Easter Holiday and Traditions

855 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Easter tradition essays

Easter is a religious holiday that celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ three days after his death by crucifixion about 2,000 years ago. For Christians, Easter is a day of religious services and the gathering of family. In many churches Easter comes after a season of prayer, abstinence, and fasting called Lent. This is observed in memory of the 40 days' fast of Christ in the desert. In Eastern Orthodox churches Lent is 50 days. In Western Christen religions Lent is observed for six weeks and four days.

Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, gets its name from the practice, mostly in the Roman Catholic church, of putting ashes on the foreheads of the faithful to remind them that "man is but dust." Palm Sunday, one week before Easter, celebrates the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Holy Week begins on this day. Holy Thursday, or Maundy Thursday, is in memory of the Last Supper of Christ with his disciples. Good Friday remembers the crucifixion.

Lent may be preceded by a carnival season. Detailed pageants often close this season on Shrove Tuesday, the day before the beginning of Lent. This day is also called by its French name, Mardi Gras.

The name Easter comes from Eostre (pronounced yo'ster), an ancient Anglo-Saxon goddess. In pagan times an annual spring festival was held in her honor. Some Easter customs have come from this and other pre-Christian spring festivals. Others come from the Passover feast of the Jews, observed in memory of their deliverance from Egypt.

Formerly, Easter and the Passover were closely associated. The resurrection of Jesus took place during the Passover. Christians of the Eastern church initially celebrated both holidays together. But the Passover can fall on any day of the week, and Christians of the Western church preferred to celebrate Easter on Sunday, the day of the resurrection.

The Easter Bunny is a popular image of the holiday. According to legend, the bunny was originally a large, handsome bird belonging to Eostre, the Goddess of Spring. Eostre is also known as Ostara, a Goddess of fertility who is celebrated at the time of the Spring equinox. She changed the bird into a rabbit, which explains why the Easter bunny builds a nest and fills it with colored eggs. The first edible Easter bunnies were made in Germany during the early 1800s. They were made of pastery and sugar.
Around the time of the Civil War, Americans began to celebrate Easter in the same way as Europeans, with children building nests for the Easter bunny to fill with eggs.

Show More
Related

  • Daily Life And Holidays During The Elizabethan Era

    504 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many Elizabethan holidays were related to their church, so Elizabethans attended church every Sunday so that they would be aware of which holidays and festivals were coming up. The Elizabethan Christian holidays are the Twelfth Night and Swithin’s Day. The Twelfth Night is celebrated on January fifth and this holiday marks the twelfth and final night of the Christmas season. During this holiday there are many festivals and feasts celebrating this religious holiday, on this night the Wise Men, or Magi following the birth of Jesus, come and visited them. Swithin’s Day is celebrated on July fifteenth, and celebrated Saint Within, a legendary bishop. When Saint Swithin’s died his bones were messed with, causing it to rain for forty days. Elizabethans used this holiday to predict weather outcomes for the next forty days.

    Read More

  • El Dia de los Muertos

    306 Words  | 1 Pages

    El Dia de los Muertos goes back to the Aztecs, who had not just a few days but an entire month dedicated to the dead. When the Spanish conquistadors vanquished the Aztecs, they changed the tradition so it was at the same time of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. El Dia de los Muertos was brought to the United States when Mexican-Americans underwent a cultural reawakening in the early 1970s. The holiday's popularity has since spread to other races and cultures.

    Read More

  • Traditions and Holidays Celebrated by Latinos

    1384 Words  | 3 Pages

    After Calle Ocho and Lent comes Easter Sunday, where the celebration of Easter honors Christ’s resurrection. Since eggs are symbols of renewal and are perfect for spring, they are used for decorations and egg hunting activities. Mexican Americans put a different spin on the event, draining and cleaning eggshells a month before Easter to create cascarones. Cascarón or cascarones means eggshell. Cascarones are filled with confetti and closed with colored tissue paper to make hats that can be cracked over someone’s head.

    Read More

  • Why the Dedication of Saints in Roman Catholicism?

    665 Words  | 2 Pages

    What or who is a Saint? In a very simple way to answer the question, we may say that a saint is any person who dies and who is now enjoying his/her external life before the eternal and divine presence of God in heavens. For people, well known or not, are celebrated on the very first day of the month of November; the All Saints Day. The origins of the religious feast in the Roman Catholic Church came from the early days of the church around the year 80 or 80 AC when sealed by the blood of Jesus’ crucifixion on the cross. By the martyrdoms of many Catholics, who are dedicated to Jesus’ teachings and the example of Saint Peter, pay with their lives to the Glory of belonging to the only church founded by Jesus Christ himself. The Catholics by the virtue of their martyrdom and their lives in all of the extinction of the Roman Empire, where they were persecuted and executed at the Circus Maximus, The Roman Coliseum at the Caracalla, and even inside of the Domus Aurea (Nero’s Palace). Those martyrs who lost their lives from th...

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Seder Plate In Passover Tradition

    1284 Words  | 3 Pages

    Passover (also known as Pesach in Hebrew) is one of the most sacred festival in the Jewish calendar and the longest continuing ritual in the human history. Since 1300 B.C, Jews celebrate this tradition to commemorate the national freedom of the Children of Israel and recalls stories behind the Israelites' departure from the land of Egypt. Spring time signifies the season of Passover, which begins at the sunset marking the fifteenth day of Nisan, the first month in Jewish calendar. In modern calendar, that is between April and May. The story of Passover is written in the Book of Exodus, the second book of Hebrew Bible. Over 3000 years ago, Pharoah, the King of Egypt, enslaved Jews and tortur...

