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Welcome the Website on the History of Easter, Family  Holiday Celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ son of God who came here to save us from our sins.

As with almost all "Christian" holidays, Easter has been secularized and commercialized.
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The Traditions of Easter

 

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

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.

Traditions associated with the festival survive in the Easter rabbit, a symbol of fertility, and in colored easter eggs, originally painted with bright colors to represent the sunlight of spring, and used in Easter-egg rolling contests or given as gifts

The Christian celebration of Easter embodies a number of converging traditions with emphasis on the relation of Easter to the Jewish festival of Passover, or Pesach, from which is derived Pasch, another name used by Europeans for Easter. Passover is an important feast in the Jewish calendar which is celebrated for 8 days and commemorates the flight and freedom of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt

The early Christians, many of whom were of Jewish origin, were brought up in the Hebrew tradition and regarded Easter as a new feature of the Passover festival, a commemoration of the advent of the Messiah as foretold by the prophets. (For more information please visit our Passover celebration - Passover on the Net)

Easter is observed by the churches of the West on the first Sunday following the full moon that occurs on or following the spring equinox (March 2I). So Easter became a "movable" feast which can occur as early as March 22 or as late as April 25

Holy week and the Lenten season end with Easter Sunday, the day of resurrection of Jesus Christ

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 Cross

 

Well, There is a Christian saying. It says, "Prophets died, saints died, great men died - none of them ever returned to life. When Christ died some people remembered that he had foretold his resurrection..."

The reference of Bible
Behind the festive joys, feast, fun and family enjoyment, Easter reminds all of a significant event. The event that Jesus Christ was resurrected, after having suffered and died. It reminds you that Christ, who was crucified on, what is now called, the Good Friday, showed himself up on the Easter. So, it is a time to celebrate. To celebrate - that Lord, who appeared on Earth for the good of mankind, is always with us.
That Jesus would resurrect was foretold. The saying came as one of his prophecies.
And, with memories sharpened by hatred, his enemies were the first to remember his prophecy. Hardly had he been buried when they approached the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate with a request to guard the tomb. Pilate gave them soldiers and instructed them to secure the tomb. They went, sealed the stone that closed the entrance, and set the guards to keep watch day and night.

During the night of Friday, the day of his Crucifixion, through to Saturday, nothing had really happened. So did go the the whole of Saturday, the weekly rest day in Jerusalem then.

The things turned different on the early morning of the Sunday, the third day since Jesus was crucified. There was a great uproar and the guards of the tomb were all struck by lightning. for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. His face shining like lightning and his garments white as snow. At this sight, the soldiers trembled with fear and remained as dead men. When they came to their senses there was no point in watching over an empty tomb any longer.

They went to report the chief priest about the incident. In reply they were asked to distort the truth. And spread a story that the body of Jesus was stolen by his own disciples when the guards were asleep during the night.
Meanwhile, early on the following morning, that was Sunday morning, some holy women started for the tomb. They were surprised to see that the stone had been moved aside. They entered the tomb. And found it empty. As they wondered what all these meant, two angels appeared. The angels told them that Jesus had risen again, as he had already told.

Soon Peter, the chief of Jesus' twelve apostles got there along with John, his junior. They found only the linen and the piece of cloth used to wrap his body lied in the empty tomb. Puzzled, they left.

But Jesus was yet to appear in front of them. Instead, Jesus went farther. He turned up to join two of his disciples who were journeying from Jerusalem to a village called Emmaus. However, Jesus did not make himself known to them. Jesus to them came to be known as a stranger who had real mastery over the holy Scriptures. Impressed they invited Jesus to stay with them and share their meal. Jesus agreed. But when at the table they recognized Jesus, he disappeared.

In no time the two disciples headed for Jerusalem. When they met the apostles and told them about everything happened, Jesus made his appearance. And Jesus convinced them all that he was alive and asked them if anything was there to eat. Then he ate in their presence as a living man does. With this everybody there became overwhelmed with joy that their master had returned to life. And life again had become meaningful to the apostles.

Jesus had eaten with them. Talked to them in a familiar manner. And finally he reminded them that he had come from heaven, sent by his Father to perform a task. Now, the task had been done by offering his life for the sins of mankind, it is time for the apostles to follow his suit. And Jesus gave the apostles the Holy Spirit: the power over sin. So one whose sins are forgiven by the apostles, would be forgiven by the heaven. After this Jesus left, as suddenly as he came in.

Jesus returned to the same place on the Sunday next, to make believe the unbelievers. And Jesus showed himself now and then to teach his apostles the lessons and to teach them to live without him. Jesus did this for a period of forty days.

On the fortieth day of reappearance, when he felt he had given the disciples all that he had to, he went back to the heaven. This same Jesus will come back just the same way He has left.

He had left his disciples to carry on his work and to reach his message of love and peace to all.

The Cross is the symbol of the Crucifixion, as opposed to the Resurrection. However, at the Council of Nicaea, in A.D. 325, Constantine decreed that the Cross was the official symbol of Christianity. The Cross is not only a symbol of Easter, but it is more widely used, especially by the Catholic Church, as a year-round symbol of their faith.

Christian churches in the East which were closer to the birthplace of the new religion and in which old traditions were strong, observe Easter according to the date of the Passover festival

Easter is at the end of the Lenten season, which covers a forty-six-day period that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends with Easter. The Lenten season itself comprises forty days, as the six Sundays in Lent are not actually a part of Lent. Sundays are considered a commemoration of Easter Sunday and have always been excluded from the Lenten fast. The Lenten season is a period of penitence in preparation for the highest festival of the church year, Easter

Holy Week, the last week of Lent, begins its with the observance of Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday takes its name from Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem where the crowds laid palms at his feet. Holy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper, which was held the evening before the Crucifixion. Friday in Holy Week is the anniversary of the Crufixion, the day that Christ was crucified and died on the cross

 

The Easter Bunny  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 a festival of overwhelming joy. The joy that celebrates life. Or, rather, the victory of life over death.
But does it have any historic background. Did life really overcame death? Most important, why Jesus is so remembered on Easter?And why those funny stuffs like eggs, and bunnies
came to be mixed up with those ideas? Also who brought all those customs on the soil of America?

Today, with all its joyous customs,
Easter is indeed a major popular festival across the United States.

A festival that has become more of secular in spirit, though it has religious background.

However, this was not the case all along the history of United States.

Easter did not enjoy the status of a popular festival among the early settlers in America. Because most of them were Puritans or members of Protestant Churches who had little use for the ceremonies of any religious festivals. Even the Puritans in Massachusetts tried their best to play down the celebration of Easter as far as possible. While various rites are said to be associated with the celebration of Easter, most of them have come as part of the ancient spring rites in the Northern hemisphere.


Not until the period of the Civil War did the message and meaning of Easter begin to be expressed as it had been in Europe. It was the initiative of the Presbyterians. The scars of death and destruction which led people back to the Easter season. They found the story of resurrection as a great source of inspiration and renewed hope.

Since then, of course, its joyous customs delight children and adults alike.

The celebration of Easter is the celebration of the triumph of life over death. Dedicated to the honor of Christ who gave his life for the sins of His loved ones,it is a great festival to the Christians all over the world. It is joyous because it was on Easter He had shown himself.

Most Christians observe Easter on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the first day of spring
in the Northern Hemisphere. Meanwhile, the eastern Orthodox Churches celebrate Easter later because of additional factor sin calculating the date of Easter.

All over the Northern hemisphere,  the customs of the Easter season are more or less alike.
The Lenten penance and fasting; carnivals ,egg exchanging, eating, decorating and egg hunts.
Also there are Passion Plays and Easter parades. However, some follow customs that are special to their country.
Easter Holidays
 Lent:
Lent is a forty day period of penance meant for sharing the sorrows and sufferings of Christ by the self-denying Christians. Originally Lent was meant for a period of complete fasting to commemorate the forty-day fast of Jesus. Jesus spent these days in the desert after his baptism and till the beginning of his public ministry. In the early church, this fasting period was meant for a preparation to receive the sacrament to be given to those who would be baptized on the Easter eve.

In course of time, the emphasis of the season turned from preparing for baptism to more penitential aspects. Even persons guilty of notorious sins spent the time performing public penances. Only at the end of the Lent were they publicly accepted back in an elaborate ceremony. The penitents were presented to the bishop singly. And then in a group they protested themselves while seven penitential psalms were sung.

Palm Sunday:
The last Sunday of the Lent is known as the Palm Sunday. This is when Jesus rode triumphantly into Jerusalem where he was greeted warmly by the crowd. In the words of St Matthew:
Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" And this is where the basis of the Palm Sunday procession lies.

The first reference to the Palm Sunday procession, is found in the travel journal of Etheria, the nun from the northwest Spain. She made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem toward the end of the fourth century. She referred the day to be the beginning of the Paschal Week.

In the Western Church the procession is reportedly adopted first in Spain, possibly in the fifth century. And it had not been before the twelfth century when the procession was held in Rome. In the United States, the Messiah Lutheran church in Philadelphia revived an old Palm Sunday custom. There an ass is led down the center aisle accompanied by the pastor and two costumed members of the congregation. Meanwhile the entire church body sings, "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name." In Episcopal churches, parishioners are given palm leaves at the end of the service.Presently the day is meant for a nice get together of all churches: Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, and Lutheran.

The Holy Monday & Tuesday:
Monday of the Holy Week is not a major feast. The cleansing of the temple in the Holy City of Jerusalem is thought to have taken place on this Monday. This was when Jesus overturned the tables of the moneychangers, saying to them: " It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer'; But you make it a den of robbers". [Matthew: 21:13]
The Tuesday of the Holy Week is the day when the famous incident between Jesus and Pharisees is thought to have taken place. This was when the churchmen tried to trap Jesus into making a blasphemous, or, anti-god remark.
This day is important also on another count. Jesus discoursed to his disciples on the Mount of Olives about the destruction of Jerusalem and the signs of the last day.

