Dictionary of Meaning
<<Back
Please select a letter:
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
G |
H |
I |
J |
K |
L |
M |
N |
O |
P |
Q |
R |
S |
T |
U |
V |
W |
X |
Y |
Z |
0-9
Click here for Shopping
Easter
*** Shopping-Tip: Easter
{{Infobox Holiday |
|holiday_name=Easter
|image=Russian Resurrection icon.jpg
|caption=
16th century Russian Orthodox Church Russian Orthodox icon of the Resurrection of
Jesus Christ.
|observedby=most
Christians, although many non-Christians observe secular practices, especially in Australia, Canada, UK and the US
|color1=white
|color2=white
|color3=white
|date=the first Sunday after the first full moon of spring
|date2006=
April 16 (
Western Christianity Western)
April 23 (
Eastern Christianity Eastern)
|date2007=
April 8
|date2008=
March 23 (
Western Christianity Western)
April 27 (
Eastern Christianity Eastern)
|date2009=
April 12 (
Western Christianity Western)
April 19 (
Eastern Christianity Eastern)
|date2010=
April 4
|observances=
Prayer, Whipping (
Czech Republic)
|celebrations=Religious (church) services,
Easter egg hunts, gifts (
United States of America USA)
|type=Religious
|significance=Celebrates the death and resurrection of
Jesus as the basis for the salvation of humankind
|relatedto=
Passover, a
Judaism Jewish holiday of similar origins,
Christmas, which honors the birth of Jesus,
Septuagesima,
Quinquagesima,
Shrove Tuesday,
Ash Wednesday,
Lent,
Palm Sunday,
Good Friday, and
Holy Saturday which lead up to Easter, and
Ascension,
Pentecost,
Whit Monday,
Trinity Sunday, and
Corpus Christi (feast) Corpus Christi which follow it
}}
{{clearright}}
'''Easter''' is the most important religious
holiday of the
Christianity Christian liturgical year, observed in March, April, or May to celebrate the
resurrection of
Jesus, which Christians believe occurred after his death by
crucifixion in AD 27-33 (see
Good Friday). ''Easter'' can also refer to the season of the church year, lasting for fifty days, which follows this holiday and ends at
Pentecost. {{see|Eastertide}}
Nature and development
In most languages of Christian societies, other than
English language English,
German language German and some
Slavic languages Slavic languages, the holiday's name is derived from ''Pesach'', the
Hebrew language Hebrew name of
Passover, a Jewish holiday to which the Christian Easter is intimately linked. Easter depends on Passover not only for much of its symbolic meaning but also for its position in the calendar; the
Last Supper shared by Jesus and his
disciples before his crucifixion is generally thought of as a Passover
seder, based on the chronology in the
Synoptic Gospels. The
Gospel of John has a different chronology which has Christ's death at the time of the slaughter of the Passover lambs, which may have been for theological reasons but which is regarded by some scholars as more historically likely given the surrounding events. This would put the Last Supper slightly before Passover, on 14
Nisan of the
Hebrew calendar. According to the
Catholic Encyclopedia, "In fact, the Jewish feast was taken over into the Christian Easter celebration."
The English and German names, "Easter" and "Ostern", are not etymologically derived from ''Pesach'' and are instead related to ancient names for the month of April,
Eostremonat and Ostaramanoth respectively. According to the 8th century
Christian monk and
historian Bede, this month was dedicated to the
Paganism pagan fertility goddess Eostre. The
Easter Bunny is often identified as a remnant of this fertility festival, although there is no evidence of any link.
{{christianity}}
Easter in the early Church
The observance of any special holiday throughout the Christian year is believed by some to be an innovation postdating the early church. The ecclesiastical historian
Socrates Scholasticus (b. 380) attributes the observance of Easter by the church to the perpetuation of local custom, "just as many other customs have been established", stating that neither
Jesus nor his apostles enjoined the keeping of this or any other festival. However, when [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf202.ii.viii.xxiii.html read in context,]this is not a rejection or denigration of the celebration—which, given its currency in Scholasticus' time would be surprising—but is merely part of a defense of the diverse methods for computing its date. Indeed, although he describes the details of the Easter celebration as deriving from local custom, he insists the feast itself is universally observed.
Perhaps the earliest extant primary source referencing Easter is a 2nd century [http://www.preteristarchive.com/Books/0150_melito_pascha.html Paschal homily] by
Melito of Sardis, which characterizes the celebration as a well-established one.
