISBN978-1439643303.The tradition of Easter eggs dates back to early Christians in Mesopotamia. The Easter egg is a reminder that Jesus rose from the grave, promising an eternal life for believers.
^Donahoe's Magazine, Volume 5. T.B. Noonan. 1881.Archived from the original on 1 August 2020. Retrieved24 April 2014.The early Christians of Mesopotamia had the custom of dyeing and decorating eggs at Easter. They were stained red, in memory of the blood of Christ, shed at His crucifixion. The Church adopted the custom, and regarded the eggs as the emblem of the resurrection, as is evinced by the benediction of Pope Paul V., about 1610, which reads thus: 'Bless, O Lord! we beseech thee, this thy creature of eggs, that it may become a wholesome sustenance to thy faithful servants, eating it in thankfulness to thee on account of the resurrection of the Lord.' Thus the custom has come down from ages lost in antiquity.
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