Spy Wednesday:
On the Wednesday the tempo of the Holy Week increases. This is the day widely known as "Spy Wednesday". For it is the day when Judas Iscariot, a disciple turned betrayer agreed to show the chief priests where they could easily capture Jesus.

 Maundy Thursday:
The Thursday of the Holy Week is associated with the Last Supper. The day is known as Maundy Thursday, or, Holy Thursday. It is the day before crucifixion. On this day Jesus had his supper, his last course, with his disciples. In the words of St Matthew:
...Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it , and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is my body." And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying," Drink of it, all of you; for this is my blood of covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."

Good Friday:
The Friday of the week is the Good Friday. This is the day on which Jesus was crucified outside the walls of Jerusalem, at the top of the Calvary hill. And the Christian belief says that Jesus sacrificed himself for the men's sins, to be died crucified.

This day is marked by solemn observations in memory of Jesus' crucifixion.For, Christians believe that by dying Jesus accomplished a reconciliation between God and man. And accordingly the crucified image of Jesus or, the Cross itself, came to be regarded as the main symbol of faith for the Christians.

Roman Catholics observe the day usually through fast and abstinence to commemorate the pains and sufferings Jesus underwent on the cross. It is since the 4th century that Good Friday came to be observed as a separate occasion. Before this, an annual celebration was held as Christian Passover, or, Pascha, to mark both Christ's death on Cross and the Resurrection.

Easter Eve:
The day following Good Friday is the Holy Saturday. This is usually called Easter Eve in Anglican churches, and is held as a traditional time for baptism services.
Presently, this day is primarily a Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, as well as Anglican observance. Roman Catholic churches observe this with the blessing and lighting of a tall Paschal candle. The candle is placed on the altar on the Holy Saturday. While blessing, five grains of incense are fixed in it, representing the five wounds of Jesus and the burial spices with which his body was anointed. The candle is lit and remains on the Gospel side of the altar until Ascension Day. This day comes at the end of forty days which mark the period through which Christ showed up himself of and on following the crucifixion. On Ascension Day Christ is believed to have ascended to the heaven.

And Easter:
Easter Sunday is the day of the feast. This day, the third since crucifixion, the Christ is believed to have shown up himself. And not just that, Jesus also joined his disciples on a meal! Easter comes at the end of the six days of the Holy Week which came to be associated with the life of Jesus before the Resurrection. This is when Christ is believed to show himself up after his death through crucifixion. He had risen up from his tomb that was guarded by the sentries. And met his disciples to get them prepared to carry out his works in his absence.
For more, read the story of Resurrection.

Eggs and Easter have almost become synonymous.
But what is so special in an egg?

It is the influence of the traditional spring rites that made Easter so egg-special. And myths coming down to us from an incredibly distant past have shown man's relationship with the egg to be very deep seated one. This is caught in old Latin proverb: Omne vivum ex ovo. This means "all life comes from an egg". Not just the Latin saying, eggs are just laid well over all corners of the world. From ancient India to Polynesia, from Iran, Greece, and Phonecia to Latvia, Estonia, and Finland, from Central America to the west coast of South America, there are reports of myths of the whole universe created out of an egg. Thus, it is not unusual that in almost all ancient cultures eggs had been held as an emblem of life.

In Europe an egg was hung on New Year trees, on Maypoles, and on St. John's trees in midsummer. Indeed, all meant egg as a symbol of the regenerative forces of nature. Later during the Christian period, it was believed that eggs laid on Good Friday, if kept for a hundred years, would have their yolks turn to diamond. If Good Friday eggs were cooked on Easter they would promote the fertility of the trees and crops and protect against sudden deaths. And, if you would find two yolks in an Easter egg, be sure, you're going to be rich soon. That's
what they believed!

Eggs were said to be dyed and eaten at the spring festivals in ancient Egypt, Persia, Greece, and Rome. The Persians of that time gave eggs as gifts at the vernal equinox. But it is not very clear how those colored eggs have come in to dominate the Easter basket. In fact, they have become so popular with the Easter celebration, that they even started to dominate the ancient concepts of the symbolism of eggs. It is speculated that it was introduced in Europe, or, rather Western Europe, during the course of the fifteenth century. This was when missionaries or knights of the Crusades are thought to have brought in the concept of the coloring of eggs westwards.

In medieval times there was a superstition: the church bells which had not been heard since Holy Thursday had been to Rome for the Pope's blessings and returned on Easter Eve with colored eggs for everyone. Many of the eggs were dyed red. Red was in memory joyous Easter celebration. Or it was to honor the blood that Christ shed. During the strict Lenten fast of forty days no eggs were eaten. And to show that they have obeyed families

The bountiful Easter bunnies have become the most favorite Easter symbol. It's universal and secular in its appeal. And, most important of all, it relates to Easter historically.

However, one fact has got to be made clear. It is the hare, and not the rabbit, that should be treated as the true symbol of Easter. Though both of them (along with Pikas), belong to the 'Lagomorpha' family and have most of things in common, there are some differences.


If you go by the history, since the ancient times the hare has been a symbol for the moon. Not the rabbit. And the legend says, the hare never closes its eyes, not even for a single blink!

The reason for having such a belief may be rooted in the fact that hares, not rabbits, are born with eyes open. Rabbits are born blind.

The ancient Egyptians related hares to the moon. Egyptian name for hare was 'un', meaning 'open'. And they were beloved to be watching the full moon opened eyes throughout the night.

Also the hare and eggs have to the Anglo-Saxon spring goddess Eostre. Possibly, this is because both of them were regarded to be emblems of fertility.


And this fertility factor may hold the key in making rabbit more familiar as Easter symbol in America, as against the traditional hare. Rabbits beat hares by being more prolific. The German immigrants, who brought in most of the Teutonic Easter traditions here, made rabbits so popular among the non-German kids. The German children used to have rabbit's nests filled with decorated eggs. They also used to build nests. They looked so attractive that even the non-German kids demanded such gifts on the Easter.
Who doesn't love to have the nice white lily as part of the Easter gift?

In fact, the lovely white trumpet lily has been enjoying a great favor in being included as a principal item for church decoration for quite some time. A perfect gift of nature to beautify our Easter. Isn't it?


But its acceptance in America, as such, dates back around the 1800s. It came in with the rise in the Easter observances by the Protestants in America. And, strange, it took some more time to find a widespread acceptance. For, the early Americans those days were not used to seeing a lily waiting to be picked up for the Easter decor. The native American lilies, for example, the garden or, Madonna lily, bloom in the early summer. Though it could be forced to bloom earlier using the hothouse conditions, the hassles associated did not allow it to be accepted widely.And custom did not find a widespread growth until a lily was imported.


In the 1880s, while in Bermuda, Ms Thomas P Sargent became familiar with a beautiful lily that blooms naturally in springtime. She just fell for this lovely white 'Bermuda' lily. She brought its bulbs in back home in Philadelphia. There, a nursery man, called William Harris, fostered its popularity among other florists.

Following this it did not take long for the flower to win the hearts of million to be the main flower of the Easter floral arrangements.

Overview:

Modern-day Easter is derived from two ancient traditions: one Judeo-Christian and the other Pagan. Both Christians and Pagans have celebrated death and resurrection themes following the Spring Equinox for millennia. Most religious historians believe that many elements of the Christian observance of Easter were derived from earlier Pagan celebrations.

The equinox occurs each year on March 20, 21 or 22. Both Neopagans and Christians continue to celebrate religious rituals linked to the equinox in the present day. Wiccans and other Neopagans usually hold their celebrations on the day or eve of the equinox. Western Christians wait until the Sunday on or after the next full moon. The Eastern Orthodox churches follow a different calculation; their celebration is often many weeks after the date selected by the Western churches.

The Christian Liturgical Calendar:

Until the 4th century CE, Easter and Pentecost were the only two holy days that Christians observed. Easter Sunday was the main day of celebration, formally recognized by the Council of Nicea in 325 CE. Pentecost Sunday was also observed as a less important holy day, 7 weeks/49 days after Easter. Other occasions related to Jesus' execution were gradually added to the church calendar:

  • Lent: This was a period of spiritual preparation for Easter which typically involves fasting, penance and prayer. It was originally established by various Christian groups as an interval ranging from a few days to several weeks. It was eventually fixed in the 8th century CE at 40 days. (The number 40 is one of many magical numbers with religious significance in the Bible. 40 days recalls the interval that Jesus, Moses and Elias spent in the desert. Other magical numbers were 3, 7, 12, and 70).  Among Roman Catholics, Lent lasts for six and a half weeks before Easter, excluding Sundays. Among the Eastern Orthodox churches, it is a full eight weeks, because Saturdays and Sundays are not included.
  • Ash Wednesday: This is  held on the first day of Lent, a Wednesday.
  • Holy Week: the week before Easter Sunday:
    • Palm Sunday: This is held on the Sunday before Easter Sunday. It recalls Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem one week before his execution.
    • Holy Monday commemorates Jesus' cleansing of the temple, when he assaulted money changers and overturned their tables. Some believe that this triggered his arrest and crucifixion.
    • Holy Tuesday recalls Jesus' description to his disciples on the Mount of Olives of the destruction of Jerusalem.
    • Holy Wednesday (once called Spy Wednesday) recalls Judas' decision to betray Jesus in exchange for 30 pieces of silver.
    • Maundy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper, Jesus agony in the garden and his arrest. "Maundy" is derived from the Latin "mandatum" (commandment of God in John 13:34-35) For centuries, people in authority have washed the feet of their followers on this day.
    • Good Friday recalls Jesus' death on the cross. The origin of the word "good" has been lost. Some claim that it is a corruption of "God" and that the early Christians called this day "God's Friday." Others claim that "good" refers to the blessings of humanity that Christians believe arose as a result of Jesus' execution.
    • Holy Saturday (a.k.a. Easter Eve) is the final day of Holy Week and of Lent.
    • Easter Sunday commemorates Jesus' resurrection. In the early church, converts were baptized into church membership on this day after a lengthy period of instruction. This tradition continues today in some churches.
  • Feast of the Ascension (a.k.a Ascension Day) is a celebration of Jesus' ascension up to heaven. This is described in Acts 1:9 as happening 40 days after his resurrection. The church celebrates the feast on a Thursday, 39 days after Easter Sunday. Although tradition states that it was first celebrated in 68 CE, it did not become formally recognized by the church until the late 3rd century.
  • Pentecost (a.k.a. Whit Sunday) is now celebrated 7 weeks/49 days after Easter Sunday. It recalls the visitation of the Holy Spirit to 120 Christians, both apostles and followers. They spoke in tongues (in foreign languages that they had not previously known) to the assembled crowd. Three thousand were baptized. The day was originally a Jewish festival which was called "Pentecost," because it was observed 50 days after Passover. (The Greek word for 50'th day is "pentecoste.") This is usually regarded as the date of the birth of the Christian church. The feast was mentioned in a 2nd century book, and was formally recognized in the 3rd century CE.

