As with almost all "Christian" holidays, Easter has been secularized and commercialized. The dichotomous nature of Easter and its symbols, however, is not necessarily a modern fabrication.
Since its conception as a holy celebration in the second century, Easter has had its non-religious side. In fact, Easter was originally a pagan festival.
The ancient Saxons celebrated the return of spring with an uproarious festival commemorating their goddess of offspring and of springtime, Eastre. When the second-century Christian missionaries encountered the tribes of the north with their pagan celebrations, they attempted to convert them to Christianity. They did so, however, in a clandestine manner.
It would have been suicide for the very early Christian converts to celebrate their holy days with observances that did not coincide with celebrations that already existed. To save lives, the missionaries cleverly decided to spread their religious message slowly throughout the populations by allowing them to continue to celebrate pagan feasts, but to do so in a Christian manner.
As it happened, the pagan festival of Eastre occurred at the same time of year as the Christian observance of the Resurrection of Christ. It made sense, therefore, to alter the festival itself, to make it a Christian celebration as converts were slowly won over. The early name, Eastre, was eventually changed to its modern spelling, Easter.
The Date of Easter
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Prior to A.D. 325, Easter was variously celebrated on different days of the week, including Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. In that year, the Council of Nicaea was convened by emperor Constantine. It issued the Easter Rule which states that Easter shall be celebrated on the first Sunday that occurs after the first full moon on or after the vernal equinox. However, a caveat must be introduced here. The "full moon" in the rule is the ecclesiastical full moon, which is defined as the fourteenth day of a tabular lunation, where day 1 corresponds to the ecclesiastical New Moon. It does not always occur on the same date as the astronomical full moon. The ecclesiastical "vernal equinox" is always on March 21. Therefore, Easter must be celebrated on a Sunday between the dates of March 22 and April 25.
The Lenten Season
Lent is the forty-six day period just prior to Easter Sunday. It begins on Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras (French for "Fat Tuesday") is a celebration, sometimes called "Carnival," practiced around the world, on the Tuesday prior to Ash Wednesday. It was designed as a way to "get it all out" before the sacrifices of Lent began. New Orleans is the focal point of Mardi Gras celebrations in the U.S. Read about the religious meanings of the Lenten Season.
The Easter Bunny
The Easter Bunny is not a modern invention. The symbol originated with the pagan festival of Eastre. The goddess, Eastre, was worshipped by the Anglo-Saxons through her earthly symbol, the rabbit.
The Germans brought the symbol of the Easter rabbit to America. It was widely ignored by other Christians until shortly after the Civil War. In fact, Easter itself was not widely celebrated in America until after that time.
The Easter Egg
As with the Easter Bunny and the holiday itself, the Easter Egg predates the Christian holiday of Easter. The exchange of eggs in the springtime is a custom that was centuries old when Easter was first celebrated by Christians.
From the earliest times, the egg was a symbol of rebirth in most cultures. Eggs were often wrapped in gold leaf or, if you were a peasant, colored brightly by boiling them with the leaves or petals of certain flowers.
Today, children hunt colored eggs and place them in Easter baskets along with the modern version of real Easter eggs -- those made of plastic or chocolate candy.
Easter is an important Christian festival, celebrated in different ways all over the world. The traditions seen in the US would vary with those seen in the interiors of Africa or the Asian continent. Being the largest and the most populous country in South America, Brazil grabs special attention during the festive season of Easter. Brazil celebrates the festival in autumn, because of its geographical location - majority of the parts of the country are located in the Southern Hemisphere, where spring season is from September to November. The celebrations of the festival in the country are marked by colorful traditions and customs. Go through the following lines to know all about the traditions and celebrations of Easter in Brazil.
