Easter

6. Easter Traditions

The climax of Lent is Holy Week, the seven days before Easter. It begins on Palm Sunday, commemorating Christ's triumphal ride into Jerusalem, where the populace greeted Him with palm branches. Passion plays are sometimes held to re-enact the suffering and death of the Lord.

To Christian believers, probably the most sombre day of the year is Good Friday, when Tre Ore services (Latin for «three hours») are held to symbolise the three hours Jesus hung on the Cross.

The idea of Easter eggs goes back to the time of ancient Persia and Egypt and was also a part of the culture of the Germanic tribes of Europe. The latter believed that eggs were laid by Easter's pet hare. The egg was easily taken over by Christian culture to symbolize new life. Just as a chick breaks out of its shell, so too, Jesus emerged from His tomb.

Easter eggs are coloured or otherwise decorated in a wide variety of techniques, including dyeing, painting and etching. The most ornate multicoloured eggs come from Poland's Ukrainian borderlands in the south-east, where designs are applied with molten wax. The egg is dipped in dye, then dried, again decorated with molten wax and immersed in yet another colour bath. This process may be repeated a number of times to create gaily patterned Easter eggs of four or more different colours.

The easiest Easter eggs to make are the solid colour variety. This is the favourite of small children on both sides of the Atlantic, since it suffices to dip a hard-boiled egg into a colour solution for several minutes. Some decorate their eggs with various decals. Those stick-ons that show smurfs, Ninja turtles or Disney characters are more kitchy and commercial than festive, as far as this writer is concerned!

If you were to ask people what a rabbit has to do with Easter, probably few would know the answer, regardless of whether you did the asking in the streets of New York or Warsaw. American youngsters would probably say that the Easter Bunny brings presents the way Santa Claus does at Christmas, but the origin of the custom would be known to almost none of them. That is because the hare has no connection whatsoever with the Christian Feast of Resurrection. The Osterhase (German for the mythical egg-laying hare belonging to the goddess Eostre) was simply adopted by some l9th-century stationer, giving rise to the millions of rabbit-covered Easter cards we see today. In cashing in on this craze, the chocolate factories were not far behind.

The Easter Lamb, shown with a banner of Resurrection, is the Christian adaptation of the sacrificial Paschal Lamb of the Jews. To Christians, the fleecy quadruped was the Agnus Dei, the Lamb of God, in other words the Redeemer who shed His blood to cleanse mankind of sin. For whatever reason, the chocolate industry is more partial to the Easter Rabbit than the Easter Lamb. In Polish tradition however, it is customary to place a lamb made of sugar, butter or even plastic in the Easter basket that is taken to church to be blessed.

7. Symbols of Easter

As Christianity spread, more familiar traditions, symbols and celebrations of spring were associated with Easter - Christ coming back to life after death. One of the oldest spring symbols in the world is the egg.

The oval shape of the egg was the same shape for a raindrop and a seed. These two were important life-giving elements. The egg itself promises new life as in spring, birds, and many other animals are hatched from eggs. In fact, the Persians, Hindus and Egyptians believed that the world began with a single egg. In ancient China, Rome and Greece, eggs were given as springtime gifts.

In Poland and Russia, hours are spent on drawing intricate designs on Easter eggs. In England, members of the royal families gave each other gold-covered eggs as Easter gifts in the middle ages.

The most famous Easter egg decorator was Peter Carl Faberge. He designed eggs from gold, silver and other precious gems for kings of Europe and czars of Russia. These eggs are priceless now and can only be found in museums and private collections. In early America, children decorated their eggs by using dyes made from natural materials like fruit and leave coloring.

The Celts, a prehistoric race or people, practiced a religion called Druidism. They believed in good and evil spirits. It was believed that evil spirits captured the sun god and that was why there was winter.

Every beginning of Spring, they would lit up huge bonfires to frighten away the evil spirits into releasing the sun. The lighting of bonfires are still a part of Easter celebrations in some countries today such as in Germany and Belgium. Today, bonfires represent the light coming to the world through Christ. The candle is also used as a symbol of the light of Christ.

In ancient Rome, people thought a goddess Flora made the flowers bloom. They celebrated the Festival of Floralia by having big parades and carried garlands of blossoms thought the streets to honor her every Spring. The statues of Flora were decorated with flowers.

In ancient Greek, people believed that the goddess Demeter's daughter was kidnapped while picking the flower narcissus. She was allowed to visit her mother only during spring and summer. The Greeks believed that this made Demeter really happy and made the flowers bloom. They thought that winter is caused by her sadness when her daughter went away again. This flower thus hold a special meaning to the Greeks. The narcissus is also a favorite Easter flower in many parts of the world because of its bright and fragrant blossoms. The Easter lily is a new but popular Easter flower. The Easter lily was brought into the United States in 1882 from Bermuda. They serve as a reminder of the purity of Christ.

The cross was also a well-known symbol before the time of Christ. It was used a special mark on clothes and buildings. However, when Jesus was crucified, the cross became a symbol of suffering. Then with the resurrection of Christ, the Christians saw it as a symbol of Jesus' victory over death. In A.D. 325, Constantine at the Council of Nicaea issued a decree that the Cross is the official symbol of Christianity.

It was a Roman custom to welcome royalty by waving palm branches. When Jesus arrived in Jerusalem on the first Palm Sunday, people welcomed him with palm branches carpeting the streets and waving them. Today, on Palm Sunday, Christians would carry palm branches in parades, make them into crosses and garlands to decorate the Church.

European legend says that the hare never closed its eyes and watch the other animals throughout the night. It became a symbol of the moon. The hare is connected with Easter because the celebration date depends upon the full moon.

In Egypt, people used to believe that the rabbit was responsible for the new life in spring. Later, early Christians saw it as a symbol for the resurrection of Christ.

According to an old German story, a poor woman hid some brightly colored eggs in her garden as Easter treats for children. While the children were searching, a hare hopped past. The children thought that the hare had left the eggs. So every Easter, German children would make nests of leaves and branches in their gardens for the hare. This custom was brought to the United States when the Germans came. The hare became a rabbit because there were more rabbits in the United States. Today, it is called the Easter bunny.

In England, the goddess of spring, Eastre had an earthly symbol which was the rabbit. She was worship by the Anglo-Saxons through her earthly symbol.

The Easter bunny also has to do with its pre-Christian origin. The hare were very fertile animals and gave birth to many offsprings in spring. Therefore, the bunny served as a symbol of new life during the Spring season.

The lamb was often sacrificed as offerings to God by the Hebrews long before the first Passover. When Jesus died, he gave himself as an offering to God for the sins of the world. Early Christians then saw the lamb as a symbol of Jesus and used it for Easter celebration. Many people serve lamb as part of the Easter feast.

Other food served on Easter are Pretzels, a Lenten food. The twisted shaped symbolizes arms crossed in prayer.

In Great Britain people have always enjoyed the traditional Good Friday breakfast of hot cross buns. They are also served throughout Easter. Each bun has an icing cross on top to remind people of Christ. Street vendors used to used to sing a song when they went around selling their hot cross buns. This song is now a favorite nursery rhyme for children.