 

 
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How the date of Easter is determined:

Easter Sunday falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after MAR-20, the nominal date of the Spring Equinox. Many sources incorrectly state that the starting date of the calculation is the actual day of the Equinox rather than the nominal date of MAR-20. Other sources use an incorrect reference date of MAR-21.

A little known fact is that the timing of the full moon is based upon the Metonic Cycle, a method of calculating the date of the full moon  known to the ancient Greek astronomer Meton, who lived in the 5th century BCE. This calculation occasionally diverges from the actual astronomical data. 5 For example, in the year 2019, the date of Easter according to a precise astronomical calculation would be MAR-24. However, the Western Church will observe it on APR-21. 6

Easter Sunday in the West can fall on any date from March 23 to April 26th. The year-to-year sequence is so complicated that it takes 5.7 million years to repeat. Eastern Orthodox churches sometimes celebrate Easter on the same day as the rest of Christendom. However if that date does not follow Passover, then the Orthodox churches delay their Easter - sometimes by over a month.

Some dates related to Easter are celebrated on the following dates by the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches:

Year Ash Wednesday Easter Sunday Ascension Day Pentecost
1996 Feb-21 Apr-7 May-16 May-26
1997 Feb-12 Mar-30 May-8 May-18
1998 Feb-25 Apr-12 May-21 May-31
1999 Feb-17 Apr-4 May-13 May-23
2000 Mar-8 Apr-23 Jun-1 Jun-11
2001 Feb-28 Apr-15 May-24 Jun-3
2002 Feb-13 Mar-31 May-9 May-19
2003 Mar-5 Apr-20 May-29 Jun-8
2004 Feb-25 Apr-11 May-20 May-30
2005 Feb-9 Mar-27 May-5 May-15
2006 Mar-1 Apr-16 May-25 Jun-4

Although these dates were taken from sources that we believe to be reliable, do not rely on their accuracy. We cannot accept responsibility for any errors.

R.W. Mallem's "Easter Dating Method," shows for methods of calculating the dates of Easter Sunday, both for the Western and Orthodox churches. 1

Graeme Mcrae, a mathematician, calculated the date of Easter according to the Gregorian calendar for all dates from 1583 to 31583 CE! He found dates that ranged from MAR-22 to APR-25. APR-29 was the most common. Dates from MAR-28 to APR-20 were relatively equal in frequency of occurrence. 7

Easter Traditions:

These have been derived primarily from Pagan traditions at Easter time:

  • Hot Cross Buns: At the feast of Eostre, the Saxon fertility Goddess, an ox was sacrificed. The ox's horns became a symbol for the feast. They were carved into the ritual bread. Thus originated "hot cross buns". The word "buns" is derived from the Saxon word "boun" which means "sacred ox." Later, the symbol of a symmetrical cross was used to decorate the buns; the cross represented the moon, the heavenly body associated with the Goddess, and its four quarters.
  • Easter Rabbit and Eggs:
    • The symbols of the Norse Goddess Ostara were the hare and the egg. Both represented fertility. From these, we have inherited the customs and symbols of the Easter egg and Easter rabbit.
    • Dyed eggs also formed part of the rituals of the ancient, pre-Christian Babylonian mystery religions. "The egg as a symbol of fertility and of renewed life goes back to the ancient Egyptians and Persians, who had also the custom of coloring and eating eggs during their spring festival." 2
    • "Like the Easter egg, the Easter hare came to Christianity from antiquity. The hare is associated with the moon in the legends of ancient Egypt and other peoples....Through the fact that the Egyptian word for hare, UM, means also "open" and "period," that hare came to be associated with the idea of periodicity, both lunar and human, and with the beginning of new life in both the young man and young woman, and so a symbol of fertility and of the renewal of life. As such, the hare became linked with Easter...eggs." 2
    • Christian tradition states that when Mary Magdalene visited Emperor Tiberias (14 - 37 CE), she gave him a red egg as a symbol of the Resurrection -- a symbol of new life. Some believe that the Christian tradition of giving eggs to each other at Easter time came from this event. 8
  • Easter Lilies: "The so-called 'Easter lily' has long been revered by pagans of various lands as a holy symbol associated with the reproductive organs. It was considered a phallic symbol!" 3
  • Easter Sunrise Service: This custom can be traced back to the ancient Pagan custom of welcoming the sun God at the vernal equinox - when daytime is about to exceed the length of the nighttime. It was a time to "celebrate the return of life and reproduction to animal and plant life as well." 4 Worship of the Sun God at sunrise may be the religious ritual condemned by Jehovah as recorded in:

Ezekiel 8:16-18: "...behold, at the door of the temple of Jehovah, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of Jehovah, and their faces toward the east; and they were worshipping the sun toward the east. Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen (this), O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have turned again to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose. Therefore will I also deal in wrath; mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity; and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them." (ASV)

  • Easter Candles: These are sometimes lit in churches on the eve of Easter Sunday. Some commentators believe that these can be directly linked to the Pagan customs of lighting bonfires at this time of year to welcome the rebirth/resurrection of the sun God.
Misspelled words used to find this page 2 of 3.

hstory, hitory, hisory, histry, histoy, historie, histolie, histery, histerie, hystory, hystoly, hystorie, hystolie, hystery, hysterie, histoly, h1story, histoyr, histroy, hisotry, hitsory, hsitory, ihstory, histor, istory, family, familie, famirie, famalie, famialie, famailie, famaly, famialy, famaily, famaali, famiali, famaiali, famaalie, famaialie, famaaly, famaialy, famaili, famali, famili, famiry, famiri, famil, famir, fn11y, phn11y, fan11y, fan1ly, fanily, famiyl, famliy, faimly, fmaily, afmily, famiy, famly, faily, fmily, amily, holiday, holidaie, horidaie, hliday, hoiday, holday, holiay, holidy, holideigh, horideigh, horiday, holida, horida, ho11day, hol1day, holidya, holiady, holdiay, hoilday, hloiday, ohliday, oliday, celebration, selebratiom, selebraton, ceelbratiom, cerebrasion, celeration, seleblatiom, celebratin, selebrashun, cleebratiom, cerebrashon, celbration, celebraion, selebrashon, celeblatiom, cerebrashun, ceebration, celebrtion, selebrasion, ceelblatiom, cerebraton, clebration, celebation, seleblation, cleeblatiom, celeblasion, cereblasion, seleblaton, cerebratiom, celeblashon, cereblashon, seleblashun, ceerbratiom, celeblashun, cereblashun, seleblashon, cereblatiom, celeblaton, cereblaton, seleblasion, selebration, celebratiom, cereblation, cleeblation, cleebraton, ceerbrashun, ceelblaton, celebrashun, ceerbrashon, cleeblaton, ceelbrashun, ceerblation, ceelblashun, cleebrashun, celebrasion, cleeblashun, celebrashon, ceelbrasion, ceelblashon, ceelbrashon, ceelbration, cleebrasion, cleeblashon, cleebrashon, cleebration, ceelblasion, cerebration, celeblation, celebraton, cleeblasion, ceerbration, ceelblation, ceelbraton, ceerbrasion, ceerbraton, sleebrashon, seelbratiom, seelbrashon, serebraton, serebrashun, serebration, sleebraton, sleebrashun, sereblation, seelbraton, seelbrashun, sleebration, serebrasion, sleeblation, sleebrasion, seelbration, seelbrasion, seelblation, serebratiom, serebrashon, sleebratiom, ceelbrachun, celeblachun, cereblachon, ceelblachun, jesus, jesys, jesis, jessu, jeuss, jseus, ejsus, christ, chris, chree, chrus, crist, clist, chr1st, chrits, chrsit, chirst, crhist, hcrist, chrit, chrst, chist, hrist, ter, tree, tlea, trea, tlee, tor, tur, tel, tre, tle, t3r, tere, rtee, snow, smow, snwo, sonw, nsow, season, seasun, sasun, sesun, seesun, siason, siasun, sason, seson,

 

THE CHRISTIAN ORIGINS OF EASTER

Past disputes over the date of Easter

When have Christians celebrated Easter?