A number of ecclesiastical historians, primarily
Eusebius of Caesarea Eusebius, bishop
Polycarp of Smyrna, by tradition a disciple of
John the Evangelist, disputed the computation of the date with bishop
Pope Anicetus Anicetus of Rome in what is now known as the
Quartodecimanism controversy. Anicetus became bishop of the church of Rome in the mid second century (c. AD 155). Shortly thereafter, Polycarp visited Rome and among the topics discussed was when the pre-Easter fast should end. Those in
Anatolia Asia held strictly to the computation from the
Hebrew calendar and ended the fast on the 14th day of
Nisan, while the Roman custom was to continue the fast until the Sunday following. Neither Polycarp nor Anicetus was able to convert the other to his position—according to a rather confused account by
Sozomen, both could claim Apostolic authority for their traditions[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf202.iii.xii.xix.html]—but neither did they consider the matter of sufficient importance to justify a
schism, so they parted in peace leaving the question unsettled. However, a generation later bishop
Pope Victor I Victor of Rome excommunicated bishop Polycrates of
Ephesus and the rest of the Asian bishops for their adherence to 14 Nisan. The excommunication was rescinded and the two sides reconciled upon the intervention of bishop
Irenaeus of Lyons, who reminded Victor of the tolerant precedent that had been established earlier. In the end, a uniform method of computing the date of Easter was not formally settled until the
First Council of Nicaea in 325 (''see below''), although by that time the Roman timing for the observance had spread to most churches.
A number of early bishops rejected the practice of celebrating Easter, or more accurately Passover, on the first Sunday after Nisan 14. This conflict between Easter and Passover is often referred to as the "Paschal Controversy". The bishops dissenting from the newer practice of Easter favored adhering to celebrating the festival on Nisan 14 in accord with the Biblical Passover and the tradition passed on to them by the Apostles. The problem with Nisan 14 in the minds of some in the Western Church (who wished to further associate Sunday and Easter) is that it was calcuated by the moon and could fall on any day of the week.
An early example of this tension is found written by Theophilus of Caesarea (c. AD 180; 8.774 "Ante-Nicene Church Fathers") when he stated, "Endeavor also to send abroad copies of our epistle among all the churches, so that those who easily deceive their own souls may not be able to lay the blame on us. We would have you know, too, that in Alexandria also they observe the festival on the same day as ourselves. For the Paschal letters are sent from us to them, and from them to us—so that we observe the holy day in unison and together."
Polycarp, a disciple of John, likewise adhered to a Nisan 14 observance. Irenaeus, who observed the "first Sunday" rule notes of Polycarp (one of the Bishops of Asia Minor), "For Anicetus could not persuade Polycarp to forgo the observance [of his Nisan 14 practice] inasmuch as these things had been always observed by John the disciple of the Lord, and by other apostles with whom he had been conversant." (c. AD 180; 1.569 "Ante-Nicene Church Fathers"). Irenaeus notes that this was not only Polycarp's practice, but that this was the practice of John the disple and the other apostles that Polycarp knew.
Polycrates (c. AD 190) emphatically notes this is the tradition passed down to him, that Passover and Unleavened Bread were kept on Nisan 14 in accord with the Biblical Passover and not the later Easter tradition: "As for us, then, we scrupulously observe the exact day, neither adding nor taking away. For in Asia great luminaries have gone to their rest who will rise again on the day of the coming of the Lord.... These all kept Easter on the fourteenth day, in accordance with the Gospel.... Seven of my relatives were bishops, and I am the eighth, and my relatives always observed the day when the people put away the leaven" (8.773, 8.744 "Ante-Nicene Church Fathers").
Early within the Church it was admitted by both sides of the debate that the Lord's Supper was the practice of the disciples and the tradition passed down. The Last Supper is believed by some to be a Passover Seder (''see:
The Last Supper''). The Nisan 14 practice, which was strong among the churches of Asia Minor, becomes less common as the desire for Church unity on the question came to favor the majority practice. By the 3rd century the Church, which had become Gentile dominated and wishing to further distinguish itself from Jewish practices, began a tone of harsh rhetoric against Nisan 14/Passover (e.g. Anatolius, c. AD 270; 6.148,6.149 "Ante-Nicene Church Fathers").
A tradition said to have come out of the
First Council of Nicaea states that the Christian Passover (i.e., Easter) was to be celebrated "not with the Jews," that the Jews' calculations (which often varied among themselves, as they were using multiple methods) were not to be followed in determining the date of Easter. This statement was not so much anti-Jewish as simply a recognition that the Passover had now been Christianized, that the Church did not owe its continued existence and practices to the Judaism which Christ had fulfilled and superseded.
The Christianization of the Passover, based on the tradition passed down by the Apostles, has resulted in a number of anti-Easter movements though history.
