Easter (Old English: Ēostre; Greek: Πάσχα, Paskha; Aramaic and Hebrew: פֶּסחא Pasḥa,) is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday (also Resurrection Day or Resurrection Sunday). The chronology of his death and resurrection is variously interpreted to be between AD 26 and 36, traditionally 33.
Easter marks the end of Lent, a forty-day period of fasting, prayer, and penance. The last week of the Lent is called Holy Week, and it contains Good Friday, commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus. Easter is followed by fifty-day period called Eastertide or the Easter Season, ending with Pentecost Sunday.
Easter is a moveable feast, meaning it is not fixed in relation to the civil calendar. It occurs during the spring, in March or April; the method for determining the date of Easter Sunday is complex, based on lunisolar calendar.
Easter is linked to the Jewish Passover by much of its symbolism, as well as by its position in the calendar. In many European languages, the words for "Easter" and "Passover" are etymologically related or homonymous. The term "Pascha", from the same root, is also used in English to refer to Easter.
Easter customs vary across the Christian world, but decorating Easter eggs is a common motif. In the Western world, customs such as egg hunting and Easter Bunny extend from the domain of church, and often have a secular character.
Semitic, Romance, Celtic and other Germanic languages
The Greek word Πάσχα and hence the Latin form Pascha is derived from Hebrew Pesach (פֶּסַח) meaning the festival of Passover. In Greek the word Ἀνάστασις (upstanding, up-rising, resurrection) is used also as an alternative.
Christians speaking Arabic or other Semitic languages generally use names cognate to Pesaḥ. For instance, the second word of the Arabic name of the festival عيد الفصح ʿĪd al-Fiṣḥ, [ʕiːd ælfisˤħ] has the root F-Ṣ-Ḥ, which given the sound laws applicable to Arabic is cognate to Hebrew P-S-Ḥ, with "Ḥ" realized as /x/ in Modern Hebrew and /ħ/ in Arabic. Arabic also uses the term عيد القيامة ʿĪd al-Qiyāmah, [ʕiːd ælqiyæːmæh], meaning "festival of the resurrection", but this term is less common. In Maltese the word is L-Għid. In Ge'ez and the modern Ethiosemitic languages of Ethiopia and Eritrea, two forms exist: ፋሲካ ("Fasika", fāsīkā) from Greek Pascha, and ትንሣኤ ("Tensae", tinśā'ē), the latter from the Semitic root N-Ś-', meaning "to rise" (cf. Arabic nasha'a—ś merged with "sh" in Arabic and most non-South Semitic languages).
In all Romance languages, the name of the Easter festival is derived from the Latin Pascha. In Spanish, Easter is Pascua, in Italian and Catalan Pasqua, in Portuguese Páscoa and in Romanian Paşti. In French, the name of Easter Pâques also derives from the Latin word but the s following the a has been lost and the two letters have been transformed into a â with a circumflex accent by elision. Additionally in Romanian, the only Romance language of an Eastern church, the word Înviere (resurrection, cf. Greek Ἀνάστασις, [anástasis]) is also used.
In all modern Celtic languages the term for Easter is derived from Latin. In Brythonic languages this has yielded Welsh Pasg, Cornish and Breton Pask. In Goidelic languages the word was borrowed before these languages had re-developed the /p/ sound and as a result the initial /p/ was replaced with /k/. This yielded Irish Cáisc, Gaelic Càisg and Manx Caisht. These terms are normally used with the definite article in Goidelic languages, causing lenition in all cases: An Cháisc, A' Chàisg and Y Chaisht.
In Dutch, Easter is known as pasen and in the Scandinavian languages Easter is known as påske (Danish and Norwegian), påsk (Swedish), páskar (Icelandic) and páskir (Faeroese). The name is derived directly from Hebrew Pesach. The letter å is a double a pronounced /oː/, and an alternate spelling is paaske or paask.
Slavic languages
In most Slavic languages, the name for Easter either means "Great Day" or "Great Night". For example, Wielkanoc, Veľká noc and Velikonoce mean "Great Night" or "Great Nights" in Polish, Slovak and Czech, respectively. Велигден (Veligden), Великдень (Velykden), Великден (Velikden), and Вялікдзень (Vyalikdzyen') mean "The Great Day" in Macedonian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, and Belarusian, respectively.
In Croatian, however, the day's name reflects a particular theological connection: it is called Uskrs, meaning "Resurrection". It is also called Vazam (Vzem or Vuzem in Old Croatian), which is a noun that originated from the Old Church Slavonic verb vzeti (now uzeti in Croatian, meaning "to take"). In Serbian Easter is called Vaskrs, a liturgical form inherited from the Serbian recension of Church Slavonic. The archaic term Velja noć (velmi: Old Slavic for "great"; noć: "night") was used in Croatian while the term Velikden ("Great Day") was used in Serbian. It is believed that Cyril and Methodius, the "holy brothers" who baptized the Slavic people and translated Christian books from Greek into Old Church Slavonic, invented the word Uskrs from the Croatian word krsnuti which means "to enliven". It should be noted that in these languages the prefix Velik (Great) is used in the names of the Holy Week and the three feast days preceding Easter.
Another exception is Russian, in which the name of the feast, Пасха (Paskha), is a borrowing of the Greek form via Old Church Slavonic.
Finno-Ugric languages
In Finnish the name for Easter pääsiäinen, traces back to the verb pääse- meaning to be released, as does the Sámi word Beassážat. The Estonian name lihavõtted and the Hungarian húsvét, however, literally mean the taking of the meat, relating to the end of the Great Lent fasting period. However in Hungarian it can also be taken to mean sin of eating meat since vétek means transgression, sin, vice, trespass, offense.