    Read More

  • Compare The Holidays Of Halloween And The Day Of The Dead?

    1324 Words  | 3 Pages

    Halloween is believed to have been developed over two thousand years ago, before even the birth of Jesus. It originated from the Celtic people native to Ireland, England, Wales, Scotland, and

    Read More

  • The Mexican Day of the Dead

    1037 Words  | 3 Pages

    The original celebration can be traced to many Mesoamerican native traditions, such as the festivities held during the Aztec month of Miccailhuitontli, ritually presided by the "Lady of the Dead" (Mictecacihuatl), and dedicated to children and the dead. In the Aztec calendar, this ritual fell roughly at the end of the Gregorian month of July and the beginning of August, but in the postconquest era it was moved by Spanish priests so that it coincided with the Christian holiday of All Hallows Eve (in Spanish: "Día de Todos Santos.") This was a vain effort to transform the observance from a profane to a Christian celebration. The result is that Mexicans now celebrate the day of the dead during the first two days of November, rather than at the beginning of summer. But remember the dead they still do, and the modern festivity is characterized by the traditional Mexican blend of ancient aboriginal and introduced Christian features.

    Read More

  • Roman Mythology Essay

    808 Words  | 2 Pages

    ... preparation of the celebration of Jesus’ birth and his second coming. This leads all the way up to Christmas Eve, and ends with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Then, Lent occurs: the preparation time that the believer takes to reflect upon their religious practices and values. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, and ends on Holy Thursday. Holy Thursday marks the beginning of the Easter Triduum. The Easter Triduum includes: Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday. The significance of the Easter Triduum is honoring: The Last Supper, death, burial, and resurrection. After the Triduum, Pentecost follows; during this time we honor the descent of the Holy Spirit, which is known as the Ascension of Jesus. After the Ascension of Jesus, we enter Ordinary Time. This Liturgical Season is followed closely by Catholics, this is a prime example of living out their faith.

    Read More

  • Description of La Semana Santa Holiday

    1012 Words  | 3 Pages

    April's Tag Game ~ Semana Santa ~ Easter in Spain. (2014). Retrieved March 23, 2014, from Food.com: http://www.food.com/bb/viewtopic.zsp?t=373241

    Read More

  • Taking a Look at Lutheranism

    1047 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...days to remember great saints, and so forth. They also have a couple that are specific to their own history, including the celebration of Reformation Day on October 31st, generally regarded as the day when Martin Luther launched the Reformation. Interestingly enough, it coincided with All Saints Day celebrations, where the Church remembers all who have died in Christ with the hope of salvation and redemption.

    Read More

  • History of christmas

    476 Words  | 1 Pages

    Although it was never celebrated in biblical times, Christmas is celebrated in local churches here in Visalia, California in praise of the fact that God loved us so much; he sent his one and only son to earth. He was wholey god and wholey man. Whereas we have succumbed to the temptations of this earth, Jesus was able to overcome all temptations and live a sinless life. He was then crucified as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. One cannot understand why we celebrate the birth of Christ without seeing the other end of his life. He was crucified for our sins and resurrected.

    Read More

  • Moses And The Ten Commandments In The Bible

    1282 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the month of “Nissan”, or the month in which Passover is to occur, on the tenth day each person must take a lamb from his or her home. They have to keep it until the fourteenth of that month and then must eat it in a hurry because it is the Passover Sacrifice. Then once they do that they must eat bread for seven days than on the next day they have to clear out yeast from their houses. Although today religions don’t exactly practice it in this way. For instance, Christians we experience Passover every spring, where we are essentially suppose to pray and fast for forty days.

    Read More

  • Carnival Carnaval

    1790 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...the world upside down, creating happiness, abundance, freedom, and above all equality of everyone within society.” This elaborate and extensive celebration brings all classes together for a period of time when issues and rights are embraced to improve on. Women use this time as a gateway towards equality while homosexuals use the opportunity to gain more acceptance. Even those mourning over loss or poverty can come together and celebrate their misfortunes in a way that makes them feel acknowledged and appreciated. Lent is a period of time when people choose to give something up, the Carnaval starts off this period but making people appreciate what they have and by bringing them together. Brazilians who participate have fond memories of the sense of togetherness the Carnaval brought them. Brazil is known for Carnaval and the spirit associated with the event.

    Read More

  • How Christians Celebrate Religious Festivals and Why they Continue to Celebrate Them Today

    730 Words  | 2 Pages

    Saints days always remain on the same day, e.g. Saint Patrick's (March 17th). The Easter Cycle moves according to the moon, with Easter Day falling on the first full moon after March 21st. This movement directly effects the Whitsun Cycle. Because Ascension and Pentecost have to be 40 and 50 days after Easter Day respectively. Advent is a time spanning four weeks directly before Christmas.

    Read More

  • The Importance of Suffering, Death and Resurrection for Christians Today

    624 Words  | 2 Pages

    The most important feast in the Christian calendar is Easter, when we celebrate Jesus' resurrection. Every week At Mass we as Catholics share in the Eucharist and commemorate Jesus. death, remembering Jesus' words at the Last Supper, "Do this is memory." of me. We believe that at the moment of the consecration the bread and wine literally became Jesus' body and blood.

    Read More

More about Easter Holiday and Traditions

Open Document