Easter Celebration In Brazil
Easter celebration in Brazil begins with the Holy Week rituals, which involve the blessing of the palm branches, woven in intricate patterns representing crosses, banners, letters and other related objects. Like in many other countries, worshippers in Brazil take out procession walks, carrying statues of Mary and the body of Lord Jesus Christ. 'Pacoca', a special Easter delicacy prepared by mixing crushed nuts (preferably peanuts) and other ingredients including sugar to form a paste, is given to the visitors.
The world-famous Rio Carnival in Rio de Janeiro precedes the Easter celebration in Brazil. The Carnival takes place during the days, preceding 'Ash Wednesday', the first of 40 days of the Lent season. 'Sambodromo', a 700-meter long parade strip, is thronged by a huge crowd comprising of locals and tourists. On the last Sunday and Monday nights before Lent, the enchanted onlookers cheer up the Samba dance troupes, participating in the jamboree.
Other towns and cities in Brazil, such as Recife, also have celebrations during the Carnival period, that are well known for their folkloric representations and two well known folk dances - the Maracatu and the Frevo. As the Easter day approaches, people would keep themselves busy in the preparations for the festival. The streets are filled with shops and stalls raised especially for selling special Easter bunnies, on discounts. On Easter day, gala carnivals are organized everywhere throughout the country, to commemorate the Resurrection of Lord Jesus Christ.
Worshipping the popular symbols of Easter is a popular custom in Brazil. Macela flower, which blooms only in the lent, is worshipped by the devotees of Lord Jesus Christ, in the country. On Palm Sunday, people would bring the flower to the church service, as to receive the blessings of the priest. The flower is later on used as a herb, which is believed to cure many diseases. Thereafter, mouthwatering dishes are served. Traditionally, the recipes typical to the country are prepared on Easter. These include 'clipfish', chocolate Easter eggs and the lip smacking Easter ring cake.
Easter in the United States!
Easter is one of the most awaited Christian festivals. It is celebrated with great pomp and show throughout the world by the followers of Christian community. It is considered to be very auspicious as it is believed that this was the day when Christ resurrected after crucifixion. This day is of immense religious as well as social significance amongst the Christian community. Easter is celebrated in most of the parts of the world in a similar way, yet, some regional ritual make the celebration of one country slightly different from the other. In this article, we have explored about the Easter celebrations in USA.
Easter is celebrated in USA with traditional fervor and gaiety. Sunday church services and festive celebrations blend together during the Easter weekend. On Easter Sunday in New York and other cities, large Easter parades are held where people turn out in their fashionable outfits and trendy Easter bonnets. The person leading the parade holds Easter candle or cross in his hand. Easter festivity can be observed here in the well decorated markets and beautifully adorned homes across the city.
Easter in USA is also very much commercialized. Easter symbols like bunnies, Easter tree, Easter Eggs and Easter lamb are found in different forms during the Easter festivities throughout the market. The popular trend of Easter symbols such as the Easter bunny and egg tree were introduced to the American folklore by the German settlers who arrived in the Pennsylvania Dutch country during the 1700s. Gradually American people took to crafts such as egg and Easter tree decoration. The book 'Egg Tree' by Katherine Milhous was credited with popularizing the custom of egg tree decoration in USA.
As in many other countries, pre-Lent carnivals are also a vital part of Easter celebration in the USA. On "Shrove Tuesday," the day before Ash Wednesday, the famous Mardi Gras (French for "Fat Tuesday") carnival is held each year in many parts of the country. It features colorful parades, jazz bands and parties where everybody dresses up and joins in the fun. Groups of people called krewes prepare decorated floats with a Mardi Gras king and queen. Though Mardi Gras is celebrated all across the country but no city does it is as nicely as New Orleans.
Easter in US is also a time to gorge on special Easter special foods such as baked ham, potatoes and vegetables. Several special recipes are made at each home. Easter parties are also organized where traditional Easter delicacies are served and people enjoy wonderful get together along with Easter games and music. Easter day in USA has also been a popular wedding day in the country. Many couples in USA tie nuptial knot on this day as this day is considered to be auspicious.
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