Theological significance
The New Testament teaches that the resurrection of Jesus, which Easter celebrates, is a foundation of the Christian faith.1 Corinthians 15:12-20 The resurrection established Jesus as the powerful Son of God Romans 1:4 and is cited as proof that God will judge the world in righteousness.Acts 17:31 God has given Christians "a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead".1 Peter 1:3 Christians, through faith in the working of GodColossians 2:12 are spiritually resurrected with Jesus so that they may walk in a new way of life.Romans 6:4
Easter is linked to the Passover and Exodus from Egypt recorded in the Old Testament through the Last Supper and crucifixion that preceded the resurrection. According to the New Testament, Jesus gave the Passover meal a new meaning, as he prepared himself and his disciples for his death in the upper room during the Last Supper. He identified the loaf of bread and cup of wine as symbolizing his body soon to be sacrificed and his blood soon to be shed. 1 Corinthians 5:7 states, "Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed"; this refers to the Passover requirement to have no yeast in the house and to the allegory of Jesus as the Paschal lamb.
One interpretation of the Gospel of John is that Jesus, as the Passover lamb, was crucified at roughly the same time as the Passover lambs were being slain in the temple, on the afternoon of Nisan 14.Exodus 12:6.The scriptural instructions specify that the lamb is to be slain "between the two evenings", that is, at twilight. By the Roman period, however, the sacrifices were performed in the mid-afternoon. Josephus, Jewish War 6.10.1/423 ("They sacrifice from the ninth to the eleventh hour"). Philo, Special Laws 2.27/145 ("Many myriads of victims from noon till eventide are offered by the whole people"). This interpretation, however, is inconsistent with the chronology in the Synoptic Gospels. It assumes that text literally translated "the preparation of the passover" in John 19:14 refers to Nisan 14 (Preparation Day for the Passover) and not necessarily to Yom Shishi (Friday, Preparation Day for Sabbath)John 13:2, John 18:28, John 19:14, and the associated notes in Barker, Kenneth, ed (2002). Zondervan NIV Study Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan. ISBN 0310929555. and that the priests' desire to be ritually pure in order to "eat the passover" in John 18:28 refers to eating the Passover lamb, not to the public offerings made during the days of Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:8).
Date of Easter
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 (both of which follow the cycle of the sun and the seasons). Instead, the date for Easter is determined on a lunisolar calendar similar to the Hebrew calendar. The First Council of Nicaea (325) established the date of Easter as the first Sunday after the full moon (the Paschal Full Moon) following the northern hemisphere's vernal equinox. Ecclesiastically, the equinox is reckoned to be on March 21 (even though the equinox occurs, astronomically speaking, on March 20 in most years), and the "Full Moon" is not necessarily the astronomically correct date.
In Western Christianity, using the Gregorian calendar, Easter always falls on a Sunday between March 22 and April 25, inclusively. The following day, Easter Monday, is a legal holiday in many countries with predominantly Christian traditions.
Eastern Christianity bases its calculations on the Julian Calendar. Due to the 13 day difference between the calendars between 1900 and 2099, March 21 corresponds, during the 21st century, to the 3rd of April in the Gregorian Calendar. Easter therefore varies between April 4 and May 8 on the Gregorian calendar (The Julian calendar is no longer used as the civil calendar of the countries where Eastern Christian traditions predominate). Among the Oriental Orthodox some churches have changed from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar and the date for Easter as for other fixed and moveable feasts is the same as in the Western church.
The precise date of Easter has at times been a matter for contention. At the First Council of Nicaea in 325 it was decided that all Christian churches would celebrate Easter on the same day, which would be computed independently of any Jewish calculations to determine the date of Passover. It is however probable (though no contemporary account of the Council's decisions has survived) that no method of determining the date was specified by the Council. Epiphanius of Salamis 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....
In the years following the council, the computational system that was worked out by the church of Alexandria came to be normative. It took a while for the Alexandrian rules to be adopted throughout Christian Europe, however. The Church of Rome continued to use an 84-year lunisolar calendar cycle from the late 3rd century until 457. It then switched to an adaptation by Victorius of the Alexandrian rules. This table was so inaccurate that the Alexandrian rules were adopted in their entirety in the following century. From this time, therefore, all disputes between Alexandria and Rome as to the correct date for Easter cease, as both churches were using identical tables.
Early Christians in Britain and Ireland also used a late 3rd century Roman 84-year cycle. They were suspected of being Quartodecimans, unjustly because they always kept Easter on a Sunday, although that Sunday could be as early as the fourteenth day of the lunar month. This was replaced by the Alexandrian method in the course of the 7th and 8th centuries. 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 1582, when the Catholic Church adopted the Gregorian calendar whilst the Eastern Orthodox and most Oriental Orthodox Churches retained the Julian calendar, the date on which Easter is celebrated has again differed.
Religious observance 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 Exultet 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 Gloria and the Alleluia and the proclamation of the Gospel of the resurrection. At this time, the lights are brought up and the church bells are rung, according to local custom. A sermon may be preached after the gospel. Then the focus moves from the lectern to the font. Anciently, Easter was considered the ideal time for converts to receive baptism, and this practice continues within Roman Catholicism and the Anglican Communion. 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 (known in some traditions as 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 cemetery, yard, or a nearby park.
The first recorded "Sunrise Service" took place in 1732 among the Single Brethren in the Moravian Congregation at Herrnhut, Saxony, in what is now Germany. Following an all-night vigil they went before dawn to the town graveyard, God's Acre, on the hill above the town, to celebrate the Resurrection among the graves of the departed. This service was repeated the following year by the whole congregation and subsequently spread with the Moravian Missionaries around the world. The most famous "Moravian Sunrise Service" is in the Moravian Settlement Old Salem in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.[citation needed] The setting of the Graveyard, God's Acre, the music of the Brass Choir numbering 500 pieces, and the simplicity of the service attract thousands of visitors each year and has earned for Winston-Salem the soubriquet "the Easter City".[according to whom?]