The Encyclopedia Britannica states: "There is no indication of the observance of the Easter festival in the New Testament or in the writings of the apostolic Fathers. The sanctity of special times was an idea absent from the minds of the first Christians." 1

According to BibleWorld.com, "Some church historians assert that Easter observance began in the first century (CE), but they must admit that their first evidence for the observance comes from the second century." 2,3,4

There was no consensus within the second century church about when to celebrate Easter. "...the early Christians had followed the Jewish calendar and celebrated the resurrection on the Passover which was the fourteenth of Nisan, the first month of the Jewish year...." 5 "By the end of the 2nd century some churches celebrated Easter/Pascha on the day of the Jewish passover, [sic] regardless of the day of the week, while others celebrated it on the following Sunday." 6 The Council of Nicea in 325 CE later set the date as the first Sunday after Passover. That is, if Passover was on a Sunday, then Easter was delayed by seven days. Thus, it was observed on a date between the fifteenth and twenty-first day of the Jewish month of Nisan. 5 Eventually, the date of Easter was set as the first Sunday after the first full moon (the Paschal Moon) on or after the nominal date of the vernal (spring) equinox: MAR-21. The church celebrated Easter between the 15th and 21st day of Nisan. However, this did not achieve harmony within Christianity:

  • Local differences "differences in the mechanics of determining the date of Easter/Pascha remained even after Nicea" 6 "...by the 6th century the mode of calculation based on the studies of Alexandrian astronomers and scholars had gained universal acceptance."
  • The Celtic Church did not delay Easter in the event that Passover occurred on a Sunday. Thus, they celebrated Easter on a date between the 14th and 21st day of Nisan. In about one year in seven, their observance would be one week before the Roman church. This practice continued for the remnants of the Celtic Church at Iona in what present-day Scotland until 716 CE. The Welsh church did not adopt the Roman dating until 768 CE. 5
  • The Julian calendar, which was used by the entire Christian Church until the mid 16th century was in error about 11 minutes and 14 seconds each year. This accumulated to form a full day error every 128 years. By the late 16th century, this error had accumulated to an intolerable 10 days. Pope Gregory XIII commissioned a study to decide how to correct it and how to prevent it from drifting in the future. The solution was to make most of the century years into non-leap years; only those which were evenly divisible by 400 (e.g. 1600, 2000, 2400 etc.) were to be leap years. Roman Catholic countries corrected the calendar by making 1582-OCT-15 CE follow 1582-OCT-4. England delayed the adoption of the Gregorian calendar until the mid 18th century. They made an 11 day correction; the day following 1752-SEP-2 was SEP-14. Eastern Orthodox Churches continue to use the Julian calendar. It is currently 13 days later than the Gregorian calendar. Since 1923, the Romanian Orthodox and Greek Orthodox churches have adopted the Gregorian calendar. However, they continue to use the Julian calendar for Easter calculations.

    The gap between the two calendars continues to grow. Most Greek Orthodox churches currently celebrate Christmas on JAN-7 and New Year's Day on January 14 (according to the Gregorian calendar). This gap generally causes Easter to be celebrated on the same Sunday in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches only about once every three or four years. In other years, the Orthodox Easter -- called Pascha -- is delayed by one, four, or five weeks:     7
    Year Easter
    (Gregorian calculation)    		 Easter
    (Julian calculation)    		 Matching dates?
    2001 APR-15 APR-15 Yes
    2002 MAR-31 MAY-5  
    2003 APR-20 APR-27  
    2004 APR-11 APR-11 Yes
    2005 MAR-27 MAY-1  
    2006 APR-16 APR-23  
    2007 APR-8 APR-8 Yes
    2008 MAR-23 APR-27  
    2009 APR-12 APR-19  
    2010 APR-4 APR-4 Yes

Finding a common date for Easter Two dates for Easter:

As described elsewhere, Eastern Orthodox churches generally use the Julian calendar, while Roman Catholics and Protestants use the Gregorian calendar. Methods of calculating the date of Easter differ. Thus Easter is celebrated on the same day in Christianity only about once every three or four years. In other years, the Orthodox Easter -- called Pascha -- is delayed by one, four, or five weeks from the Roman Catholic/Protestant date: 1

Year Easter
(Gregorian calculation)		 Easter
(Julian calculation)		 Matching dates?
2001 APR-15 APR-15 Yes
2002 MAR-31 MAY-5  
2003 APR-20 APR-27  
2004 APR-11 APR-11 Yes
2005 MAR-27 MAY-1  
2006 APR-16 APR-23  
2007 APR-8 APR-8 Yes
2008 MAR-23 APR-27  
2009 APR-12 APR-19  
2010 APR-4 APR-4 Yes

Attempts to merge the dates of Easter:

In 1920, the Patriarchate of Constantinople suggested that the Orthodox churches discuss a common date for Easter.

In 1923, the Pan Orthodox Congress decided to revise their calendar. This prompted several schisms among Orthodox churches.

Also in the 1920s, some secular groups were proposing a fixed date for Easter; the Sunday following the second Saturday in April was one suggestion. This would help commercial and public groups plan more easily. But it would sever the linkage between Easter and the Jewish Passover. Also, it would probably further split Christian observance of Easter as some churches adopted a fixed date, and others continued to use the current pair of dates.

Orthodox churches resumed discussion in 1961 during preparations for the Great and Holy Council of the Orthodox Church.

The Roman Catholic church discussed a common day at the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy of the Second Vatican Council, in 1963.

Since 1965, The World Council of Churches has discussed the topic repeatedly. In 1997, the World Council of Churches and the Middle East Council of Churches sponsored a meeting in Aleppo, Syria. Participants included the Anglican Communion, Armenian Orthodox Church, Ecumenical Patriarchate, Evangelical Churches in the Middle East, Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch, Lutheran World Federation, Middle East Council of Churches, Old-Catholic Churches of the Union of Utrecht, Orthodox Church in America, Patriarchate of Moscow, Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada, Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Seventh-day Adventists, and Syrian Orthodox Church. The group issued what has since been called "The Aleppo Statement." It said in part:

"By celebrating this feast of feasts on different days, the churches give a divided witness to this fundamental aspect of the apostolic faith, compromising their credibility and effectiveness in bringing the Gospel to the world. This is a matter of concern for all Christians. Indeed, in some parts of the world such as the Middle East, where several separated Christian communities constitute a minority in the larger society, this has become an urgent issue. While there has been some discussion of this question, it still has not been given the serious attention that it deserves." 2

They recommended that the original Nicene formula be continued: that Easter falls on the Sunday following the first full moon following the Spring Equinox. They recommend three changes in the method of calculating the date, to take effect in the year 2001:

  1. Abandoning use of MAR-20 as the nominal date of the equinox, and adopting the actual date, which may range from MAR-19 to MAR-21.
  2. Abandoning the use of what they call "conventional tables" to determine the time of the full moon, and use the actual astronomical predictions.
  3. To base the day on the meridian of Jerusalem, where Yeshua was executed.

They concluded that a fixed date for Easter would not work. Some faith groups would reject the idea, and the end result would be two or three Easter dates each year.

The North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation formed in 1965 by the U.S. Catholic bishops' Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs and the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of America endorsed the Aleppo Statement in 1998-OCT. 3

In 1999-MAY, the Anglican Journal commented: "The [Anglican Communion's] Lambeth Conference com-mended [sic] the Aleppo proposal for consideration by member churches. The Conference of European Churches plans to do the same, and other groups, including Baptists, Methodists, Old Catholics, Presbyterians, Societies of Friends and Free Churches, have reacted positively. Except for the Greek Orthodox Church, most Orthodox churches also welcome the initiative but won't yet commit to action." 4

In 2000-MAR, a dialogue established by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA) recommended adoption of the Aleppo Statement. 5,6

Easter for year 2001 came and passed. The World Council of Churches is currently promoting adoption of the for 2004, when Easter will once more be celebrated on the same day throughout the world. Some have suggested that a common Easter date be explored on a regional basis. One example would be in the Middle East, where the dual Easter dates are of particular concern.

Attempts to agree on a fixed date for Easter:

According to Encyclopedia Britannica:

"In the 20th century attempts were made to arrive at a fixed date for Easter, with the Sunday following the second Saturday in April specifically proposed. While this proposal has supporters, it has not come to fruition."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

History of the Easter Egg
 

Easter Egg

The Decorated Easter Egg

The egg is nature's perfect package. It has, during the span of history, represented mystery, magic, medicine, food and omen. It is the universal symbol of Easter celebrations throughout the world and has been dyed, painted, adorned and embellished in the celebration of its special symbolism.

Before the egg became closely entwined with the Christian Easter, it was honored during many rite-of-Spring festivals. The Romans, Gauls, Chinese, Egyptians and Persians all cherished the egg as a symbol of the universe. From ancient times eggs were dyed, exchanged and shown reverence.

In Pagan times the egg represented the rebirth of the earth. The long, hard winter was over; the earth burst forth and was reborn just as the egg miraculously burst forth with life. The egg, therefore, was believed to have special powers. It was buried under the foundations of buildings to ward off evil; pregnant young Roman women carried an egg on their persons to foretell the sex of their unborn children; French brides stepped upon an egg before crossing the threshold of their new homes.

With the advent of Chrisianity the symbolism of the egg changed to represent, not nature's rebirth, but the rebirth of man. Christians embraced the egg symbol and likened it to the tomb from which Christ rose.

Old Polish legends blended folklore and Christian beliefs and firmly attached the egg to the Easter celebration. One legend concerns the Virgin Mary. It tells of the time Mary gave eggs to the soldiers at the cross. She entreated them to be less cruel and she wept. The tears of Mary fell upon the eggs, spotting them with dots of brilliant color.

Another Polish legend tells of when Mary Magdalen went to the sepulchre to anoint the body of Jesus. She had with her a basket of eggs to serve as a repast. When she arrived at the sepulchre and uncovered the eggs, lo, the pure white shells had miraculously taken on a rainbow of colors.

Decorating and coloring eggs for Easter was the custom in England during the middle ages. The household accounts of Edward I, for the year 1290, recorded an expenditure of eighteen pence for four hundred and fifty eggs to be gold-leafed and colored for Easter gifts.

The most famous decorated Easter eggs were those made by the well-known goldsmith, Peter Carl Faberge. In 1883 the Russian Czar, Alexander, commissioned Faberge to make a special Easter gift for his wife, the Empress Marie.