Jehovah's Witnesses, for example, who do not celebrate Easter, adhere to a celebration of the Lord's Supper on Nisan 14 with the passing of wine and unleavened bread.
Date of Easter
{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" style="float:right; margin-left:15px;"
|-
|+style="padding-right: 1.5em;"align=center|'''Dates for Easter Sunday, 2000-2020'''
|-
! '''Year''' !! '''
Western Christianity Western''' !! '''
Eastern Christianity Eastern'''
|-
! '''2000''' ||
April 23 ||
April 30
|-
! '''2001''' ||colspan=2 align=center|
April 15
|-
! '''2002''' ||
March 31 ||
May 5
|-
! '''2003''' ||
April 20 ||
April 27
|-
! '''2004''' ||colspan=2 align=center|
April 11
|-
! '''2005''' ||
March 27 ||
May 1
|-
! '''2006''' ||
April 16 ||
April 23
|-
! '''2007''' ||colspan=2 align=center|
April 8
|-
! '''2008''' ||
March 23 ||
April 27
|-
! '''2009''' ||
April 12 ||
April 19
|-
! '''2010''' ||colspan=2 align=center|
April 4
|-
! '''2011''' ||colspan=2 align=center|
April 24
|-
! '''2012''' ||
April 8 ||
April 15
|-
! '''2013''' ||
March 31 ||
May 5
|-
! '''2014''' ||colspan=2 align=center|
April 20
|-
! '''2015''' ||
April 5 ||
April 12
|-
! '''2016''' ||
March 27 ||
May 1
|-
! '''2017''' ||colspan=2 align=center|
April 16
|-
! '''2018''' ||
April 1 ||
April 8
|-
! '''2019''' ||
April 21 ||
April 28
|-
! '''2020''' ||
April 12 ||
April 19
|}
In Western Christianity, Easter always falls on a Sunday from
March 22 to
April 25 inclusive. The following day,
Easter Monday, is a
legal holiday in many countries with predominantly Christian traditions.
Easter and the holidays that are related to it are ''
moveable feasts'', in that they do not fall on a fixed date in the
Gregorian calendar Gregorian or
Julian Calendar Julian calendars (which follow the motion of the sun and the seasons). Instead, they are based on a
lunar calendar similar—but not identical—to the
Hebrew Calendar. The precise date of Easter has often been a matter for contention.
At the
First Council of Nicaea#Passover .28Easter.29 Controversy First Council of Nicaea in 325 it was decided that Easter would be celebrated on the same Sunday throughout the Church, but it is probable that no method was specified by the Council. (No contemporary account of the Council's decisions has survived.) Instead, the matter seems to have been referred to the church of
Alexandria, which city had the best reputation for scholarship at the time. The Catholic Epiphanius wrote in the mid-4th Century, "...the emperor...convened a council of 318 bishops...in the city of Nicea...They passed certain ecclesiastical canons at the council besides, and at the same time decreed in regard to the Passover that there must be one unanimous concord on the celebration of God's holy and supremely excellent day. For it was variously observed by people..."(Epiphanius. The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis, Books II and III (Sects 47-80), De Fide). Section VI, Verses 1,1 and 1,3. Translated by Frank Williams. EJ Brill, New York, 1994, pp.471-472).
The practice of those following Rome was to celebrate Easter on the first Sunday after the earliest fourteenth day of a lunar month that occurred on or after
March 21. During the Middle Ages this practice was more succinctly phrased as ''Easter is observed on the Sunday after the first
full moon on or after the day of the
vernal equinox''. This full moon is called the Paschal full moon. The Church of Rome used its own methods to determine Easter until the 6th century, when it may have adopted the Alexandrian method as converted into the
Julian calendar by
Dionysius Exiguus (certain proof of this does not exist until the
ninth century). Most churches in the
British Isles used a late
third century Roman method to determine Easter until they adopted the Alexandrian method at the
Synod of Whitby in 664. Churches in western continental Europe used a late Roman method until the late 8th century during the reign of
Charlemagne, when they finally adopted the Alexandrian method. Since western churches now use the
Gregorian calendar to calculate the date and Eastern Orthodox churches use the original
Julian calendar, their dates are not usually aligned in the present day.
At a summit in
Aleppo,
Syria, in 1997, the
World Council of Churches proposed a reform in the calculation of Easter which would have replaced an equation-based method of calculating Easter with direct astronomical observation; this would have side-stepped the calendar issue and eliminated the difference in date between the Eastern and Western churches. The reform was proposed for implementation starting in 2001, but it was not ultimately adopted by any member body. {{further|
Reform of the date of Easter}}
A few clergymen of various denominations have advanced the notion of disregarding the moon altogether in determining the date of Easter; proposals include always observing the feast on the second Sunday in April, or always having seven Sundays between the
Epiphany (feast) Epiphany and
Ash Wednesday, producing the same result except that in leap years Easter could fall on
April 7. These suggestions have yet to attract significant support, and their adoption in the future is considered unlikely.