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 supplement a congregation's usual instrumentation is common. Often a congregation's worship space is decorated with special banners and flowers (such as Easter lilies).
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.
In Polish culture, The Rezurekcja (Resurrection Procession) is the joyous Easter morning Mass at daybreak when church bells ring out and explosions resound to commemorate Christ rising from the dead. Before the Mass begins at dawn, a festive procession with the Blessed Sacrament carried beneath a canopy encircles the church. As church bells ring out, handbells are vigorously shaken by altar boys, the air is filled with incense and the faithful raise their voices heavenward in a triumphant rendering of age-old Easter hymns. After the Blessed Sacrament is carried around the church and Adoration is complete, the Easter Mass begins. Another Polish Easter tradition is Święconka, the blessing of Easter baskets by the parish priest on Holy Saturday. This custom is celebrated not only in Poland, but also in the United States by Polish-Americans.
Eastern Christianity
Pascha is the fundamental and most important festival of the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches:
This is the Expected and Holy Day,
the One among the Sabbaths,
the Sovereign and Lady of days,
Feast of feasts, Celebration of celebrations,
on which we praise Christ for all eternity!
Every other religious festival in their calendar, including Christmas, is secondary in importance to the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is reflected in rich Paschal customs in the cultures of countries that have traditionally had an Orthodox Christian majority. Eastern Catholics 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, and illuminated by, the full climax of the Resurrection, in which all that has come before reaches fulfillment and fruition. They shine only in the light of the Resurrection. Pascha is the primary act that fulfills 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:
Χριστὸς ἀνέστη ἐκ νεκρῶν,
θανάτῳ θάνατον πατήσας,
καὶ τοῖς ἐν τοῖς μνήμασι
ζωὴν χαρισάμενος.
Christ is risen from the dead,
Trampling down death by death,
And upon those in the tombs
Bestowing life!
Preparation for Pascha begins with the season of Great Lent. In addition to fasting, almsgiving, and prayer, Orthodox Christians cut down on all entertainment and non-essential worldly activities, gradually eliminating them until Great and Holy Friday, the most austere day of the year. Traditionally, on the evening of Great and Holy Saturday, the Midnight Office is celebrated shortly after 11:00 p.m. (see Paschal Vigil). At its completion all light in the church building is extinguished, and all wait in darkness and silence for the stroke of midnight. Then, a new flame is struck in the altar, or the priest lights his candle from the 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 (this practice has its origin in the reception of the Holy Fire at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem). Then the priest and congregation go in a Crucession (procession with the cross) around the temple (church building), holding lit candles, chanting:
By Thy Resurrection O Christ our savior, the angels in Heaven sing, enable us who are on Earth, to glorify thee in purity of heart.
This procession reenacts the journey of the Myrrhbearers to the Tomb of Jesus "very early in the morning" (Luke 24:1). After circling around the temple once or three times, the procession halts in front of the closed doors. In the Greek practice the priest reads a selection from the Gospel Book (Mark 16:1-8). Then, in all traditions, the priest makes the sign of the cross with the censer in front of the closed doors (which represent the sealed tomb). He and the people chant the Paschal Troparion, and all of the bells and semantra are sounded. Then all re-enter the temple and Paschal Matins begins immediately, followed by the Paschal Hours and then the Paschal Divine Liturgy. The high point of the liturgy is the delivery of Paschal Homily of St. John Chrysostom, for which the congregation stands.
After the dismissal of the Liturgy, the priest may bless Paschal eggs and baskets brought by the faithful containing those foods which have been forbidden during the Great Fast. Immediately after the Liturgy it is customary for the congregation to share a meal, essentially an Agápē dinner (albeit at 2:00 a.m. or later). In Greece the traditional meal is mageiritsa, a hearty stew of chopped lamb liver and wild greens seasoned with egg-and-lemon sauce. Traditionally, Easter eggs, hard-boiled eggs dyed bright red to symbolize the spilt Blood of Christ and the promise of eternal life, are cracked together to celebrate the opening of the Tomb of Christ.
The next morning, Easter Sunday proper, there is no Divine Liturgy, since the Liturgy for that day has already been celebrated. Instead, in the afternoon, it is often traditional to celebrate "Agápē 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 (in some places the reading is extended to include verses 19:26-31) in as many languages as they can manage, to show the universality of the Resurrection.
For the remainder of the week, known as "Bright Week", all fasting is prohibited, and the customary Paschal greeting is: "Christ is risen!", to which the response is: "Truly He is risen!" This may also be done in many different languages. The services during Bright Week are nearly identical to those on Pascha itself, except that they do not take place at midnight, but at their normal times during the day. The Crucession during Bright Week takes place either after Paschal Matins or the Paschal Divine Liturgy.
Traditions
Easter in Argentina
In the Northern part of Argentina they hold the Carnival. Preparations for the Carnival begin when the algarroba beans are ripe. There are the sounds of singing and jangling of the charango which is a type of ukelele, two drinks called aloja and chicha are prepared in large amounts, the houses are whitewashed and cleaned. They gather the herb basil and they wear hats and ponchos. This is done to ward of the evil spirits so it is said.
On the Thursday before Ash Wednesday the tincunaco ceremony is celebrated. Mothers and grandmothers are gathered in two lines one line with mothers and the other one the grandmothers around an arch made of willow branches. The arch is decorated with fruit, flowers, cheese, sweets and tiny lanterns. The two groups meet under the arch and exchange a doll which is touched on each other's forehead. This is seen as a sacred ceremony and is said to unite the women with a bond only death can break.
