ORIGINS MEANINGS OF EASTER There's a bit more to the Easter story than just chocolate eggs, so if you want to learn a little more about the significance of this religious and historical event, you can read it all here - what Easter Sunday is all about, the origins of Easter traditions and more... This article looks at what Easter really means and why it's such an important feature of the Christian calendar, as well as the stories behind some much-loved Easter traditions. You can also read a summary of the Easter story, find out about Jesus and learn what Easter means to non-Christians, too. The Easter festival, the oldest and most important festival in the Christian calendar, culminates in the celebration that is Easter Sunday, which today is a time when most of us get together with our families, share a meal and - of course - eat lots of chocolate! Most people know that it was on this day that Jesus was said to come to life after being crucified, visiting his friends and followers once more, but aside from that our knowledge of Easter can be patchy. Even if you're not a Christian you may be interested to know a little bit more about the Easter story, and the timeline of events that are described in the Christian gospels. Whether you believe in God or not, the Easter story does provide an interesting historical insight into what life was like some 2000 years ago. Palm Sunday However, it's important to remember that Jesus was a controversial figure for many sectors of his immediate community and people further afield. Some people, in particular the authorities, were extremely suspicious of his teachings and claims - today they would have regarded him as a bit of a political agitator. So although many people welcomed Jesus as he rode into the city on the back of a donkey (a signal of peace to the assembled crowds) there would have been some in the crowd who were not so sure about him - these same people could certainly have been amongst those shouting for his execution just days later. Maundy Thursday The ceremony of eating bread and drinking wine in remembrance of Jesus' life is practiced today in Christian churches in the form of the Eucharist or communion. The Roman soldiers who arrested Jesus took him to Pontius Pilate, who was in charge of the province at the time. On Good Friday, Jesus' fate was sealed - Pilate decided to ask a crowd of people outside whether Jesus should be put to death for making claims about being the son of God. They said he should. The method of his execution was one of the most brutal known to man - death by crucifixion or being nailed to a cross. This is why the cross has such great significance to Christians and is behind the tradition of eating hot cross buns on Good Friday. Unfortunately Jesus would have experienced a very slow and agonising death. The Bible tells that one of the criminals next to Jesus repented for his sins before he died and that suddenly, just before Jesus took his last breath, the sky turned black. He was removed from the cross and buried in a tomb. Easter Sunday Easter is, therefore, a time of great celebration for Christians. Churches are sometimes decorated with white lilies, traditional Easter flowers, and the mood is joyful and uplifting. The concept of 'rebirth', an important theme in the Christian Easter celebration, is common to many religions. Other major world religions such as Islam do not observe Easter but it is closely tied to the Jewish festival of Passover, which falls around the same time as Easter. In fact Christianity and Judaism share the same roots; Christianity developed as a part of Judaism and Jesus was a Jew. Furthermore, the Old Testament, the first part of the Christian Bible, is effectively the same book as the Torah, the sacred Jewish scripture. Another shared tradition between Christianity and Judaism is the significance of eggs at Easter/Passover - hard-boiled eggs are served at Passover and are used to reinforce the idea of rebirth. The origins of Easter traditions The Easter Bunny Chocolate Easter eggs In the UK and Europe early Easter eggs took the form of duck, hen or goose eggs. These were later replaced by artificial eggs until eventually, as chocolate became a more widely available foodstuff, the first chocolate eggs began to appear, in the early 1800's. The vogue for exchanging chocolate eggs at Easter quickly spread right across the globe so that by the end of the century chocolate eggs became the ubiquitous Easter offering. The tradition of egg rolling on Easter Monday dates back to Anglo-Saxon Germany. Although historians are unsure of the exact significance of egg rolling, it's believed that for the early pagans the activity was seen as a way of bringing new life to the land at springtime. For early Christians, meanwhile, egg rolling could have been a representation of the stone being rolled away from Jesus' tomb. The tradition of eating hot cross buns on Good Friday has its roots even further back than early Christianity. Buns marked with a cross were eaten by the Saxons during their spring celebrations - it's believed that the bun represented the moon and the cross the moon's quarters. Christians continued the tradition but to them the cross symbolizes the Jesus' crucifixion. The special fruit cake eaten at Easter, known as Simnel cake, is steeped in traditional symbolism. Traditionally the cake has a layer of marzipan on top and is decorated with marzipan balls - these symbolize the disciples, though Judas is left out and only 11 balls are added to the cake. Although chocolate eggs tend to the gift of choice at Easter time today, coloured, decorated eggs have also been an important symbol and gift shared at Easter time. The tradition of colouring and decorating eggs dates back to the middle ages when eggs would be painted bright colours to welcome in the new spring. The tradition continued and was adapted by different countries; in Germany, for example, it remains a tradition to paint eggs green and eat them on Maundy Thursday while in Greece and the Balkans eggs are dyed red to symbolise the blood of Christ.
M. D. Hegde
MANGALORE
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