Computations
The calculations for the date of Easter are somewhat complicated. See
computus for a discussion covering both the traditional tabular methods and more exclusively mathematical
algorithms such as the one developed by mathematician
Carl Friedrich Gauss.
In the Western Church, Easter has not fallen on the earliest of the 35 possible dates,
March 22, since 1818, and will not do so again until 2285. It will, however, fall on
March 23, just one day after its earliest possible date in 2008. Easter last fell on the latest possible date,
April 25 in 1943, and will next fall on that date in 2038. However, it will fall on
April 24, just one day before this latest possible date in 2011.
Historically, other forms of determining the holiday's date were also used. For example,
Quartodecimanism was the practice of setting the holiday on the 14th day of the
Hebrew Calendar Jewish month of
Nisan, which is the day of preparation for
Passover.
Position in the church year
Western Christianity
In Western Christianity, Easter marks the end of the forty days of
Lent, a period of fasting and penitence in preparation for Easter which begins on
Ash Wednesday and ends at Easter Sunday.
The week before Easter is very special in the Christian tradition: the Sunday before is
Palm Sunday, and the last three days before Easter are
Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday,
Good Friday and
Holy Saturday (sometimes referred to as Silent Saturday). Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday respectively commemorate Jesus' entry in Jerusalem, the
Last Supper and the
Crucifixion. Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday are sometimes referred to as the
Easter Triduum (
Latin for "Three Days"). In some countries, Easter lasts two days, with the second called "
Easter Monday". The week beginning with Easter Sunday is called Easter Week or the Octave of Easter, and each day is prefaced with 'Easter', e.g. Easter Monday, Easter Tuesday, etc. Easter Saturday is therefore the Saturday ''after'' Easter Sunday. The day before Easter is properly called Holy Saturday. Many churches start celebrating Easter late in the evening of Holy Saturday at a service called the
Easter Vigil.
Eastertide, the season of Easter, begins on Easter Sunday and lasts until the day of
Pentecost, seven weeks later.
Eastern Christianity
In Eastern Christianity, preparations begin with
Great Lent. Following the fifth Sunday of Great Lent is Palm Week, which ends with
Lazarus Saturday. Lazarus Saturday officially brings Great Lent to a close, although the fast continues for the following week. After Lazarus Saturday comes Palm Sunday,
Holy Week, and finally Easter itself, or Pascha (Πάσχα), and the fast is broken immediately after the Divine Liturgy. Easter is immediately followed by Bright Week, during which there is no fasting, even on Wednesday and Friday.
The Paschal Service consists of [http://www.anastasis.org.uk/pascha.htm Paschal Matins, Hours, and Liturgy], which traditionally begins at midnight of Pascha morning. Placing the Paschal Divine Liturgy at midnight guarantees that no Divine Liturgy will come earlier in the morning, ensuring its place as the pre-eminent "Feast of Feasts" in the
liturgical year.
Religious observation of Easter
Western Christianity
The Easter festival is kept in many different ways among
Western Christianity Western Christians. The traditional,
liturgy liturgical observation of Easter, as practised among
Roman Catholic Church Roman Catholics and some
Lutherans and
Anglicans begins on the night of
Holy Saturday with the
Easter Vigil. This, the most important liturgy of the year, begins in total darkness with the blessing of the Easter fire, the lighting of the large
Paschal candle (symbolic of the Risen Christ) and the chanting of the
Exsultet or Easter Proclamation attributed to Saint
Ambrose of Milan. After this service of light, a number of readings from the
Old Testament are read; these tell the stories of
creation, the sacrifice of
Isaac, the crossing of the
Red Sea, and the foretold coming of the
Messiah. This part of the service climaxes with the singing of the
Alleluia and the proclamation of the
gospel of the
resurrection. A
sermon may be preached after the gospel. Then the focus moves from the
lectern to the
Baptismal font font. Anciently, Easter was considered the most perfect time to receive
baptism, and this practice is alive in
Roman Catholicism, as it is the time when new members are initiated into the Church, and it is being revived in some other circles. Whether there are baptisms at this point or not, it is traditional for the congregation to renew the vows of their baptismal faith. This act is often sealed by the sprinkling of the congregation with
holy water from the font. The Catholic
sacrament of
Confirmation is also celebrated at the Vigil. The Easter Vigil concludes with the celebration of the
Eucharist and
Holy Communion. Additional celebrations are usually offered on Easter Sunday itself. Some churches prefer to keep this vigil very early on the Sunday morning instead of the Saturday night to reflect the gospel account of the women coming to the tomb at dawn on the first day of the week. Some churches read the Old Testament lessons before the procession of the Paschal candle, and then read the gospel immediately after the Exsultet.