On Sunday the Carnival reaches its climax. Women in their traditional attire of wide ruffled skirts, colorful ponchos, and white hats mask their faces with starch and water. They sing folksongs and ride on horseback to where the dance is being held in honor of Pukllay which is the Spirit of Carnival. Once the celebrations have come to an end, a rag doll representing Pukllay is buried as a symbol that it is the end of Carnival.
Easter in Australia
In Australia Easter is celebrated with public holidays, church services, eggs, rabbits and fun. It is celebrated in March or April, which is autumn unlike other countries in the Northern Hemisphere where it is spring.
In Sydney, Australia there is an agricultural show known as "the Royal Easter Show". Which has displays of the countries best produce, farm animals, parades, rides, fireworks, food, sideshows and fun.
They enjoy the Easter holidays, which is the end of summer. Especially the children, love Easter eggs, chocolate rabbits, chocolate bilbies and time together with the family.
In Australia the Australians prefer the Bilby as the symbol for Easter as it is native to Australia and also because of the fact that the rabbit has destroyed land, crops, vegetation and burrows of other native Australian species.
In Australia they play a game called Egg Knocking game.
Easter in Brazil
In Brazil every year since 1950 the village of Fazenda has performed a passion play. Thousands of people watch as volunteers act out the arrest, trial and crucifixion of Jesus.
In Rio de Janeiro one of the world's most famous carnivals is held before Lent. Carnival means goodbye to meat. This is due to the fact that people don't eat meat at Lent.
In Brazil groups of people spend most of the year preparing for the carnival. They make costumes, practise music and dances for the parades. Other people make floats for the parade. It is a time for dancing, eating and drinking before the fasting of Lent.
Other towns and cities in Brazil have celebrations during the Carnival period, such as Recife who are well known for their folkloric representations and two well known folk dances, the Maracatu and the Frevo.
Holy Week in Brazil begins with the blessing of the palm branches, which are woven in intricate patterns representing crosses, banners, letters, and other related objects. Streets are decorated with colored patterns drawn on the road surface over which a procession walks, carrying statues of Mary and the body of Christ. A special food called pacoca, is prepared by mixing together crushed nuts and other ingredients into a paste, which is given to visitors. On Easter Saturday, Carnival makes a brief reappearance with a Hangover Ball to celebrate the hanging of Judas.
Easter in Britain
In many parts of England dancers called "Morris dancers" perform on Easter Sunday. These dances are very old spring dances to frighten away the veil spirits of winter. The dancers wear white shorts, red sashes, black trousers and straw hats with lots of flowers and streamers. Red and green ribbons and little bells are tied onto the dancers. As the dancers move quickly the bells ring and the ribbons wave.
In the town of Olney in Great Britain they have had pancake races on Shrove Tuesday for over 500 years.
In Britain, traditionally simnel cake is baked for tea. Originally simnel cakes were given for Mother's Day.
Easter in Bulgaria
In Bulgaria they don't carry the eggs around or hide them they throw them at each other and whoever comes out of the game with their egg unbroken is the winner and they will be the most successful person of the family for the next year.
Or another variation as the eggs are cracked after the midnight service and during the next days. One egg is cracked on the wall of the church. The ritual of cracking the eggs takes place before the Easter lunch. Each person selects his/her egg. Then people take turns tapping their egg against the eggs of others, and the person who ends up with the last unbroken egg is believed to have a year of good luck.
Another tradition is the oldest woman of the family wipes the faces of all the children in the house with the first red egg colored, which is supposed to bring them happiness and keep them healthy and strong.
The most predominate tradition is the making of the Easter bread. The bread is made by all women not bought and has a taste that is tasty, sweet, aromatic and rich and shows the temperament of the Bulgarians.
The traditional greeting is "Christ is Risen!" to which is said "Indeed He is Risen!" This is the greeting during 40 days after Pascha. Also, These greetings are exchanged during the tapping of the eggs they are repeated 3 times and the actual tapping is after that.
Easter in Chile
The Sunday before Easter in Chile is celebrated as Palm Sunday or also called Domingo de Ramos. The celebration is held with a mass or in some places as a procession. On Good Friday there is fasting and people eat fish instead of meat. There are programs on radio referred to as "mourning". Mourning programs are special music and this continues until Sunday morning with the resurrection of Jesus.
In towns around the capital of Santiago people have been celebrating a religious fiesta since the 16th century. The fiesta is known as Quasimodo and is of Latin origin, and represents the first word of an opening prayer which is said in the mass that occurs the first Sunday after Easter.
During Spanish times the day on which Quasimodo is held was the customary day for priests to take Communion to the old and the sick who had been unable to go to church during Easter. Sometimes attacks occured on priests so a group of guards would accompany the priests safely whilst performing their duties. After the priests performed the Sacrament, the day ended with rodeos and "horsemanship contests".
At the finish of the day celebrations occur with the Eucharist in an open-air mass. The Fiesta Quasimodo is full of spectacular color, song, and excitement for the huasos which are comboys or horsemen because it has continued for so many generations.
Easter in China
The Chinese believed in the sacredness of eggs and gave them as gifts during joyful celebrations.
Eggs have been a symbol of spring and fertility.
At least 3000 years ago the Chinese painted eggs red for spring festivals.
Historic documentation tells us that in 722 B.C. a Chinese Chieftain gave painted eggs as gifts in celebration of a spring festival.
Easter in Egypt
In Egypt the Israelites used lamb's blood to save their firstborn. The reason was that Jesus was called the "Lamb of God" because His sacrifice forgives humans' sins.
