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.
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