In predominantly Roman Catholic
Philippines, the morning of Easter (known in the national language as "Pasko ng Muling Pagkabuhay" or the Pasch of the Resurrection) is marked with joyous celebration, the first being the dawn "Salubong", wherein large statues of Jesus and Mary are brought together to meet, imagining the first reunion of Jesus and his mother Mary after Jesus' Resurrection. This is followed by the joyous Easter Mass.
Eastern Christianity
'''Easter''' is the fundamental and most important festival of the
Eastern Orthodoxy Eastern and
Oriental Orthodoxy Oriental Orthodox. Every other religious festival on their calendars, including
Christmas, is at best secondary in importance to the celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord. This is reflected in the cultures of countries that are traditionally Orthodox Christian majority. Easter-connected social customs are native and rich. Christmas customs, on the other hand, are usually foreign imports, either from
Germany or the
United States USA.
Eastern Rite Eastern Rite Catholics in
Communion (Christian) communion with the
Pope Pope of Rome have similar emphasis in their calendars, and many of their liturgical customs are very similar.
This is not to say that Christmas and other elements of the Christian liturgical calendar are ignored. Instead, these events are all seen as necessary but ''preliminary'' to the full climax of the Resurrection, in which all that has come before reaches fulfilment and fruition. Pascha (Easter) is the primary act that fulfils the purpose of Christ's ministry on earth—to defeat death by dying and to purify and exalt humanity by voluntarily assuming and overcoming human frailty. This is succinctly summarized by the Paschal
Troparion, sung repeatedly during Pascha until the
Apodosis of Pascha (which is the day before
Ascension):
{| border=1 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=0 width=100%
|- style="background:#efefef"
!
English language English !!
Koine Greek Greek !!
Church Slavonic language Church Slavonic*
|-
|Christ is risen from the dead,
Trampling down death by death,
And upon those in the tombs
Bestowing life!
|{{polytonic|ΧÏ?ιστος ανÎστη εκ νεκÏ?ον,
θανάτο θάνατον πατήσας,
και τους εν τους μνήμασι,
ζωὴν χαÏ?ισάμενος!}}
|
ХрїÑ?то́Ñ?ÑŠ воÑ?кре́Ñ?е и́зъ ме́ртвыхъ,
Сме́ртїю Ñ?ме́рть попра́въ,
И Ñ?ѹ́щымъ во гробѣ́Ñ…ÑŠ
живо́Ñ‚ÑŠ Дарова́въ!
|-
| align="center" size="+1"| '''Transliterations'''
|Christos anesti ek nekron,
Thanato thanaton patisas,
Kai tis en tis mnimasi
Zo-in charisamenos!
|Christos voskrese iz mertvich,
Smertiu smert poprav,
I soushchim vo grobyech
Zhivot darovav!
|}
*This language is not well-supported on many systems, so it may not appear as intended here.
Celebration of the holiday begins with the "anti-celebration" of
Great Lent. In addition to fasting, almsgiving, and prayer, Orthodox are supposed to reduce all entertainment and non-essential activity, gradually eliminating them until Holy Friday. Traditionally, on the evening of Holy Saturday, the Midnight Office is celebrated shortly after 11:00 pm. At its completion all light in the church building is extinguished. A new flame is struck in the altar, or the priest lights his candle from a perpetual lamp kept burning there, and he then lights candles held by deacons or other assistants, who then go to light candles held by the congregation. Entirely lit by candle, the priest and congregation process around the church building, re-entering ideally at the stroke of midnight, whereupon
Matins begins immediately followed by the Paschal
Canonical hours Hours and then the
Divine Liturgy. Immediately after the Liturgy it is customary for the congregation to share a meal, essentially an
agape dinner (albeit at 2.00 am or later!)
Image:neObgig_Samara.jpg Holy Fire.html" title="Meaning of frame frame|right|The [[Holy Fire in Jerusalem, celebrated on Holy Saturday, has been described as the oldest miracle-related ceremony in Christendom..html" title="Meaning of right|The [[Holy Fire">frame|right|The [[Holy Fire in Jerusalem, celebrated on Holy Saturday, has been described as the oldest miracle-related ceremony in Christendom.">right|The [[Holy Fire">frame|right|The [[Holy Fire in Jerusalem, celebrated on Holy Saturday, has been described as the oldest miracle-related ceremony in Christendom.