Lent in the Coptic Church of Egypt lasts for 55 days, which includes a preliminary week of modified fasting. No meat, fish, eggs or milk are supposed to be eaten during Lent. This fasting is extended as Lent goes on so that by Holy Week people are observing a stricter fast, in which they eat mainly vegetables and beans.
On Palm Sunday the church is decorated with palms and flowers, and children are given palm branches blessed with holy water they take home and keep all year.
During Holy Week, people go to church every day. There are services leading up to the main Easter service on Saturday night, which lasts until 3-4 a.m. on Easter morning. Bells are rung to proclaim Christ's resurrection, and there is a procession with the newly lit candles.
Easter Sunday is spent visiting friends and relatives, and there is a special Easter dinner in the afternoon.
Easter Monday is a public holiday because of an ancient spring festival which is celebrated on this day. People spend the day outdoors in parks or gardens and exchange colored eggs.
Easter in Ethiopia
The Ethiopian Easter festival is called Fassika. This festival celebrates the day when Jesus Christ rose from the dead after being crucified.
Palm Sunday or Hosaina happens the Sunday before Easter. This day marks the beginning of Holy Week and celebrates the story of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. Ethiopians wear headbands of palm leaves on this day to remind them of the palm leaves that were laid in Jesus' path.
The period before Easter Sunday is called Lent. During lent, Ethiopian Christians avoid any animal products, such as meat, eggs, butter, milk, yoghurt, cream and cheese. After they have been to the Easter Eve service the family returns home to break their fast and later in the afternoon, they share the main celebratory meal of the day.
At the Easter service all Ethiopians wear a traditional white clothes, called yabesha libs.
During all their holidays, Ethiopians eat a huge special sourdough bread called Dabo. They bake enough to offer a slice to everybody who visits the house. On Easter morning, the bread should be cut, after saying a prayer, by a priest or by the main man of the house.
Easter in France
In France, Shrove Tuesday is referred to as Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday.
In France, church bells ring joyfully during the year. But the bells stop ringing on the Thursday before Good Friday. They are silent for a few days while people remember the death of Jesus. On Easter Sunday morning, the bells ring out, telling people that Jesus is alive again. When people hear the bells, they kiss and hug one another.
Many children wake up on Easter Sunday and find eggs scattered about their rooms. They look in the nests they have placed in their yards or gardens and find Easter eggs in them. The eggs are said to have been bought from Rome where the bell ringing had gone to see the Pope and when the bells returned they bought with them the eggs.
In some parts of France, children look for four white horses pulling a chariot full of eggs.
In France the children throw eggs up in the air. The first one to drop it loses.
An old French custom was a contest of rolling raw eggs down a gentle slope--the surviving egg was the victory egg and symbolized the stone being rolled away from the tomb.
In France an egg game played is that in which the eggs were thrown up in the air and caught. The boy who dropped his egg had to pay a forfeit.
In France the children are told that it is the church bells that have been to Rome to fetch them their eggs.
Easter in Germany
In Germany Easter is started by covering the cross on Good Friday. On this day they eat dishes which have fish in them.
Easter starts with mass, which is started on Saturday evening and continues until Sunday morning. On Sunday it is Family Day on this day they have a special Easter lunch and they have colored eggs and a cake which is shaped like a lamb.
They also eat other sweet foods such as cookies, cake and chocolate on this day and the best part of the day is the hiding of the eggs and cookies in the garden.
Another tradition is the Easter Fire which is where all the old Christmas trees are gathered up and burnt in a special place, this is done so as to clean away the last signs of winter and moving onto spring.
In Germany green eggs are used on Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday.
A town in Germany called Oberammergau, performs a passion play at Easter time. A passion play tells the story of the suffering, crucifixion and death of Jesus. 1200 villagers approximately perform in this six-hour play.
In Germany, just before the beginning of Lent, it is carnival time called Fasching. In Fasching parades in the city of Cologne, people wear masks and giant-sized papier-mâché heads, sometimes twice the size of their bodies.
Germans cook a type of thick doughnut called a Cruller to use up fat before Lent. In some villages people hold an Easter walk or ride in memory of the walk Jesus took to His death. On Easter Saturday night children light huge bonfires.
They have an egg tree. This is a small tree branch put in a vase about two weeks before Easter. Real eggs that have been painted and decorated are hung from the branches. Other small, highly decorated eggs the family has collected are also hung on the tree.
In Germany, children play a game called Chocolate Kiss.
Egg Gathering a popular outdoor game in Germany.
Also in Germany, eggs used for cooking are not broken but are emptied by blowing the contents into a bowl through pinholes at either end of the hen's egg. The hollow eggs are then died and hung from shrubs and trees during Easter week.
Easter in Greece
Eggs date back to the Roman Empire, when people would paint eggs in bright colors to represent the sunlight of spring for use in egg-rolling contests or as gifts. Eggs represented fertility and were considered good luck.
In Greece, the egg honors the blood of Christ by exchanging Crimson eggs.
In Greece, there are outdoor banquets on Easter Sunday. The feast of barbequed lamb, eggs, bread, salads, and Easter cake is spread on long tables for everyone to enjoy.
In Greece people carry around a brightly colored egg on Easter Sunday. When they meet another person they knock their eggs together and say, "Christ is risen".
Greeks eat a round, flat loaf marked with a cross that is decorated with red Easter eggs called a Christopsomon.
Easter is a very important family religious festival. Greeks fast through Lent. On Good Friday flags fly at half-mast, church bells toll, then in the evening after holy service a candle-lit procession - priests in their robes, gilt crosses and then the congregation - file to the town square.