The first Faberge egg was an egg within an egg. It had an outside shell of platinum and enameled white which opened to reveal a smaller gold egg. The smaller egg, in turn, opened to display a golden chicken and a jeweled replica of the Imperial crown.

This special Faberge egg so delighted the Czarina that the Czar promptly ordered the Faberge firm to design further eggs to be delivered every Easter. In later years Nicholas II, Alexander's son, continued the custom. Fifty-seven eggs were made in all.

Ornamental egg designers believe in the symbolism of the egg and celebrate the egg by decorating it with superb artistry. Some use flowers and leaves from greeting cards, tiny cherubs, jewels and elegant fabrics, braids and trims, to adorn the eggs. They are separated, delicately hinged and glued with epoxy and transparent cement, then when completed, they are covered with a glossy resin finish. Although the omens and the mystery of the egg have disappeared today, the symbolism remains, and artists continue in the old world tradition of adorning eggs.
Easter is a spring festival that celebrates the central event of the Christian faith: the resurrection of Christ three days after his death by crucifixion. {1} Easter is the oldest Christian holiday and the most important day of the church year.

All the Christian movable feasts and the entire liturgical year of worship are arranged around Easter.

Easter Sunday is preceded by the season of Lent, a 40-day period of fasting and repentence culminating in Holy Week, and followed by a 50-day Easter Season that stretches from Easter to Pentecost.

Name of Easter

The origins of the word "Easter" are not certain, but probably derive from Estre, an Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring {2}. The German word Ostern has the same derivation, but most other languages follow the Greek term used by the early Christians: pascha, from the Hebrew pesach (Passover).

In Latin, Easter is Festa Paschalia (plural because it is a seven-day feast), which became the basis for the French Pâques, the Italian Pasqua, and the Spanish Pascua. Also related are the Scottish Pask, the Dutch Paschen, the Danish Paaske, and the Swedish Pask. {3}

Date of Easter

The method for determining the date of Easter is complex and has been a matter of controversy (see History of Easter, below). Put as simply as possible, the Western churches (Catholic and Protestant) celebrate Easter on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox.

But it is actually a bit more complicated than this. The spring equinox is fixed for this purpose as March 21 (in 2004, it actually falls on March 20) and the "full moon" is actually the paschal moon, which is based on 84-year "paschal cycles" established in the sixth century, and rarely corresponds to the astronomical full moon. These complex calculations yield an Easter date of anywhere between March 22 and April 25.

The Eastern churches (Greek, Russian, and other forms of Orthodoxy) use the same calculation, but based on the Julian calendar (on which March 21 is April 3) and a 19-year paschal cycle.

Thus the Orthodox Easter sometimes falls on the same day as the western Easter (it does in 2004), but the two celebrations can occur as much as five weeks apart.

In the 20th century, discussions began as to a possible worldwide agreement on a consistent date for the celebration of the central event of Christianity. No resolution has yet been reached. {4}

Recent and upcoming dates {5} for Passover (Judaism), Easter (Western Christianity), and Pascha (Eastern Christianity) are:

  Passover Easter Pascha
2006 April 13 April 16 April 23
2007 April 3 April 8 April 8


History of Easter and the Easter Controversy

There is evidence that Christians originally celebrated the resurrection of Christ every Sunday, with observances such as Scripture readings, psalms, the Eucharist, and a prohibition against kneeling in prayer. {6} At some point in the first two centuries, however, it became customary to celebrate the resurrection specially on one day each year. Many of the religious observances of this celebration were taken from the Jewish Passover.

The specific day on which the resurrection should be celebrated became a major point of contention within the church. First, should it be on Jewish Passover no matter on what day that falls, or should it always fall on a Sunday? It seems Christians in Asia took the former position, while those everywhere else insisted on the latter. The eminent church fathers Irenaeus and Polycarp were among the Asiatic Christians, and they claimed the authority of St. John the Apostle for their position. Nevertheless, the church majority officially decided that Easter should always be celebrated on a Sunday. Eusebius of Caesarea, our only source on this topic, reports the affair as follows:

A question of no small importance arose at that time [c. 190 AD]. The dioceses of all Asia, as from an older tradition, held that the fourteenth day of the moon, on which day the Jews were commanded to sacrifice the lamb, should always be observed as the feast of the life-giving pasch, contending that the fast ought to end on that day, whatever day of the week it might happen to be. However it was not the custom of the churches in the rest of the world to end it at this point, as they observed the practice, which from Apostolic tradition has prevailed to the present time, of terminating the fast on no other day than on that of the Resurrection of our Saviour. Synods and assemblies of bishops were held on this account, and all with one consent through mutual correspondence drew up an ecclesiastical decree that the mystery of the Resurrection of the Lord should be celebrated on no other day but the Sunday and that we should observe the close of the paschal fast on that day only. {7}

With this issue resolved, the next problem was to determine which Sunday to celebrate the resurrection. The Christians in Syria and Mesopotamia held their festival on the Sunday after the Jewish Passover (which itself varied a great deal), but those in Alexandria and other regions held it on the first Sunday after the spring equinox, without regard to the Passover.

This second issue was decided at the Council of Nicea in 325, which decreed that Easter should be celebrated by all on the same Sunday, which Sunday shall be the first following the paschal moon (and the paschal moon must not precede the spring equinox), and that a particular church should determine the date of Easter and communicate it throughout the empire (probably Alexandria, with their skill in astronomical calculations).

The policy was adopted throughout the empire, but Rome adopted an 84-year lunar cycle for determining the date, whereas Alexandria used a 19-year cycle. {8} Use of these different "paschal cycles" persists to this day and contributes to the disparity between the eastern and western dates of Easter.

Religious Observances on Easter

Common elements found in most Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant religious Easter celebrations include baptisms, the Eucharist, feasting, and greetings of "Christ is risen!" and "He is risen indeed!"

In Roman Catholicism, and some Lutheran and Anglican churches, Easter is celebrated with a vigil that consists of "the blessing of the new fire (a practice introduced during the early Middle Ages); the lighting of the paschal candle; a service of lessons, called the prophecies; followed by the blessing of the font and baptisms and then the mass of Easter." {9} The traditional customs of the Catholic church are described in detail in the online Catholic Encyclopedia {10}.

In Orthodox churches, the vigil service is preceded by a procession outside the church. When the procession leaves the church, there are no lights on. The procession conducts a symbolic fruitless search for Christ's body, then joyfully announces, "Christ is risen!" When the procession returns to the church, hundreds of candles and lamps are lit to symbolize the splendor of Christ's resurrection, and the Easter Eucharist is taken. {11}

Protestant observances also include baptism and the Eucharist (or Lord's Supper), and often a sunrise service (to commemorate Mary Magdalene's arrival at the empty tomb "early, while it was still dark") and special hymns and songs.


Easter eggs

Popular Easter Customs

Over the centuries, these religious observances have been supplemented by popular customs, many of were incorporated from springtime fertility celebrations of European and Middle Eastern pagan religion. Rabbits and eggs, for example, are widely-used pagan symbols for fertility. Christians view the Easter eggs as symbols of joy and celebration (as they were forbidden during the fast of Lent) and of new life and resurrection. A common custom is to hide brightly colored eggs for children to find.

Further Resources on Easter

General

Catholic

Orthodox

Protestant
The story of the White House Easter Egg Roll, which begins at one end  of Pennsylvania Avenue and continues at the other, is one of the oldest and most unique traditions in presidential history.

Bill Allman
White House Curator Bill Allman Discusses History of the Egg Roll.
View Webcast

Rolling eggs on the Monday after Easter was a tradition observed by many Washington families, including those of the President. Some historians believe Dolley Madison first suggested the idea of a public egg roll, while others tell stories of informal egg-rolling parties at the White House dating back to President Lincoln's day.

Public egg-rolling celebrations, however, were held not at the White House, but on the grounds of the Capitol. Press accounts from as early as 1872 recount stories of Washington children of all ages joining together to roll eggs on the congressional grounds.

The children of Washington apparently caused such a ruckus on the Capitol grounds in 1876 that Congress passed the Turf Protection Law to prohibit the area from being used as a playground in future years. The event was rained out in 1877, but in 1878 the children were alerted by a small notice in the local newspaper informing them that the egg rollers would not be allowed at the Capitol that year.

Two versions of the story follow: Either the angry rollers rushed to the gates of the White House and demanded that they be let in to roll their eggs on the President's lawn or President Rutherford B. Hayes, alerted to the plight of the children, opened the gates to the South Lawn and welcomed all the rollers to his end of Pennsylvania Avenue. Either way, the first White House Easter Egg Roll was held in 1878.

Over the years, the Egg Rolls have evolved and changed, with different games and amusements popular in different years. Near the end of the nineteenth century, children played "Egg Picking," "Egg Ball," "Toss and Catch, " and "Egg Croquet." Soon the event evolved into a more elaborate affair, with bands, entertainers and food.

John Philip Sousa and "The President's Own" Marine Band performed for the assembled crowd, while vendors of all kinds sold their goods in 1889. Forty years later, Lou Hoover, wife of President Herbert Hoover, instituted folk and maypole dances to complement the egg-rolling but, perhaps because of the combination of stomping feet and boiled eggs, the practices were not continued for long.

At her first Egg Roll in 1933, Eleanor Roosevelt greeted visitors and listeners alike for the first time over the radio, on a nationwide hookup. She also introduced more organized games, but it was not until 1974 when the most famous event of modern Easter Egg Rolls, the egg-rolling race, was introduced with spoons borrowed from the White House kitchen.

Subsequent celebrations included a circus and petting zoo in 1977 and exhibits of antique cars, Broadway shows and giant balloons in 1981. Egg hunt pits were introduced in 1981. Children would search straw pits for autographed wooden eggs.