The day after, Easter Sunday proper, there is no liturgy, since the liturgy for that day has already been celebrated. Instead, in the afternoon, it is often traditional to hold "Agape vespers". In this service, it has become customary during the last few centuries for the priest and members of the congregation to read a portion of the Gospel of John (20:19–25 or 19–31) in as many languages as they can manage.
For the remainder of the week (known as "Bright Week"), all fasting is prohibited, and the customary greeting is "Christ is risen!", to be responded with "Truly He is risen!" (See also
Pascha greeting)
Non-religious Easter traditions
As with many other Christian dates, the celebration of Easter extends beyond the church. Since its origins, it has been a time of celebration and feasting. Today it is commercially important, seeing wide sales of
greeting cards and confectionery such as chocolate
Easter eggs (decorative) Easter eggs, marshmallow bunnies,
Peeps, and
jelly beans.
Despite the religious preeminence of Easter, in many traditionally Christian countries
Christmas is now a more prominent event in the calendar year, being unrivaled as a festive season, commercial opportunity, and time of family gathering — even for those of no or only nominal faith. Easter's relatively modest secular observances place it a distant second or third among the less religiously inclined where Christmas is so prominent.
North America
In the
United States and
Canada, the Easter holiday has been partially secularized, so that some North American families participate only in the attendant revelry, central to which is decorating
Easter eggs (decorative) Easter eggs on Saturday evening and hunting for them Sunday morning, by which time they have been mysteriously hidden all over the house and garden. According to the children's stories, the eggs were hidden overnight and other treats delivered by the
Easter Bunny in an Easter basket which children find waiting for them when they wake up. The Easter Bunny's motives for doing this are seldom clarified. Many families in North America will attend
Sunday Mass in the morning and then participate in a feast or party in the afternoon.
Scandinavia
In
Norway, in addition to skiing in the mountains and painting eggs for decorating, it is tradition to solve murders at Easter. All the major television channels show crime and detective stories (such as ''
Agatha Christie's Poirot Poirot''), magazines print stories where the readers can try to figure out who did it, and many new books are published. Even the milk cartons change to have murder stories on their sides. Another tradition is
Yahtzee games.
Central Europe
In the
Czech Republic and
Slovakia, a tradition of whipping is carried out on
Easter Monday. In the morning, males whip females with a special handmade whip called '''''pomlázka''''' (in Czech) or '''''korbáÄ?''''' (in Slovak). The pomlázka/korbáÄ? consists of eight, twelve or even twenty-four withies (willow rods) and is usually from half a meter to two meters long and decorated with coloured ribbons at the end. It must be mentioned that while whipping can be painful, the purpose is not to cause suffering. Rather, the purpose is for males to exhibit their attraction to females; unvisited females can even feel offended. The whipped female gives a coloured
Easter egg egg to the male as a sign of her thanks and forgiveness. A legend says that females should be whipped in order to keep their health and fertility during whole next year. In some regions the females can get revenge in the afternoon when they can pour a bucket of cold water on any male. The habit slightly varies across the Czech Republic. A similar tradition existed in
Poland (where it is called
Dyngus Day), but it is now little more than an all-day waterfight.
In
Hungary (where it is called
Ducking Monday),
perfume or perfumed water is often sprinkled in exchange for an
Easter egg.
Easter controversies
Anti-Easter Christians
Some
Fundamentalist Christianity Christian fundamentalists reject nearly all the customs surrounding Easter, believing them to be irrevocably tainted with
paganism and
idolatry. Others, like the
Sabbatarian Church of God groups, claim to adhere to a more primitive form of Christianity, and keep a
Christian Passover which lacks most of the practices or symbols associated with Easter and retains more features of the Jewish observance.
Possible pagan influences on Easter traditions
Image:Easter bunny.jpg thumb|right|An Easter Bunny
In his 'De Temporum Ratione' the
Venerable Bede wrote that the month
Eostremonat was so named because of a goddess,
Eostre, who had formerly been worshipped in that month. In recent years some scholars (Ronald Hutton, P.D. Chantepie de la Saussaye, Elizabeth Freeman) have suggested that a lack of supporting documentation for this goddess might indicate that Bede assumed her existence based on the name of the month. Others note that Bede's status as "the Father of English History", having been the author of the first substantial history of England ever written, might make the lack of additional mention for a goddess whose worship had already died out by Bede's time unsurprising. The debate receives considerable attention because the name 'Easter' is derived from Eostremonat, and thus, according to Bede, from the pagan goddess Eostre.