Saturday is a day of happy preparation. Churches are decorated and everyone cooks a feast. Easter eve the churches are crowded, everyone with unlit candles. At midnight the lights go out. The priest brings out alighted candle and the flame is passed from one candle to another. "Christos anesti!" Christ is risen, the priest proclaims. Bells, fireworks, jubilation! The next day it's feasting and merry-making.
Easter in Ireland
In Ireland, people dance in the streets on Easter Sunday. The dancers compete for the prize of a cake.
In Ireland Easter is a very sacred time of fasting and prayer. On Easter Saturday at church hundreds of small candles are lit off the Paschal candle that has been blessed by the priest. On Easter Sunday a quiet meal is eaten at home. Traditional Easter meal of leek soup and roasted spring lamb.
Good Friday was an extremely solemn day in Ireland. Most people eat nothing at all until midday, and went about barefoot. No one killed animals, no wood was burned or made into things, and no nail was driven. No one is aloud to move house, or begin any important enterprise. No one fishes. Eggs that are laid on Good Friday were marked with a cross, and everybody ate at least one of these eggs on Easter Sunday.
On Easter Saturday they use to hold herring processions. These were mock funerals of herrings, and these processions were often held because people became so sick of eating herring during Lent. The processions were often organized by butchers, because they have very little business during Lent.
Other things done on Easter Saturday are priests blessing and distributing holy water. Each member of the household was sprinkled, and then the house and the cattle.
Easter Sunday people eat large quantities of eggs. Eggs are often dyed or decorated and egg rolling used to be a favorite pastime.
Easter in Israel
Catholics and Protestants celebrate Easter at the same time as the rest of the world, were as Orthodox Christian churches celebrate it two weeks later.
At Easter there are many processions where groups travel the route of Jesus Christ's journey to Golgotha. The route is referred to as the Twelve Stations of the Cross.
People or pilgrims travel from all over the world to this holy event. At one o'clock in the afternoon on Greek Easter Sunday the leader of the church goes into the tomb of Jesus and the doors are closed after him. The lights go out, bells ring and the leader appears with a blazing torch. The torch is said to have been miraculously lit inside the tomb. Everyone in the church lights their candles off the torch. These lights up the whole church.
Easter in Italy
In Italy, church bells ring joyfully during the year. But the bells stop ringing on the Thursday before Good Friday. They are silent for a few days while people remember the death of Jesus. On Easter Sunday morning, the bells ring out, telling people that Jesus is alive again. When people hear the bells, they kiss and hug one another.
Many children wake up on Easter Sunday and find eggs scattered about their rooms. They look in the nests they have placed in their yards or gardens and find Easter eggs in them. The eggs are said to have been bought from Rome where the bell ringing had gone to see the Pope and when the bells returned they bought with them the eggs.
In Italy olive branches are used on Palm Sunday instead of palm branches. Italians claim to have been said to have been the first to invent chocolate Easter eggs.
In Italy pretzels were originally an Easter food. The twisted shape is supposed to represent arms crossed in prayer.
Lent is preceded by a carnival with colorful pageants, masquerades, dancing, music and all kinds of merrymaking. The Carnviale begins in January and lasts until Ash Wednesday, but the ceremonies of the last three days are the gayest, especially those of Martedi Grasso or Shrove Tuesday, when pancakes are eaten.
An important part of the carnival is the wearing of masks. People wear all types of masks such as small black masks, which represent spirits and witches from the demon world.
One of the most exciting features of the festival is the death of the carnival. For example in Venice the straw body of "King Carnival" is filled with firecrackers and burned at midnight in the Piazza San Marco. The carnival figure is usually represented as a fat man, this is a symbol of the eating and drinking that takes place during this period.
Quaresima or lent, on the other hand, is represented as a lean old woman. Children are often been given the figure of an old woman with seven legs, representing the seven weeks of Lent, and at Mezza Quaresima they cut the figure in two, throwing half away and keeping the other half until the end of Lent.
During Lent, women often used to grow wheat in a dark place, so that the lack of sunlight would make it a white color. This is then used to decorate the altar of the local church during the days leading up to Easter. The white wheat represented Christ's tomb.
Domenica delle Palme or Palm Sunday, people take palm and olive branches to church to be blessed. When everyone is in the church, the doors are closed to represent the gates of Jerusalem. The priests knock three times, and the gates are then flung open in welcome, and they enter amid joyous music and the waving of palms, this is done to commemorate Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem. The palms are often spread over fields for good luck or patching up quarrels as an expression of peace.
Giovedi Santo or Holy Friday, many churches re-enact the ceremony of the washing of the feet at the altar. They chose 12 poor men from the parish representing the Twelve Disciples, and the priest, acting as Christ, bathes their feet.
Easter or La Pasqua is a joyous day. After morning mass people return home for the Easter dinner. The most important dish is agnellino, roasted baby lamb. The table is decorated with colored eggs which have been blessed by the priest.
In Italy lamb is eaten with a special salad made with hard-boiled eggs.
Easter in Malta
In Malta Easter has been the focus of great festivities, in the churches which have been beautifully decorated, as well as the family observances.
Malta once held a Carnival celebration, which was held just before Lent. Nowadays the Carnival is held after Easter in May to coincide with the May Day Labor festival.
The Maltese people visit seven churches to pay their respects and offer devotion on Maundy or Holy Thursday. These processions to churches are led by a person carrying a cross. The Church bells are not rung from this day until Easter Saturday.
On Good Friday a priest delivers a sermon based on the life of Christ including the first Holy Week. The sermon has a choir singing appropriate hymns which are intertwined between various pauses in the sermon. After the service a procession of 8 statues, one of which depicts Christ on the Cross, is lead through the church out around the parish and back to the church. The procession is followed by a band playing funeral marches.