Presidents and their families have long enjoyed the White House's largest public celebration, and it has been customary, from the outset, for Presidents, First Ladies, their children, grandchildren and pets to attend the festivities. Among the most eagerly anticipated guests each year, of course, is the Easter Bunny.

The White House Easter Bunny, usually a White House staffer dressed in a special White House rabbit suit, was introduced by Pat Nixon, wife of President Richard Nixon, in 1969. Strict guidelines prohibit the bunny from being seen without his costume head, but the identity of the staffer inside is revealed every once in a while. Perhaps the most famous bunny of all was the wife of President Reagan's Attorney General Edwin Meese III. Ursula Meese so enjoyed the role that she performed for six seasons, earning her the nickname "The Meester Bunny."

On occasion, the Easter Egg Roll has been cancelled, either due to inclement weather or in times of war. At these times, it is sometimes relocated to another Washington site, such as the National Zoo or even back to the Capitol. The longest hiatus was for World War II, followed by a White House renovation. When President Eisenhower reintroduced the Egg Roll in 1953, a whole generation of children had never experienced this treasured tradition.

 
Calendar & Easter History

The calendar has an interesting history, and has been shaped by both political ideals and a quest for greater accuracy.   Recorded history is not precise on all dating methods in use, let alone the exact dates that every change occurred, but I have pieced together an account of many key events.   The method for calculating Easter date also mirrors calendar changes, so I have included that also.   Many thanks must go to Ron Mallen for his tireless, meticulous and scientific process in researching this history.

There is a chart below that graphically shows the key events shaping the calendar.   This history starts on the "Kalends of March" or March 1st with the introduction of the Roman calendar in the year 1 AUC (AUC stands for Ab Urbe Condita, meaning "from the foundation of Rome").   1 AUC is the same as 753 BC in the Julian calendar.   The Roman AUC calendar was enforced (with capital punishment for non-compliance) throughout the powerful Roman Empire of the time.

It started as a year of 10 lunar months, and soon changed to a lunar year of 12 months.   Other enhancements were made to change to solar years, with patchy attempts to add additional days to maintain alignment of seasons.

The Julian calendar was introduced in 709 AUC (or 45 BC) and was quite similar to our current Gregorian calendar.   It had 12 months, and attempted to measure solar years by using occasional 366-day years.  

Of course, at the time of Jesus' life, years were not called BC and AD; Roman AUC years were used.   It was not until 532 AD that the Pope, with significant influence, replaced Julian AUC years with Julian AD years.  

It is a common mis-conception that AD years were set so that Jesus was born in 1 AD.   This is not correct.   1 AD was set to meet two criteria:

  • Jesus had to have been alive on January 1st, 1 AD
  • Every AD year evenly divisible by 4 was to be a 366-day year

With recorded history at the time (in 532 AD), it was known that Jesus was alive on January 1st, 3BC.   So 1 AD was set to the next year that allowed 366-day years to occur in AD years exactly divisible by 4.   It is now apparent that Christ was born during 5 BC, and was therefore alive on January 1st, 4 BC, but this was not certain in 532 AD.

Even though 366-day years were nominally set to occur in 4 AD and every 4th year afterwards, it happened that the 366-day year was skipped in 4 AD as the final adjustment for having too many 366-days in previous years.   So 366-day years resumed in 8 AD and every 4 years thereafter.

The Gregorian calendar was introduced over a period of many years.   Italy was the first to use it in 1582, while Greece introduced it in 1923!   This calendar corrects accumulated inaccuracies with the Julian calendar by have slightly less leap years.   We still have leap years every 4 years except that century years (ending with "00") are leap years if they're evenly divisible by 400.   This means that only 1 in 4 century years is a leap year (ie 1600, 2000, 2400, etc).   This calendar is so accurate that a further adjustment will not be required until 4100 or soon after.

When is Easter?

According to the New Testament, Christ was crucified on the eve of Passover and shortly afterward rose from the dead. In consequence, the Easter festival commemorated Christ's resurrection. In time, a serious difference over the date of the Easter festival arose among Christians. Those of Jewish origin celebrated the resurrection immediately following the Passover festival, which, according to their Babylonian lunar calendar, fell on the evening of the full moon (the 14th day in the month of Nisan, the first month of the year); by their reckoning, Easter, from year to year, fell on different days of the week.

CrossesChristians of Gentile origin, however, wished to commemorate the resurrection on the first day of the week, Sunday; by their method, Easter occurred on the same day of the week, but from year to year it fell on different dates. An important historical result of the difference in reckoning the date of Easter was that the Christian churches in the East, which were closer to the birthplace of the new religion and in which old traditions were strong, observed Easter according to the date of the Passover festival. The churches of the West, descendants of Greco-Roman civilization, celebrated Easter on a Sunday.

Rulings of the Council of Nicaea on the Date of Easter

Constantine I, Roman emperor, convoked the Council of Nicaea in 325. The council unanimously ruled that the Easter festival should be celebrated throughout the Christian world on the first Sunday after the full moon following the vernal equinox; and that if the full moon should occur on a Sunday and thereby coincide with the Passover festival, Easter should be commemorated on the Sunday following. Coincidence of the feasts of Easter and Passover was thus avoided.

The Council of Nicaea also decided that the calendar date of Easter was to be calculated at Alexandria, then the principal astronomical center of the world. The accurate determination of the date, however, proved an impossible task in view of the limited knowledge of the 4th-century world. The principal astronomical problem involved was the discrepancy, called the epact, between the solar year and the lunar year. The chief calendric problem was a gradually increasing discrepancy between the true astronomical year and the Julian calendar then in use.

Later Dating Methods

Ways of fixing the date of the feast tried by the church proved unsatisfactory, and Easter was celebrated on different dates in different parts of the world. In 387, for example, the dates of Easter in France and Egypt were 35 days apart. About 465, the church adopted a system of calculation proposed by the astronomer Victorinus (fl. 5th cent.), who had been commissioned by Pope Hilarius (r. 461–68) to reform the calendar and fix the date of Easter. Elements of his method are still in use. Refusal of the British and Celtic Christian churches to adopt the proposed changes led to a bitter dispute between them and Rome in the 7th century.

Reform of the Julian calendar in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII, through adoption of the Gregorian calendar, eliminated much of the difficulty in fixing the date of Easter and in arranging the ecclesiastical year; since 1752, when the Gregorian calendar was also adopted in Great Britain and Ireland, Easter has been celebrated on the same day in the Western part of the Christian world. The Eastern churches, however, which did not adopt the Gregorian calendar, commemorate Easter on a Sunday either preceding or following the date observed in the West. Occasionally the dates coincide; the most recent times were in 1865 and 1963.

Because the Easter holiday affects a varied number of secular affairs in many countries, it has long been urged as a matter of convenience that the movable dates of the festival be either narrowed in range or replaced by a fixed date in the manner of Christmas. In 1923 the problem was referred to the Holy See, which has found no canonical objection to the proposed reform. In 1928 the British Parliament enacted a measure allowing the Church of England to commemorate Easter on the first Sunday after the second Saturday in April. Despite these steps toward reform, Easter continues to be a movable feast.

An article from Funk & Wagnalls® New Encyclopedia. © 2005 World Almanac Education Group, A WRC Media Company

A Glimpse into the History of Easter Candy

PeepsJoin us as we delve into the delectable not-so-distant past of Easter candy and learn, among other things, just how Marshmallow Peeps came to rule the world.

The days are longer, the sun is brighter, the colors are rich, and the candies are pastel. It’s springtime for many parts of the world once again, and in celebration of its triumphant return we enter into the saccharin sanctity of a world filled with Marshmallow Peeps, Jelly Beans, and other well packaged bits of sweetness sure to bring about a sugar-induced coma.

Easter has risen high in the candy hierarchy over the years. It is now the second top-selling candy holiday, just barely behind the glorious ode to sugar that is Halloween. Of the estimated 8 billion pounds of candy consumed in the United States each year, Easter makes up a very large portion of the pie.

Americans spend an average $1.9 billion on Easter candy every year, just behind Halloween which consists of $2 billion worth of candy spending. Christmas and Valentine’s Day bring up the rear with $1.4 billion and $1 billion respectively. So how has it come to be that so much money is spent on sugary colored marshmallows?

Easter has always had a relatively “sweet” appeal for many cultures for hundreds of years. As most people know, Easter is a religious holiday for many; and a somewhat secular holiday for others. Regardless of people’s beliefs and reasons for celebrating Easter, it has always held the strong appeal of being a time where things are reborn, fresh, and new. It is, for the most part, a happy time; when one can celebrate all that is good in the world. And what is “gooder” than sweet treats, right?

And So It Begins...With Hot Cross Buns

The exchange and consumptions of treats for Easter goes back hundreds of years, mainly believed to have begun with the tradition of Hot Cross Buns. Hot Cross Buns became the traditional breakfast of Good Friday and became a Christian tradition as well. But Hot Cross Buns were not always associated with Christianity. Their origins lie in pagan traditions of ancient cultures, with the cross representing the four quarters of the moon. During early missionary efforts, the Christian church adopted the buns and re-interpreted the icing cross. In 1361, a monk named Father Thomas Rockcliffe began a tradition of giving Hot Cross Buns to the poor of St Albans on Good Friday.

In years that followed, many customs, traditions, superstitions, and claims of healing and protection from evil were associated with the buns. In the 16th century, Roman Catholicism was banned in England, but the popularity of Hot Cross buns continued. Queen Elizabeth I passed a law banning the consumption of Hot Cross Buns except during festivals such as Easter, Christmas and funerals. From then on, Hot Cross Buns became the “Marshmallow Peeps” of their time.

Hot Cross BunsYou may remember this catchy little tune from when you were a kid:

Hot cross buns
Hot cross buns
One a penny
Two a penny
Hot cross buns
If you have no daughters
Give them to your sons
One a penny
Two a penny
Hot cross buns

That nursery rhyme was born from the original cries of the English street sellers who would advertise their wares by crying out “Hot Cross Buns, Hot Cross Buns”.