Jakob Grimm took up the question of Eostre in his Deutsche Mythologie of 1835, noting that Ostaramanoth was etymologically related to Eostremonat and writing of various landmarks and customs related to the goddess
Ostara in Germany. Again, because of a lack of written documentation, critics suggest that Grimm took Bede's mention of a goddess Eostre at face value and constructed the goddess Ostara around existing Germanic customs which may have arisen independently. Others point to Grimm's stated intent to gather and record oral traditions which might otherwise be lost as explanation for the lack of further documentation. Amongst other traditions, Grimm connected the 'Osterhase' (
Easter Bunny) and
Easter Eggs to the goddess Ostara/Eostre. He also cites various place names in Germany as being evidence of Ostara, but critics contend that the close etymological relationship between Ostara and the words for 'east' and 'dawn' could mean that these place names referred to either of those two things rather than a goddess.
Bede's ''
Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum'' ("Ecclesiastic History of the English People") contains a letter from
Pope Gregory I to
Saint Mellitus, who was then on his way to
England to conduct missionary work among the
heathen Anglo-Saxons. The Pope [http://www.englishheathenism.homestead.com/popesletter.html suggests that] converting heathens is easier if they are allowed to retain the outward forms of their traditional pagan practices and traditions, while recasting those traditions spiritually towards Christianity instead of to their indigenous gods (whom the Pope refers to as "devils"), "to the end that, whilst some gratifications are outwardly permitted them, they may the more easily consent to the inward consolations of the grace of God". The Pope sanctioned such conversion tactics as
Bible biblically acceptable, pointing out that God did much the same thing with the ancient
Israelites and their pagan sacrifices. This practice might explain the incorporation of Eostre traditions into the Christian holiday.
However, the giving of eggs at spring festivals was not restricted to
Germanic peoples and could be found among the
Persians,
Ancient Rome Romans,
Jews and the
Armenians. They were a widespread symbol of rebirth and resurrection and thus might have been adopted from any number of sources.
Easter as a Sumerian festival
Some suggest an etymological relationship between Eostre and the
Sumerian goddess
Ishtar ([http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-t020.html] [http://www.lasttrumpetministries.org/tracts/tract1.html] [http://www.pathlights.com/theselastdays/tracts/tract_22n.htm] [http://www.tiral.com/2004/04/the_origins_of_.html]) and the possibility that aspects of an ancient festival accompanied the name, claiming that the worship of
Bel and Astarte was anciently introduced into
Britain, and that the
hot cross buns of Good Friday and dyed eggs of Easter Sunday figured in the Chaldean rites just as they do now.
At best, any connection between Ishtar and Easter is geographically and linguistically distant, and tangential.
According to the
Venerable Bede, "Eostre" was the name of a Goddess for whom the fourth month - ''
Eostremonath'' - was named (De temporum ratione, I, v). But nothing else is actually known about this Goddess. Linguistic analysis suggests that her name is related to the word for "dawn," so it is plausible that she might have been a goddess of the dawn. And Bede claims that the name "Easter" came from the name of the month, not directly from the Goddess herself.
Although there are claims that her cult is the original source for such Easter traditions as the Easter Bunny, there is no evidence for this.
Claiming a connection between Ishtar and Easter also ignores the fact that Easter is called "Passover" in almost every other language in the world. (The only exceptions appear to be the languages of those people who first learned Christianity at the hands of English or other Anglophone missionaries.) Examples of this are the Hebrew ''Pesach''; the Greek ''Paskha''; the Latin ''Pascha''; the Spanish ''La Pascua''; and Scots Gaelic ''An Casca''. The holiday was not called "Easter" until the 8th Century, by which time it had already been in existence for 700 years.
There is the additional problem that the very lands where Ishtar was once known have never been known to use a name like "Easter" for this or any other spring holiday.