On Easter Saturday all the church bells ring. People at about 11pm begin to gather at the church to take part in the Easter Vigil. The priest intones the joyful hymn "Exultet" - "Let us rejoice the Lord is risen". People exchange greetings as each person carries a candle lit from the Paschal candle.
On Sunday morning a procession is held in which the statue of Christ carries a flag, and a band plays joyful marches. This procession is followed by a family get-together for a large lunchtime meal of spring lamb, baked potatoes and local vegetables. After dinner, a figolla is given to each child. This is a baked confectionery pastry, cut in the shapes of Christian symbols. Nowadays chocolate eggs or rabbits are also given to children.
Easter in Mexico
In Mexico, Easter is a combination of Semana Santa or Holy Week which is Palm Sunday to Easter Saturday and Pascua which is Resurrection Sunday until the following Saturday.
Semana Santa celebrates the last days of the Christ's life. Pascua is the celebration of the Christ's Resurrection. It is also the release from the sacrifices of Lent.
In many communities, they may enact a full Passion Play from the Last Supper, the Betrayal, the Judgement, the Procession of the 12 Stations of the Cross, the Crucifixion and last but not least the Resurrection. In some communities, flagellation and/or real crucifixion might also be included. The enactments are often spectacularly staged, costumed and acted, with participants preparing for their roles for nearly the full year leading up to Semana Santa.
In Mexico they have parades each day of the last week of lent. The parade held on Good Friday is the saddest. The parade winds through the dark streets early in the morning. Drums beat and church bells ring slowly. People in the parade carry large statues of Jesus and his mother, Mary. There are crowds of people watching the procession go by. They sing sad songs. They sometimes carry candles to brighten the darkness. Everyone is sad on this day, but in two days it will be Easter Sunday, a time to be happy again.
Easter in The Netherlands
In the Netherlands the day before Lent begins is Carnival day which is referred to as Vastenavond or Fast Eve. In South Holland the celebrations begin on the Sunday and last for three days. Preparations begin the previous year on 11th day of the 11th month, when a council of 11 meets to organize the plans. Traditionally the number 11 is the number for fools, and during Carnival people are allowed to be as foolish as they wish. At this time dances are popular, parades and masquerade balls. In each town someone is elected prince of the Carnival and he is handed the keys to the city.
On Palm Zondag or Palm Sunday children go in processions from farm to farm collecting eggs for the Easter sports. To find the eggs they carry a curiously decorated stick known as a Palmpaas or Easter "palm". This stick is attached to a hoop which is covered with boxwood and adorned with colored paper flags, egg shells, sugar rings, oranges, raisins, figs, chocolate eggs, small cakes and baked dough figures or swans or cocks.
On Easter Sunday or as it is known in the Netherlands Paas Zondag there is a special Easter meal. The table is decorated with colored eggs and spring flowers, and Paasbrood which is a sweet bread with raisins and currants, is one of the special foods traditionally served at Easter. In the east almost every village lights an Easter bonfire on some hill or high point. People begin collecting wood for the fires weeks in advance, each area tries to outdo each other by building the biggest and best fire than its neighbors.
Easter Monday is a day for egg games. The youngest children hunt for colored eggs which have been hidden around the house or in the garden, while the older children have egg cracking contests or as it is also known eiertikken contests.
Easter in Poland
In Poland they celebrate Easter with the Blessing Basket. They prepare the basket the Saturday before Easter. Inside the basket they place beautifully colored eggs, bread, cake, salt, paper and white colored sausages and with the basket they then go to church to have the basket of food blessed. It is believed that Great Lent which is the forty day fast before Easter is not over until the basket has been blessed hence the reason why it is called Blessing Basket.
All that is contained in the basket is of meaning such as the colored eggs mean the risen Christ, the bread and salt are for good health and a prosperous life, the sausages are supposed to be a wish for enough food and fertility for the coming spring. There is also cheese and marzipan which are another part of the Easter basket.
Another tradition is the tradition of Watering which is where everyone splashes each other with water as this is considered to bring good health to all. No one is safe from this tradition.
In Poland for over 800 years Easter Monday has been "Switching Day". On this day boys swat their girlfriends with a small willow branch. On Easter Tuesday the girls get even by swatting the boys.
In Poland a cake like bread is eaten. It is shaped like a peasant woman's full skirt.
In Poland it is the custom to decorate the eggs with rug yarn.
Dyngus or Smingus Dyngus is celebrated in Poland on the first Monday after Easter. On this day boys lie in wait to sprinkle girls with water or perfume. It is said that girls who get caught and soaked with water will marry within the year. This may be the very reason why some girls make feeble attempts to escape the dousing.
This custom of dousing may be of pagan origin since the pouring of water is an ancient spring symbol of cleansing and purification. Another theory is that this represents the renewal of the sacrament of baptism after Christ has risen. Also, according to legend, the Polish ruler, Prince Mieszko the First was baptized in 966 on Easter Monday.
The first recorded account of Dyngus dates back to the Middle Ages when the custom was known as Oblewania. Evidently, the women were given ample time to retaliate. The old chronicle says that "on Tuesday and every day thereafter until the time of the Green Holidays or Pentecost where the women doused the men.
In Poland, the food is set out ready all day long, so that everyone can eat just when they feel like it. The table is decorated with green leaves and a sugar lamb may be placed as a centre-piece.
At the feast there are cold meats and salads and plenty of eggs. Children take samples of food to church to be blessed by the priest.
In Poland the Kitchen table is covered with evergreen leaves and then Easter food is put on it. Before anything is eaten it must blessed first by the priest.
Easter in Romania
In Romania the Christian Church says that Jesus was born during the winter solstice and his death followed by his resurrection happened during the spring equinox, the Easter.
