Many Christians around the world celebrate Easter with special events and celebrations. This day is filled with beautiful music, candles, flowers, and the sounds of church bells.
Easter is a public holiday in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. It is usually held on Sunday. As a direct result, this causes a lot of trouble in businesses, and government buildings and schools must be evacuated.
A controversial meaning for children.
Even though Easter has a lot of religious meaning, many young people see it as a chance to buy new clothes and eat sweets.
Children, on the other hand, are most excited about the chance to decorate eggs that this special event gives them. Many people look forward to Easter egg hunts, and most people think that the Easter bunny is the one who hides the eggs.
What does Easter mean for Christians?
Sunday after Easter is called “Easter Sunday” by Christians because it is the day they remember that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. In the book of John in the New Testament, it says that Mary Magdalene went to the tomb where Jesus was laid to rest and found it empty. Then, an angel told him that Jesus had been brought back to life.
Every year, Easter is a holiday for Christians all over the world. But many of the Easter rituals and customs may have their roots in old pagan practices.
Is it really a pagan holiday?
Many people think that the word “Easter” comes from the name of a goddess of rebirth who was called Ostara. Ostara was an old holiday that celebrated the return of spring and the renewal of nature.
In 1647, King Charles I of England said that this day came from the Bible. However, Parliament wrote a response to his claim, and as a result, this holiday and other religious celebrations were banned at the same time. Easter is celebrated as close as possible to the equinox in March.
Since 325, when it was set by the Council of Nicaea, Easter has been celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon which happens on or after the March equinox. Because of this, we can’t say for sure if Easter is a Christian holiday or a pagan one.
Symbols of Easter
The Easter egg and Easter bunny both come from fertility rituals that were performed during the Ostara holiday. Christians can learn a lot from how happy the pagans are when the sun rises again in the spring.
The way people light candles in churches is similar to the way pagans light bonfires as part of their rituals. On Easter, people thought a lot about remembering the sign of the cross and the images of Jesus Christ in paintings or sculptures.
Family traditions during the Easter holidays
During the Easter holidays, you and your loved ones can do many different things. On the one hand, it can be very exciting, and on the other hand, it can make your day better. Check out some of the fun things you might be able to do on your short vacation.
Pagans may have been the first to decorate eggs of all kinds, even ostrich eggs. It’s not hard to see why eggs are often used to represent new life and starting over. Therefore, it is not difficult to think of them when spring comes and new growth begins. Tradition says that people will decorate eggs to give to their loved ones as gifts to celebrate the beginning of spring.
If you love your Easter basket and want to have it, it’s only natural that you feel obligated to buy it, even if it’s filled with fake grass that’s been shredded. Anyone who knows the German tradition of Osterhase will know what this story is about. At that time, children everywhere stopped thinking about the existence of a magical bunny. The second group helped him by providing him with places to lay his colored eggs.
As with bunnies and eggs, it’s hard to say when people started making hot cross buns. During the week before Easter, these cute little pastries are baked. Each one has a cross with dried fruit on top. On Good Friday, monks have been placing crosses on their lists since the 12th century.
A family memorial day at Easter
On Easter, you and your family look so beautiful. In the end, you should get together with your loved ones on this day every year and look your best for a photo that will last a lifetime.
You can change the atmosphere to suit your taste. Events to mark this day can happen anywhere, such as in a park, church, or even on your front porch.
If you want your Easter photos to look good year after year, you need to catch a photographer’s eye. It works well whether you want to take a picture of the whole family or some cute pictures of the kids on their own. After some time, you will have a wonderful memory that shows how much your family has grown.
Easter traditions in The Middle East
In France, Easter wouldn’t be the same without the bells. On Holy Thursday, church bells are rung silently in France to remember what Christ did for us. But on Easter Sunday, they are rung again to remember that Jesus rose from the dead.
People say that the bells can get to Rome so that the pope can bless them. After that, they would head back to the French churches, but not before picking up eggs from the side of the road to give to the gardens. So, in France, the Easter eggs are brought by the bells instead of the Easter bunny.
Because the Gregorian calendar and the old Julian calendar are 13 days different, people in the Middle East celebrate Easter twice. Palm Sunday, which is a day of celebration, is usually the first day of the week leading up to Easter.
On this holiday, kids dress up and walk around with big candles that they’ve decorated with flowers and olive branches. All week long, prayers and rituals are done to get ready for Easter Sunday.
Easter in Egypt
Easter is the most important religious holiday for Christians in Egypt. Not only do these events bring joy to homes, but they also give sacred places a sense of reverence.
Christians are filled with hope and joy as they look forward to celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. They held a lunch party so that others could share in their happiness. Also, people gather together at the local church or on the banks of the Nile.
Christians celebrate Easter with a feast fit for a king, with roast beef, roast chicken, stuffed vegetables, and the traditional green stew, mallow.
Kids get all kinds of treats, like chocolate bunnies, pastries, ice cream, and toys. Egyptians also celebrate Sham El-Nessim on the Monday after Easter, which is already a national holiday in the country. The ancient Egyptian pharaohs used to do this to celebrate the beginning of spring.