Miscellaneous
Word for "Easter" in various languages
=Names related to Eostremonat (Eostre Month)
=
*
English language English ''Easter''
*
German language German ''Ostern''
*
Samoan language Samoan ''Eseta'' (derived from English)
=Names derived from the Hebrew language Hebrew ''Pesach'' (Passover)
=
*
Latin ''Pascha'' or ''Festa Paschalia''
*
Greek language Greek ''Πάσχα'' (''Paskha'')
*
Afrikaans language Afrikaans ''Paasfees''
*
Arabic language Arabic ''عيد الÙ?صØ'' (''ʿĪdu l-Fiṣḥ'')
*
Bulgarian language Bulgarian ''ПаÑ?ха'' (''Paskha'')
*
Catalan language Catalan ''Pasqua''
*
Danish language Danish ''PÃ¥ske''
*
Dutch language Dutch ''Pasen''
*
Esperanto ''Pasko''
*
Finnish language Finnish ''Pääsiäinen''
*
French language French ''Pâques''
*
Icelandic language Icelandic ''Páskar''
*
Indonesian language Indonesian ''Paskah''
*
Irish language Irish ''Cáisg''
*
Italian language Italian ''Pasqua''
* Lower
Rhine German language German ''Paisken''
*
Norwegian language Norwegian ''PÃ¥ske''
*
Tagalog language Tagalog (Philippines) ''Pasko ng Muling Pagkabuhay'' (literally "the Pasch of the Resurrection")
*
Portuguese language Portuguese ''Páscoa''
*
Romanian language Romanian ''PaÅŸti''
*
Russian language Russian ''ПаÑ?ха'' (''Paskha'')
*
Scottish Gaelic language Scottish Gaelic ''Casca''
*
Spanish language Spanish ''Pascua''
*
Swedish language Swedish ''PÃ¥sk''
*
Turkish language Turkish ''Paskalya''
*
Welsh language Welsh ''Pasg''
=Names used in other languages
=
*
Belarusian language Belarusian ''Ð’Ñ?лікдзень'' or ''Vialikdzen’'' (literally "the Great Day")
*
Bulgarian language Bulgarian ''Великден'' (''Velikden'', literally "the Great Day")
* {{zh-stp|s=�活节|t=復活節|p=Fùhuó Jié}} (literally "Resurrection Festival")
*
Croatian language Croatian ''Uskrs'' (literally "resurrection")
*
Czech language Czech ''Velikonoce'' (literally "Great Nights" [plural, no singular exists])
*
Estonian language Estonian ''Lihavõtted'' (literally "meat taking")
*
Hungarian language Hungarian ''Húsvét'' (literally "taking, or buying meat")
*
Japanese language Japanese å¾©æ´»ç¥ (''Fukkatsu-sai'', literally "resurrection festival")
*
Korean language Korean ë¶€í™œì ˆ (''Puhwalchol'', literally "Resurrection season")
*
Latvian language Latvian ''Lieldienas'' (literally "the Great Days", no singular exists)
*
Lithuanian language Lithuanian ''Velykos'' (derived from Slavic languages, no singular exists)
*
Polish language Polish ''Wielkanoc'' (literally "the Great Night")
*
Romanian language Romanian ''Inviere'' (literally "resurrection")
*
Serbian language Serbian ''УÑ?крÑ?'' (''Uskrs'') or ''ВаÑ?крÑ?'' (''Vaskrs'', literally "resurrection")
*
Slovak language Slovak ''Veľká Noc'' (literally "the Great Night")
*
Slovenian language Slovenian ''Velika noÄ?'' (literally "the Great Night")
*
Tongan language Tongan (South-pacific) ''Pekia'' (literally "death (of a lord)")
*
Ukrainian language Ukrainian ''Великдень'' (''Velykden’'', literally "the Great Day") or ''ПаÑ?ка'' (''Paska'')
External links
Liturgical
-
Liturgical Resources for Easter
Traditions
-
Easter in the Armenian Orthodox Church
-
Eastern Orthodox views on Easter
-
Roman Catholic view of Easter (from the
Catholic Encyclopedia)
Calculating
-
Calculator for the date of Festivals (Anglican)
-
Paschal Calculator (Eastern Orthodox)
National traditions
-
Bulgarian Easter
-
Easter traditions in Finland
-
Easter-postcards from 1898 to today from 32 countries all over the world - Exhibition
-
Easter Vintage Postcards
{{Holy Week}}
FR:Pâques
Category:Christian festivals
Category:Easter
Category:Holidays
{{Link FA|cs}}
bg:Великден
ca:Pasqua de Resurrecció
cs:Velikonoce
de:Ostern
el:Πάσχα
eo:Pasko
es:Pascua
fa:عید پاک
fi:Pääsiäinen
he:פסח×?
hu:Húsvét
id:Paskah
it:Pasqua
ja:復活ç¥
ka:�ღდგ�მ�
li:Paosje
lt:Velykos
nl:Paasfeest
no:PÃ¥ske
pl:Wielkanoc
pt:Páscoa
ro:PaÅŸti
ru:ПаÑ?ха
sv:PÃ¥sk
uk:Великдень
vi:Lễ Phục Sinh
zh-tw:復活節
zh-min-nan:Koh-oaÌ?h-cheh
{{commonscat|Easter}}
{{catmore}}
Category: Christian festivals
Category:Holidays
no:Kategori:PÃ¥ske
*** Shopping-Tip: Easter
