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Easter
Easter Sunday is the feast day in the Christian calendar to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. We welcome all questions pertaining to the Easter Bunny too!
2,607 Questions
Easter Easter in 2010 will be celebrated on April 4.
For more information on Easter 2010, click on the link below.
Why do you have an Easter rabbit why not an Easter chicken?
- It has nothing to do with Christianity. The legend has it that there was a beautiful bird who loved the goddess Isis. Each year on the spring equinox would come and lay her colorful eggs at the feet of the goddess. The goddess promised to grant her a wish and she said she would like to be a soft cuddly bunny, but Isis loving the eggs granted her wish but continued to lay her eggs each spring.
- The word "Easter" is a distortion of the name "Estre," a pagan fertility Goddess. The early church in effect took over a pagan time of celebration, and adapted the name to suit its own needs.
- The original Christian church celebrating Christ's resurrection every week by meeting for worship on the first day of the week (upon which He rose) celebrated the Pascha, which is a celebration "of His death till He comes."
- This is the feast we are actually commanded to keep, then we fast on Friday, attend a vigil on Saturday and rejoice the morning of His resurrection (the Feast of First Fruits). But the Roman Catholic Church altered this practice first and centuries later by imposition developed a tradition of celebrating the Resurrection as the feast.
- Rabbits and eggs are pagan fertility symbols of extreme antiquity. Birds lay eggs and rabbits give birth to large litters in the early spring these became symbols of the rising fertility of the earth during the spring season. Since Easter also occurs in the early spring, people brought the beloved pagan symbols into the Christian celebration of Easter. These pagan symbols have become part of the Christian tradition. They do not take anything away from the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and they add to the celebration. Christianity has frequently absorbed the positive and neutral symbols of pagan religions while leaving the negative symbols behind, similar to Christmas trees and Halloween costumes.
- The English word Easter is from the Old English words Ä’astre or Ä’ostre or Eoaste. Eostre/Eostra/Eastre was the name of a pagan Saxon goddess, goddess of dawn, spring and fertility. Apparently rabbits were her favorite animal. Eggs, hares and rabbits have long been symbols of fertility. Eostra's consort was the Sun god, and it is reported that the first Sunday after the first full moon succeeding the vernal equinox was sacred to her. Going further back, there appears to be a connection between Eostra and the ancient goddess Astarte, a goddess connected with fertility and sexuality. Perhaps Eostra is the European name for the same goddess. The Greeks used the word 'Aphrodite' for the goddess Astarte. And the Romans called her Venus. According to ancient myths and legends, Astarte gave birth to Eros.
- According to one source, the ancient German goddess Ostara (Eostre in Anglo-Saxon) had a hare as a companion, and that this may have led to the 'Easter Bunny' customs. This source adds that rabbits were part of pre-Christian fertility lore.
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What date did Easter Sunday fall last year?
In 2009, Easter Sunday fell on April 12th and in 2008, Easter Sunday fell on March 23rd.
Why do you need vinegar and food coloring to dye Easter eggs?
Because, to dye something, you need some sort of pigment/color. The food coloring is the dye; the vinegar is a weak acid which helps the dye to stick to the surface of the egg.
When will Easter fall on March 30?
Easter Sunday will next fall on March 30 in 2059. Easter Sunday has previously fallen on March 30 in the years 1766, 1823, 1834, 1902, 1975, 1986 and 1997.
Are wetherspoons open on Easter Sunday?
Yes, all Weatherspoons pubs are open as normal on Easter Monday, it's a busy day for them.
How many days between Ascension and Pentecost?
Ascension is the fortieth day after Easter and Pentecost the fiftieth. In the liturgical year, they are usually celebrated on the following Sunday.
In Latin "pascha" means Passover,(Easter); Greek "paskha"; in Aramaic "pas;" In Hebrew "pesa; Pesach. Adapted in Christianity as: Jesus, our Paschal Lamb... The Sacrifice for the forgiveness... as the passover lambs were sacrificed on the altar in the Temple, so did Jesus sacrifice himself on the altar of the cross.
Has Easter ever fallen on April 2?
Easter Sunday can only fall on dates from the 22nd of March to the 25th of April. So Easter Sunday cannot be on the 29th of April, but as the season of Easter continues for 50 days, the 29th of April is always during Easter, no matter when it starts.
The Christian holiday of Easter celebrates a proof of the resurrection by the discovery of an empty tomb from which Christ arose. So the resurrection preceded the "first day of the week" which is reported.
Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday - also known as the Triduum. It begins with Mass on Holy Thursday and ends with the beginning of Mass on Holy Saturday.
What is the definition of Easter Triduum?
that Christ rose from the dead, on the third day from Resurrection
Who started giving chocolate Easter eggs?
