Easter Sunday is one of the most festive events
among Christians worldwide. It commemorates Jesus Christ’s resurrection from
death, as written in the Christian bible.
What are the
origins of Easter ?
Many
Christians celebrate Easter Sunday as the day of Jesus Christ’s resurrection,
which is written in the New Testament of the Christian bible. According to the
Gospel of John in the New Testament, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb where
Jesus was buried and found it empty. An angel told her that Jesus had risen.
Christians worldwide have celebrated Easter for centuries.
However,
the roots of the Easter holiday’s traditions and activities can be traced back
to pagan celebrations. The name Easter is believed to come from Eostara, the goddess of
rebirth. In early times the Feast of Eostara celebrated earth’s resurrection
and rebirth. Strict Puritans would have nothing to do with Easter – it was
merely a human institution – in the past. Charles I, king of England, declared
the day as scriptural as Sunday in 1647 but Parliament contradicted him in
print and abolished it with other church festivals.
The
Easter date depends on the
ecclesiastical approximation of the March equinox. In 325CE the Council of
Nicaea decided that the Easter date would be the first Sunday after the first
full moon occurring on or after the March
equinox. Easter is therefore delayed one week if the full moon is on Sunday,
which lessens the likelihood of it falling on the same day as the Jewish
Passover. Eastern Orthodox churches in many countries such as Greece still
figure their Easter date based on the Julian calendar.
Symbols
Easter
eggs and the Easter Bunny are both fertility symbols, holdovers from the feast
of Eostara. Other symbolic parallels include the pagan joy in the rising sun of
spring, which coincides with Christians’ joy in the rising Son of God, and the
lighting of candles in churches, which corresponds to the pagan bonfires. The
symbol of the cross and images of Jesus Christ, through paintings or statues,
are remembered on Easter Day.
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