Labels: Easter Wishes
Easter or Oestre, as it is sometimes called, celebrates the Resurrection of Christ following his crucification previously. The word 'Oestre' was the old Teutonic word for dawn/sunrise. This word is one of the roots of our word 'east', and also the name of the female hormone 'estrogen'.
Dating back to the period AD 27 to 33, Easter is widely celebrated throughout the world. Christ's crucification and resurrection mark the basis for the salvation of mankind. Although Christian in nature, Easter, brings together the entire human race. Here are some lesser known facts about Easter-
Easter, also known as Pascha (Greek: 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.
Easter is named after Eastre, an Anglo-Saxon goddess! Her symbols were the hare and the egg.
It celebrates the resurrection of Jesus, which his followers believe occurred on the third day after his death by crucifixion.
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 1970 based on the Gregorian date.
Those following the Church of Alexandria, actually follow an ecclesiastic full moon instead of an astronomical moon-
The ecclesiastical rules are:
Easter falls on the first Sunday following the first ecclesiastical full moon that occurs on or afterMarch 21 (the day of the ecclesiastical vernal equinox).
This particular ecclesiastical full moon is the 14th day of a tabular lunation (new moon).
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: Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday respectively commemorate Jesus's entry in Jerusalem, the Last Supper and the Crucifixion.
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.
The resurrection of Jesus took place during the Passover. The Passover is the 8 day observance commemorating the freedom and exodus of the Israelites (Jewish slaves) from Egypt during the reign of the Pharaoh Ramses II.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records the largest Easter egg ever made was just over 25-ft high and made of chocolate and marshmallow. The egg weighed 8,968 lbs. and was supported by an internal steel frame.
Labels: Easter Facts
Labels: Easter Formal Greetings
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.
Here's a gist of how Easter is celebrated by the Pagan population or the less-religious Christian community and the rest of the world.
1. 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. Many families in America will attend Sunday Mass or services in the morning and then participate in a feast or party in the afternoon.
2. Belgium:
Belgium shares the same traditions as North America but sometimes it is said that the Bells of Rome bring the Easter Eggs together with the Easter Bunny. The story goes that the bells of every church leave for Rome on Saturday which is called "Stille Zaterdag" which means "Silent Saturday" in Dutch. So since the bells are in Rome, the bells don't ring anywhere.
3. 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.
4. Netherlands:
In the eastern part of the Netherlands (Twente and Achterhoek), Easter Fires are lit on Easter Day at sunset.
5. 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. The purpose is for males to exhibit their attraction to females. The whipped female gives a colored egg to the male as a sign of her thanks and forgiveness. 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.
In Hungary (where it is called Ducking Monday), perfume or perfumed water is often sprinkled in exchange for an Easter egg.
Source: wikipedia
Labels: Non-religious Easter Traditions
Labels: Easter Weekend
This is something that I found here, for Hare Pie Scramble and Bottle Kicking.
The Easter Monday tradition of 'Hare Pie Scramble and Bottle Kicking' in Hallaton, Leicestershire, England, is really quite intricate. To start, the ingredients of a hare pie include:
4 pounds of flour
2 pounds of lard
2 hares
3 pounds of onions
7 pounds of potatoes
Seasoning
The pie is cooked on Easter Monday, using a 20-inch square tin, at either the Torch House, which belongs to Torch Trust for the Blind or at the Bewick Arms.
The pie is paraded in a procession through the village from the Fox Inn to the gate of St. Michael's Church. Immediately behind the pie in the procession are the three 'bottles' that are used for the Bottle Kicking match. These are actually small barrels, about 14 inches high by 9 inches in diameter and weighing about 20 pounds. Two of these are brown in color and filled with about a gallon of ale each. The remaining 'bottle' is left empty and is colored red and white.
The pie is distributed by the rector of St. Michael's Church to the crowd. Some of the pie is put into sacks and carried away with other processions through the village, ending at the top of Hare Pie bank. This is where the Bottle Kicking match takes place between Hallaton and the neighboring village of Medbourne. There is no limit to the number of competitors in the Bottle Kicking match.
The competitors arrange themselves in a circle at the top of the bank. The chairman of the Bottle Kicking match throws the first full bottle into the air and allows it to fall on the ground. This is repeated twice more. When the bottle lands on the ground the third time, it is 'in play.' What follows is a chaotic battle between the two teams to move the bottle toward their respective villages over their respective touch lines, which are between two separate streams at each end of Hare Pie bank, approximately three-quarters of a mile apart. There are numerous hedges, lanes, ditches and even barbed wire between the two touch lines.
Once the first score has been made, the whole process is repeated with the empty bottle. If the previous losing team effects a tie, the process is repeated with the final bottle. At the end of the match, both teams walk back to Hallaton, where the winning team drinks both bottles and the losing team has to watch!
It is believed that Hare Pie bank was previously a stowe, a place of pagan worship.
Labels: Easter Monday Tradition
Labels: Easter Fun Greetings
Labels: Easter Jokes
| You Are a Bunny Pop |
 It takes a whole lot more than three licks to get to your center. You cheeky bunny! |
Labels: Easter Candy
Labels: Easter Trivia
Labels: Easter Egg Hunt
The original site of the Easter Egg Roll was the grounds of the United States Capitol. The event began during the Presidency of James Madison (1809-1817) at the suggestion of his wife, Dolley Madison. Mrs. Madison was fascinated to learn that Egyptian children rolled colored eggs on the site of the Pyramids. She thought the children of the Washington area would enjoy this enchanting activity.
In 1877, under orders from members of Congress, Capitol policemen required the children to leave the grounds. Some Congressmen, tired of slipping and sliding on the remains of boiled eggs, felt the grounds should no longer be torn up in such a way. Some sources tell us that one irritated nursemaid, followed by several of her charges, stormed down to the White House where she demanded access to the White House grounds for egg rolling. Others claim that President Rutherford B. Hayes, riding by the Capitol grounds in his carriage, saw the tearful children and invited them to the White House for their egg roll.
In 1878 President Hayes and his wife Lucy officially opened the White House grounds to the children of the area for egg rolling on Easter Monday. The event has been held on the South Lawn ever since, except during World War I and World War II. During the war years the Easter Egg Roll was held at the National Zoo, and other Washington locations.
The White House Easter Egg Roll is eagerly awaited each year by thousands of children. It is always held on the Monday after Easter, on the South Lawn of the White House. Children hunt for brightly colored wooden signature eggs hidden in hay. Many of these eggs have been signed by famous people, including the athletes, astronauts, musicians, and celebrities from film, television, and theatre who visit the White House during the year. Of course, the real treasures are the eggs personally signed by the President and First Lady (as well as Socks)!
By the late 1800s such games as "Egg Picking," "Egg Ball," "Toss and Catch," and "Egg Croquet" were popular Easter Monday activities. The children attending the event take part in many newer activities, but rolling a hard-boiled egg across the lawn is still a highlight of the day.
Labels: White House Easter Egg Roll
Labels: The Symbols of Easter
Labels: The Easter Bunny
Labels: Easter Traditions and Wishes
Labels: Easter History and Origin
Labels: Welcome to Easter Wishes