The most important Christian holiday is the day of Jesus' Resurrection. Cleaning the houses, wearing new clothes, the ritual bath before going to church, all these are supposed to mark a new beginning. After a long fast - the Lent, tables full with all sorts of good dishes and brightened up with beautiful painted eggs create a festive atmosphere. Children are the happiest of all looking for their gifts and colored eggs in the newly grown grass.
Everybody including the peasants are beautifully dressed in their national costumes, with lit candles in their hands, gathered together around the churches at midnight in order to solemnly utter:"Jesus Christ has risen from the dead". Everywhere around the churches, on the hills or in the plains, people light fires and sing Our Savior’s praises.
After the service, their is a multitude of flaring lit candles, a most uplifting and touching sight, make for home where people clink Easter eggs with beautifully dyed or exquisitely painted shells. The craftsmanship of dyeing the eggs at Easter, is an ancient tradition with Romanians, is due to the belief that eggs represent the source of life. The egg, preserver of the mystery of the origin of life, has always been related to the rites of the revival of nature. There is definitely a close link between Easter, the egg and the vernal equinox as the three of them cheese, cake, lamb roast and broth, drob which is a spiced minced lamb and fresh cottage cheese.
Easter in Russia
In Russia Christians go to church late on Easter Saturday night. At midnight they go out and walk around the outside of the church singing songs. The priest knocks on the door and everyone goes in to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. The priest blesses the people's food and they return home to have a happy feast.
It has been a custom to give friends and family brightly decorated eggs at Easter time, exchanged with the happy saying, "Christ is risen". Over a hundred years ago a jeweler called Faberge began making beautiful Easter eggs out of gold, silver, diamonds and other precious stones.
They eat lamb, chicken, pork, bread, and Easter cake. Easter Sunday is a happy day of eating and visiting.
In Russia, pussy willow branches are picked especially for Easter. People tap each other with them for good luck.
Easter in Spain
On Palm Sunday, people go to mass in the morning. Children carry palm leaves to be blessed by the priest. Boys carry a simple palm branch, and the girls carry a branch that has been decorated. They often have sweets, tinsel or other decorations hanging from them.
In Christian churches, Ash Wednesday is the first day of the penitential season of Lent, so called this ceremony for it is the ceremony of placing ashes on the forehead as a sign of penitence. In the Roman Catholic Church, ashes obtained from burned palm branches of the previous Palm Sunday are blessed before mass on Ash Wednesday. The priest places the blessed ashes on the foreheads of the officiating priests, the clergy, and the congregation, while reciting over each one the following: "Remember that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return".
Lent is a period of fasting and penitence in preparation for Easter. The length of the Lenten fast, during which observant eat sparingly, was established in the 4th century as 40 days. The 40-day period begins on Ash Wednesday and extends, with the omission of Sundays, to the day before Easter.
On Maundy Thursday there is a special celebration in Verges (Gerona). A macabre dance is performed by men dressed as skeletons.
In Spain, the saints or pasos are carried through the streets by specially chosen people, some of whom wear the traditional hooded costumes of the community.
Easter in Sweden
Easter week starts with Palm Sunday, which is commemorating Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem. This is a day of joyous processions of people carrying branches of early budding willows to lie before the images of Christ.
There are certain superstitions attached to Easter. People believed that witches were especially active and their black magic especially powerful during this week. On Maundy Thursday they were thought to fly off on brooms to consort with the devil at some place called blåkulla, returning the following Saturday.
Another superstition on Maundy Thursday or Easter Eve Swedish girls and boys dress up as hags and pay visits to their neighbors. Some leave a small decorated card, an "Easter letter", hoping for a sweet or coin in return. The custom of making "Easter letters" is especially widespread in western Sweden. This is where it is also the custom to slip the letter into a person’s mailbox or under his door without being seen. The identity of the sender is a secret.
Easter bonfires are also especially the custom in the western provinces, where villages vie to see who can make the biggest one. The custom of shooting also lives on, albeit in the form of shooting off fireworks.
Eggs are the most common Easter food, and hard boiled eggs are traditionally eaten the evening before Easter Sunday. While the eggs are often decorated, neither their decorations nor the traditions associated with them are as elaborate as in many countries on the continent.
On Good Friday in Northern Sweden there was a custom which wasn't that pleasant for the girls... Early in the morning the boys in the village gathered, equipped with birch twigs. Then they went to every farm in the neighborhood and whipped the girls with the branches until they gave the boys something to drink, and that wasn't water... After some visits to the farm the boys usually lost a bit of their judgment and sometimes it could be rather unpleasant for the girls... On the other hand, the girls got their revenge on the night between Easter Day and Easter Monday when they in turn gathered to give the boys some of their own medicine.
On the Wednesday before Easter known as Dymmelsonsdagen it was common practice to fasten some kind of object for obvious reason, something which would make the bearer silly on the back of some poor unsuspecting victim. The whole point was that the victim shouldn't notice the object and walk around with it the whole day.
Easter in United States of America
Easter in the US is celebrated in many different ways by many different religions. Mostly it is celebrated with traditional church services and family festive celebrations. On Easter Sunday in New York and other cities, large street parades are held where people show off their new clothes and Easter bonnets. The parade is often led by someone carrying a candle or a cross.
American children play a game called Easter Egg Roll.
The world's most famous Mardi Gras carnival is held each year in New Orleans. It has parades, jazz bands and parties where everybody dresses up and joins in the fun. Groups of people called krewes prepare decorated floats with a Mardi Gras king and queen. Mardi Gras means 'Fat Tuesday' and only refers to Shrove Tuesday. The day after Mardi Gras is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent.
Easter is a time to eat special foods. In US it is baked ham, potatoes and vegetables.
In the US at Easter Hot Cross Buns are served as well.
This post was written by Primeraptor.