PretzelAnother treat that became a well known part of early Easter tradition was the baked pretzel. Although, most of its manifestations were not “sweet”; this baked food also became a symbol of Easter goodness. Its very design, consisting of twists, was seen to resemble arms that were crossed in prayer.

The tradition of these “treats”, which were tied directly with the religious aspects of Easter, continued on through the years. But in the early 1800’s, fans of Easter sought to up the ante. It was then that Chocolate would find its way into this sacred holiday.

And Now For Something Completely Different...

In Europe, during the early 1800’s, Chocolate was all the rage. It was the treat of choice for most middle and upper class denizens. Chocolatiers sought to use the image of the egg as a way to celebrate Easter and sell their products.

The symbol of the egg, which was already being used in Easter festivities at this time, had been a pagan symbol representing fertility and re-birth in pagan times. It had been adopted as part of the Christian Easter festival and it came to represent the ‘resurrection’ or re-birth of Christ after the crucifixion and some believe it is a symbol of the the stone blocking the Sepulcher being ‘rolled’ away. It was during this time the first chocolate Easter egg appeared in Germany and France and soon spread to the rest of Europe and beyond.

Chocolate EggsThe first chocolate eggs were solid, soon followed by hollow eggs. Although making hollow eggs at that time was no mean feat, because the easily worked chocolate we use today didn’t exist then, they had to use a paste made from ground roasted Cacao beans. By the turn of the 19th Century, the discovery of the modern chocolate making process and improved mass manufacturing methods meant that the Chocolate Easter Egg was fast becoming the Easter Gift of choice in the UK and parts of Europe, and by the 1960’s it was well established worldwide.

Chocolate treats grew in popularity and became the primary Easter candy throughout the world and in America all through the 20th century. Chocolate treats would expand into all sorts of images beyond the “egg”, including bunnies, birds, and all other sorts of spring and Easter based symbols. 90 million chocolate Easter bunnies are currently made for Easter each year.

Of Course, We Can’t Forget Jelly Beans

Jelly BeansIn the 1930’s, the ever popular Jelly Bean was added to the Easter lineup. Jelly Beans, believed to be descendants of a Mid-eastern confection known as Turkish Delight, were already a very popular candy in America by this time and were featured in glass jars on store counters all over the country. Because of their egg-like shape, jelly beans became associated with the Easter Bunny, who by this time had rapidly gained fame after the Civil War as the harbinger of Easter and was believed to deliver eggs as a symbol of new life during the spring season. The two seemed a perfect match and Jelly Beans stuck as one of the quintessential Easter candies. Currently, 16 billion jelly beans are made for Easter; with “red” jelly beans being the hands-down favorite.

While the chocolate candies and jelly beans are two of the most well known forms of Easter candy, hundreds of other types of sweet morsels would attempt to fight their way into Easter notoriety over the coming years. Existing candy companies would alter their lineups with additional products, think pastel colored M&M’s, while other candy companies would be created for the sheer purpose of producing great holiday candies. This would all lead to a billion dollar industry of different candies vying for your attention. However, no new candy invention would ever come close to the “shot heard round the world” that was the Marshmallow Peep.

The Peeps Begin their Rise to World Domination

Marshmallow PeepsFrom a history compiled by Slate.com... In 1917, Sam Born, a Russian immigrant, opened a small candy shop in New York City that sold chocolates and other confections. When the company grew, Born relocated it to Bethlehem, Pa., and named it Just Born, after a slogan he’d coined to advertise the freshness of his wares. Then, in 1953, Just Born bought a local Pennsylvania confectioner called the Rodda Candy Company.

Although Just Born acquired Rodda for its jelly-bean-making capabilities, the Born family was fascinated with the three-dimensional marshmallow Easter chicks, called Peeps, which Rodda was also making at the time. Lauren Easterly, the Peeps brand manager at Just Born, said that a group of women at Rodda made Peeps by hand in the back of the factory. In 1953, it took Rodda 27 hours to make one Peep. Just Born mechanized Peep production and was able to bring the confection to consumers on a mass scale by 1954.

No one at Just Born could explain why the Rodda Candy Company thought yellow chicks made for appropriate Easter candies. Company spokesmen also couldn’t confirm whether Rodda was making marshmallow confections in other shapes in 1953, although Rodda did manufacture marshmallow eggs at one point. Whatever shapes Rodda was making, however, Just Born zeroed in on the chick; the company didn’t start distributing the marshmallow candy in other shapes (such as bunnies) until the 1960s.

The Peep would grow in popularity and become the most well known symbol of Easter candy. Each Easter season, Americans buy more than 700 million Marshmallow Peeps, shaped like chicks, as well as Marshmallow Bunnies and Marshmallow Eggs, making them the most popular non-chocolate Easter candy. Each day, five million marshmallow chicks and bunnies are produced in preparation for Easter with yellow Peeps being the most popular, followed by pink, lavender, blue, and white.

Lord of the PeepsPeeps have also gone beyond their obvious appeal as a simple candy. They have achieved somewhat of a “cult” status all over the world. Everything from Peep based “science experiments” and Peep Erotica, to movie releases like “Lord of the Peeps” keep peoples love for the sugary snack fresh. These days, nothing symbolizes Easter and Spring quite like your child throwing up marshmallow peeps. It’s now a tradition rooted deep into the grain of our culture.

 

A HISTORY OF EASTER and the EASTER EGG

Delve into the history and origins of the Christian festival of Easter and you come up with a few surprises. For instance, Easter eggs do not owe their origins to Christianity and originally the festival of Easter itself had nothing to do with Christianity either. A closer look at the history of both Easter and the Easter Egg reveals a much earlier association with pagan ritual and in particular, the pagan rites of spring, dating back into pre history. 

For us, the ancient rites celebrating the Spring Equinox are most obviously associated with the mysterious Druids and places like Stone Henge, but most ancient races around the world had similar spring festivals to celebrate the rebirth of the year. The Egg, as a symbol of fertility and re-birth, has been associated with these rites from the earliest times.

The Christian Festival Of Easter

In fact, the festival of Easter is a classic example of the early Christian church adapting an existing pagan ritual to suit their own purposes. The Saxon spring festival of Eostre, was named for their goddess of dawn, and when they came to Britain in about the 5th century AD, the festival came with them along with re-birth and fertility rituals involving eggs, chicks and rabbits. When the Saxons converted to Christianity and started to celebrate the death and the resurrection of Christ, it coincided with Eostre, so that's what the early church called the celebration, Eostre or Easter in modern English. 

The actual date that Easter falls on every year is governed by a fairly complex calculation related to the Spring Equinox. The actual formula is: The first Sunday after the first full moon following the Spring Equinox is Easter Sunday or Easter Day. This formula was set by Egyptian astronomers in Alexandra in 235ad, and calculated using the same method as the Jews have traditionally used to calculate the feast of the Passover, which occurred at about the same time as the crucifixion.  

Easter Eggs

As well as adopting the festival of Eostre, the Egg, representing fertility and re-birth in pagan times, was also adopted as part of the Christian Easter festival and it came to represent the 'resurrection' or re-birth of Christ after the crucifixion and some believe it is a symbol of the the stone blocking the Sepulchre being 'rolled' away. 

In the UK and Europe, the earliest Easter eggs were painted and decorated hen, duck or goose eggs, a practice still carried on in parts of the world today. As time went by, artificial eggs were made and by the end of the 17th century, manufactured eggs were available for purchase at Easter, for giving as Easter gifts and presents. 

Easter eggs continued to evolve through the 18th and into the 19th Century, with hollow cardboard Easter eggs filled with Easter gifts and sumptuously decorated, culminating with the fabulous Faberge Eggs. Encrusted with jewels, they were made for the Czar's of Russia by Carl Faberge, a French jeweller. Surely these were the 'ultimate' Easter gift, to buy even a small one now would make you poorer by several millions of pounds. 

The Chocolate Easter Egg

It was at about this time (early 1800's) that the first chocolate Easter egg appeared in Germany and France and soon spread to the rest of Europe and beyond. The first chocolate eggs were solid soon followed by hollow eggs. Although making hollow eggs at that time was no mean feat, because the easily worked chocolate we use today didn't exist then, they had to use a paste made from ground roasted Cacao beans. 

By the turn of the 19th Century, the discovery of the modern chocolate making process and improved mass manufacturing methods meant that the Chocolate Easter Egg was fast becoming the Easter Gift of choice in the UK and parts of Europe, and by the 1960's it was well established worldwide.
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Easter

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Easter
Easter
16th century Russian Orthodox icon of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Observed by most Christians, although many non-Christians observe secular practices, especially in the Western world
Type Christian
Significance Celebrates the death and resurrection of Jesus as the basis for the salvation of humankind.
Date the first Sunday after the first full moon of spring
2006 date April 16 (Western)
April 23 (Eastern)
2007 date April 8
Celebrations Religious (church) services, Easter egg hunts, gifts (USA)
Observances Prayer
Related to Passover, a Jewish holiday which Christians related to the events now commemorated at Easter; Christmas, which honors the birth of Jesus; Septuagesima, Sexagesima, Quinquagesima, Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, Lent, Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday which lead up to Easter; and Ascension, Pentecost, Trinity Sunday, and Corpus Christi which follow it.
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This article is about the Christian festival. For other uses, see Easter (disambiguation).

Easter, also known as Pascha (Greek Πάσχα: Passover), the Feast of the Resurrection, the Sunday of the Resurrection, or Resurrection Day, is the most important religious feast of the Christian liturgical year, observed between late March and late April (early April to early May in Eastern Christianity). It celebrates the resurrection of Jesus, which his followers believe occurred after his death by crucifixion in AD 27-33 (see Good Friday). In the Roman Catholic Church, Easter is actually an eight-day feast called the Octave of Easter.