The ancient Egyptians, Persians, Phoenicians, and Hindus all believed the world began with an enormous egg, thus the egg as a symbol of new life has been around for eons. The particulars may vary, but most cultures around the world use the egg as a symbol of new life and rebirth. A notation in the household accounts of Edward I of England showed an expenditure of eighteen pence for 450 eggs to be gold-leafed and colored for Easter gifts. The first book to mention Easter eggs by name was written five hundred years ago. Yet, a North African tribe that had become Christian much earlier in time had a custom of colouring eggs at Easter. Long hard winters often meant little food, and a fresh egg for Easter was quite a prize. Later, Christians abstained from eating meat during the Lenten season prior to Easter. Easter was the first chance to enjoy eggs and meat after the long abstinence.
Some European children go from house to house begging for Easter eggs, much like halloween trick-or-treaters. Called pace-egging, it comes from the old word for Easter, Pasch. Many old cultures also attributed the egg with great healing powers. It is interesting to note that eggs play almost no part in the Easter celebrations of Mexico, South America, and Native American Indian cultures. Egg-rolling contests are a symbolic re-enactment of the rolling away of the stone from Christ's tomb. The decoration of small leaf-barren branches as Easter egg trees has become a popular custom in the United States since the 1990s.
Why is Easter the most important season in the liturgical year?
A Catholic answer (Catholics in communion with the Pope)After the fall and break-up of the Roman Empire, the Catholic Church eventually became the custodian of the law, education, and administration throughout much of Europe. In many places, this included the keeping of the calendar, religious and civil. Eventually, with the separation of the church from the secular state, it became necessary to keep two calendars: one civil or secular, the other religious or liturgical. The liturgical calendar tracks the progress of the liturgical year, which includes mostly celebrations and commemorations of certain major events in the lives of Jesus Christ, of Mary, and of the saints, such as (January) the Feast of Mary, Mother of God; (Feb) Saint Bernadette's day; (March) Saint Patrick's Day; (April) Easter Sunday (May) Feast of the Pentecost, and so on, all the way to December and Christmas Day.
Will Easter ever fall on April 19th?
Easter Sunday is next due to fall on April 19th in the year 2071.
How can Easter fall in late April?
In western Christianity (i.e., Roman Catholic and Protestant, but not Eastern Orthodox), Easter always falls between March 22 and April 25, inclusive, so it falls in April about 5/7 of the time, or about 70+%.
How do you dye eggs without the shell?
Eggs are dyed by dipping them into a dye solution. Different sorts of dyes are used depending upon the reason the egg is being dyed.
Dyes that are being colored for Easter and meant to be eaten are dyed using food coloring. Usually the directions call for a cup of water, one teaspoon of vinegar, and dye (the exact amount depends on the brand--read the instructions included with the dyes). You can use food coloring to make many colors of dye -- read the back of the box for ideas on how many drops to combine for different colors. Many companies, including Paas, sell dye tablets packaged specifically for Easter eggs; if you are using these follow the directions on the box.
If you are making pysanky or other types of wax relief (batiked) eggs, you will need acid/aniline dyes. These are dyes meant for coloring fabrics made from animal protein, like wool or silk. They will dyes eggs, too, as the surface of the egg (the cuticle) is made of protein. These can be purchased from craft stores that sell egg-decorating supplies, or online from store such as the Ukrainian Gift Shop (UGS) or Surma in NYC. EGGS MADE WITH ANILINE DYES SHOULd NOT BE EATEN. The dyes have not been tested for food safety.
Ideally, have the eggs at room temperature when you dye them, whether they are raw or hard-boiled. If the eggs are cold, they will sweat after they are taken out of the dye due to condensation, and ruin the color.
With either type of dye, it is very important to remember to add vinegar to the water, because the dye will bind much better in an acid environment. If you forget to add vinegar, the dye might not adhere very well.
Put the egg in the dye, and leave it there for around 1-5 minutes. Freshly made dyes will usually dye quickly; older dyes may take longer. Food coloring is a weaker dye, and will often produce only pastel colors; aniline dyes are brighter and more vibrant, but are not edible. You can check your egg periodically, and just take it out when you like the color. Do not leave the egg in the dye for too long, because the vinegar in it will eventually eat away at (dissolve the calcium from) the shell.
What stores are open on Easter?
It depends on where you live. Most grocery stores, pharmacies, gas stations and the like, are open on Easter Sunday. In some parts of the country stores such as Walmart and Target are open but in other parts they are not. Most retail clothing, accessory, and electronic stores are closed on major holidays. To find out holiday hours for the stores in your area, see their website or give them a call.
Why is the lamb important symbol of Easter?
maybe its their white (usually) wooly coats, or the fact that they're probably one of the earliest tamed/domesticated animals, and are generally easy to herd and look after since they are not aggressive by nature.
it is the symbol of purity because in the time before jesus they would weekly sacrifice an unblemished lamb with no defect to substitute for the sins of the people and when jesus came to earth as a man he came as the lame of god that would bear the sins of man (and women) forever
