AboutEasterTraditions

Easter is an annual festival commemorating the resurrection of
Jesus Christ; it is the principal feast of the Christian year.
It is celebrated on a Sunday on varying dates between March 22
and April 25 and is therefore called a movable feast.
The dates of several other ecclesiastical festivals, extending over
a period between Septuagesima Sunday (the ninth Sunday before Easter)
and the first Sunday of Advent, are fixed in relation to the date of Easter.

Connected with the observance of Easter are the 40-day penitential season
of Lent, beginning on Ash Wednesday and concluding at midnight on Holy
Saturday, the day before Easter Sunday; Holy Week, commencing on Palm
Sunday, including Good Friday, the day of the crucifixion, and terminating
with Holy Saturday; and the Octave of Easter, extending from Easter Sunday
through the following Sunday. During the Octave of Easter in early
Christian times, the newly baptized wore white garments, white being
the liturgical color of Easter and signifying light, purity, and joy.

Have you ever wondered about the traditions
and symbols of Easter and how they originated?
Many symbols remind Christians of the original Easter
events and their meaning. Some of these symbols
are used only during the Easter season. The rest are
part of Christian life and worship throughout the year.

The crucifix and the cross are present in churches and many
homes throughout the year. A crucifix is a cross with an image
of Jesus's body hanging from it. It symbolizes the sacrifice
Jesus made by allowing Himself to be killed. An empty cross
without the figure of Christ crucified reminds Christians
of Jesus's victory over death and the new life and hope
this victory brings to believers.

In New Testament Days, Christians worshipped on
the Sabbath Day (Saturday). This was changed
after Christ arose from the dead.

Christians now normally worship on Sunday
because that day is associated with the Resurrection.

Candles are burned during many Easter celebrations,
especially the vigil and midnight services before Easter
Sunday. Christians associate Jesus with the light from
candles, calling Him "the Light of the World."

Many churches extinguish candles on their altars on
Good Friday to show that Jesus's light has gone out.

In Roman Catholic churches, the special paschal
candle is lit on Easter Sunday next to the main altar.
The candle represents Jesus's return to life.
The candle is often lit during the next 40 days,
until it is put out on Ascension Day.

Churches and homes across the world use the regal
white Easter Lilies to symbolize the Resurrection.

Often called the white-robed apostles of hope, the lovely
trumpet-shaped flowers symbolize purity, virtue, innocence,
hope and life--the spiritual essence of Easter.

Rabbits are associated with the fertility of spring because
of their ability to produce many young. The Easter bunny was
introduced to American folklore by the German settlers
who arrived in the Pennsylvania Dutch country during the 1700s.

The arrival of the "Oschter Haws" was considered "childhood's
greatest pleasure" next to a visit from Christ-Kindel on Christmas
Eve. The children believed that if they were good the "Oschter
Haws" would lay a nest of colored eggs.

The children would build their nest in a secluded place in
the home, the barn or the garden. Boys would use their caps
and girls their bonnets to make the nests . The use of elaborate
Easter baskets would come later as the tradition of the Easter
bunny spread through out the country.

Eggs, which represent new life, have been a symbol
of spring since ancient times. Christians adopted the
egg as an Easter symbol because of the relationship
between Easter and the renewal of life.

Originally Easter eggs were painted with bright colors
to represent the sunlight of spring and were used in
Easter-egg rolling contests or given as gifts. After they
were colored and etched with various designs the eggs
were exchanged by lovers and romantic admirers,
much the same as valentines. In medieval times
eggs were traditionally given at Easter to the servants.
In Germany eggs were given to children
along with other Easter gifts

Different cultures have developed their own ways of
decorating Easter eggs. Crimson eggs, to honor the
blood of Christ, are exchanged in Greece. In parts of
Germany and Austria green eggs are used on Maundy
Thursday (Holy Thursday). Slavic peoples decorate
their eggs in special patterns of gold and silver.

Austrian artists design patterns by fastening ferns and
tiny plants around the eggs, which are then boiled. The
plants are then removed revealing a striking white pattern.
The Poles and Ukrainians decorate eggs with simple designs
and colors. A number of eggs are made in the distinctive
manner called pysanki (to design, to write).

In many countries, children hunt for Easter eggs hidden about
the home. Children in the United Kingdom, Germany, and some
other countries play a game in which eggs are rolled against one
another or down a hill. The egg that stays uncracked the longest
wins. Since 1878, children in Washington, D.C., have been
invited to roll eggs on the White House lawn.

The lamb is a particularly important Easter symbol in
central and eastern European countries. It represents
Jesus and relates His death to that of the lamb sacrificed
on the first Passover.

Christians traditionally refer to Jesus as "the Lamb of God."
Many people serve lamb as part of the Easter feast.
In many homes, a lamb-shaped cake decorates the table.
Many Eastern orthodox Christians hang pictures
of the Easter lamb in their homes.

Besides lamb and eggs, certain other foods are associated
with the Easter season. Pretzels, for example, were
originally a Lenten food. Their twisted shape suggested arms
crossed in prayer.

Hot cross buns, now eaten throughout
the Easter season, were first baked in England to be
served on Good Friday. The buns have a
cross made of icing on the top.

Easter Sunday is a feast day. Many Christians in eastern Europe and
those of eastern European ancestry in North America have their
Easter feast blessed by a priest. The priest may go to the home, or
families may take their food to church for the blessing.

Wearing new clothes for Easter is a custom common among
many Christians. It may have originated from the old practice
of having newly baptized Christians wear new white clothes
for the Easter celebration. The new clothes represent the
new life offered through the death and Resurrection of Jesus.

Promenades of people in new clothes are also a tradition
in many European towns and villages. Some of these
promenades are led by a person holding a cross or
an Easter candle. In New York City, thousands of people
stroll in the Easter Parade down Fifth Avenue to show
off their new clothes following Easter services.

Passion Plays dramatize the Easter story.
Such plays have been performed during the Easter season
since the Middle Ages. The most famous one is usually
presented every 10 years in Oberammergau,
in southern Germany. It dates from 1634.

Many communities follow customs of the Easter season that
are special to them. In Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, for example,
a trombone choir of the Moravian Church plays hymns
throughout the city before dawn on Easter Sunday to
call church members to a sunrise service in the old Moravian
cemetery. At the cemetery, the trombones play a joyful
chorus as the sun appears on the horizon.

The Easter sunrise services are popular
in a number of communities.