Easter also refers to the season of the church year, lasting for fifty days, from Easter Sunday through Pentecost.

Further information: Eastertide

Contents

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 Nature and development

In most languages of Christian societies, other than English, German and some Slavic languages, the holiday's name is derived from Pesach, the 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 Bible's Hebrew calendar (Leviticus 23:5). 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.

The 8th century Christian monk and historian Bede wrote:

"Eosturmonath, qui nunc paschalis mensis interpretatur, quondam a dea illorum quae Eostre vocabatur et cui in illo festa celebrabant nomen habuit."

Translated: "Eosturmonath, which is now interpreted as the paschal month, was formerly named after the goddess Eostre, and has given its name to the festival."

The Easter Bunny is at times claimed to be a remnant of this fertility festival, although there is no evidence of any link.

 

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 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 Paschal homily by Melito of Sardis, which characterizes the celebration as a well-established one.

A number of ecclesiastical historians, primarily Eusebius, bishop Polycarp of Smyrna, by tradition a disciple of John the Evangelist, disputed the computation of the date with bishop Anicetus of Rome in what is now known as the Quartodecimanism controversy. The term Quartodeciman is derived from Latin, meaning fourteen, and refers to the practice of fixing the celebration of Passover for Christians on the fourteenth day of Nisan in the Old Testament's Hebrew Calendar (for example Lev 23:5, in Latin "quarta decima"). In any case, 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 typically characterized as a Passover Seder (see: The Last Supper). According to the Gospel of John (for example John 19:14), this was the Friday that Jesus was crucified in Jerusalem. Returning to the 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 Asia held strictly to the computation from the Old Testament's 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[1]—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 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 (Pascha) on the first Sunday after Nisan 14. This conflict between Easter and Passover is often referred to as the "Paschal Controversy", (see also Quartodecimanism.) 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 calculated 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 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 disciple 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 the local interpreation of the dating of Passover: "As for us, then, we scrupulously observe the exact day, neither adding nor taking away. [Deut 4:2,12:32] 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").

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 of Laodicea, c. AD 270; 6.148,6.149 "Ante-Nicene Church Fathers"). The tradition that Easter was to be celebrated "not with the Jews" meant that Easter was not to be celebrated on Nisan 14.

 Date of Easter

Dates for Easter Sunday, 2000-2020
Year Western Eastern
2000 April 23 April 30
2001 April 15
2002 March 31 May 5
2003 April 20 April 27
2004 April 11
2005 March 27 May 1
2006 April 16 April 23
2007 April 8
2008 March 23 April 27
2009 April 12 April 19
2010 April 4
2011 April 24
2012 April 8 April 15
2013 March 31 May 5
2014 April 20
2015 April 5 April 12
2016 March 27 May 1
2017 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. In Eastern Christianity, Easter falls between April 4 and May 8 between 1900 and 2100 based on the Gregorian date.

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 or 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 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 Alexandria was to celebrate Easter on the first Sunday after the earliest fourteenth day of a lunar month that occurred on or after March 21. While since the Middle Ages this practice has sometimes been 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 does not reflect the actual ecclesiastical rules precisely. The reason for this is that the full moon involved (called the Paschal full moon) is not an astronomical full moon, but an ecclesiastical moon. Determined from tables, it coincides more or less with the astronomical full moon.


The ecclesiastical rules are:

  • Easter falls on the first Sunday following the first ecclesiastical full moon that occurs on or after March 21 (the day of the ecclesiastical vernal equinox).
  • This particular ecclesiastical full moon is the 14th day of a tabular lunation (new 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.

In the United Kingdom, the Easter Act of 1928 set out legislation to allow the date of Easter to be fixed as the first Sunday after the second Saturday in April. However, the legislation was never implemented.

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 information: 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 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

Main article: Computus

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 Jewish month of Nisan, which is the day of preparation for Passover.

 

Position in the church year

Liturgical year
Western
Eastern

 

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.

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 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 Christians. The traditional, liturgical observation of Easter, as practised among 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 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 (or 'Holy Communion'). Certain variations in the Easter Vigil exist: Some churches read the Old Testament lessons before the procession of the Paschal candle, and then read the gospel immediately after the Exsultet. Some churches prefer to keep this vigil very early on the Sunday morning instead of the Saturday night, particularly Protestant churches, to reflect the gospel account of the women coming to the tomb at dawn on the first day of the week. These services are known as the Sunrise service and often occur in outdoor setting such as the church's yard or a nearby park.

Additional celebrations are usually offered on Easter Sunday itself. Typically these services follow the usual order of Sunday services in a congregation, but also typically incorporate more highly festive elements. The music of the service, in particular, often displays a highly festive tone; the incorporation of brass instruments (trumpets, etc.) to suplement a congregation's usual instrumentation is common. Often a congregation's worship space is decorated with special banners and flowers (such as Easter lilies).

Boris Kustodiev's Easter Greetings (1912) shows traditional Russian traditions of khristosovanie (exchanging a triple kiss), with such foods as kulich and paskha in the background.
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Boris Kustodiev's Easter Greetings (1912) shows traditional Russian traditions of khristosovanie (exchanging a triple kiss), with such foods as kulich and paskha in the background.

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.

Some Christians wear their Sunday best to Church. This means a more formal dress and hats for some women.

Eastern Christianity

Easter is the fundamental and most important festival of the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox. Every other religious festival on their calendars, including Christmas, is secondary in importance to the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. 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 USA. Eastern Rite Catholics in communion with the 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):

Christ is risen from the dead,
Trampling down death by death,
And upon those in the tombs
Bestowing life!

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 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!)

The Holy Fire in Jerusalem, celebrated on Holy Saturday, has been described as the oldest miracle-related ceremony in Christendom.
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!"

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, 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.

 America

Throughout North America, the Easter holiday has been partially secularized, so that some families participate only in the attendant revelry, central to which is decorating 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 America will attend Sunday Mass or services 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 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. In Finland and Sweden, traditions include egg painting and small children dressed as witches collecting candy door-to-door, in exchange for decorated pussy willows. This is a result of the mixing of an old Orthodox tradition (blessing houses with willow branches) and the Scandinavian Easter witch tradition. Fake feathers and little decorations are also placed on willow branches in a vase. For lunch/dinner on Holy Saturday, families traditionally feast on a smörgåsbord of herring, salmon, potatoes, eggs and other kinds of food. In Finland, the Lutheran majority enjoys mämmi as another traditional easter treat, while the Orthodox minority's traditions include eating pasha instead.
 Netherlands

People watching the Easter Fire in 'De Achterhoek' in eastern Netherlands
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People watching the Easter Fire in 'De Achterhoek' in eastern Netherlands

In the eastern part of the Netherlands (Twente and Achterhoek), Easter Fires are lit on Easter Day at sunset.

Central Europe

In the Czech Republic, Hungary 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 korbáč (in Slovak). The pomlázka/korbáč consists of eight, twelve or even twenty-four withies (willow rods) and is usually from half a metre to two metres 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 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.

The Easter Controversy

The controversy that is explicitly called The Easter Controversy covers many arguments concerning the proper date to celebrate Easter.

Christian denominations that do not observe Easter

Easter traditions deemed "pagan" by Reformation leaders, along with Christmas celebrations, were among the first casualties of the Protestant Reformation. These holidays were eventually restored (though Christmas only became a legal holiday in Scotland in 1967, after the Church of Scotland finally relaxed its objections). Some Christians (usually, but not always fundamentalists), however, continue to reject the celebration of Easter (and, often, of Christmas), because they believe them to be irrevocably tainted with paganism and idolatry.

Their rejection of these traditions is based partly on the words of 2 Corinthians 6:14-16. "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." (King James Version)

That is also the view of Jehovah's Witnesses, who instead observe a yearly commemorative service of the Last Supper and subsequent death of Christ on the evening of 14 Nisan, as they calculate it derived from the lunar Hebrew Calendar. It is commonly referred to, in short, by many Witnesses as simply "The Memorial". Jehovah's Witnesses claim that such verses as Luke 22:19, 20 constitute a commandment to remember the death of Christ, and they do so on a yearly basis just as the Passover was celebrated yearly by the Jews.

Some fundamentalist groups, including many independent and Baptist churches, maintain that Easter and Christmas are of pagan origins. As such, these celebrations were originally designed to worship pagan gods, and therefore are an affront to God. To these Christians, Easter, Christmas and other festivals are extra-biblical, and therefore should not be part of Christian worship. For Baptist Easter belief, see below.

Baptists in particular, maintain that the Last Supper was shown in the Gospels to portray Jesus urging the gathered apostles to share bread and the "fruit of the vine" (expressed in this fashion because Baptists are uncomfortable in admitting that Jesus actually drank wine at Passover, as would have any Jew). He said, "...do this in remembrance of me."

Some groups feel that Easter, or as they prefer to call it, "Resurrection Sunday (Day)", is properly regarded with great joy, but marking not the day itself, but remembering and rejoicing in the message it commemorates—in Christ's resurrection. In this spirit, these Christians teach that each day and all Sabbaths should be kept holy, in Christ's teachings.

Other groups, such as the Sabbatarian Church of God, claim to keep the feasts and commandments of God given in the Bible, which includes a Christian Passover that lacks most of the practices or symbols associated with Western Easter and retains more features of the Passover observed by Jesus Christ at The Last Supper.

Etymology and the origins of Easter traditions

In his 'De Temporum Ratione' the Venerable Bede wrote that the month Eostremonat (April) 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. Some authors have concluded that Easter has never been a pagan holiday but is a shortened form of the German word for resurrection, auferstehen/auferstehung.[1]

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 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 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, 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 ([2] [3] [4] [5]) 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.

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 Italian Pasqua; 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.
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