PÄRNUMAA KUTSEHARIDUSKESKUS

EHITUSVIIMISTLEJA

Urmet Lepp ja Rivo Tammearu

EASTER

Juhendaja: Reet Näär

Pärnu 2010

History Of Easter

Easter, the principal festival of the Christian church year, celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his Crucifixion. The origins of Easter date to the beginnings of Christianity, and it is probably the oldest Christian observance after the Sabbath (observed on Saturday). Later, the Sabbath subsequently came to be regarded as the weekly celebration of the Resurrection.

Meanwhile, many of the cultural historians find, in the celebration of Easter, a convergence of the three traditions - Pagan, Hebrew and Christian.

According to St. Bede, an English historian of the early 8th century, Easter owes its origin to the old Teutonic mythology. It was derived from the name Eostre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring, to whom the month of April was dedicated. The festival of Eostre was celebrated at the vernal equinox, when the day and night gets an equal share of the day.

The English name "Easter" is much newer. When the early English Christians wanted others to accept Christianity, they decided to use the name Easter for this holiday so that it would match the name of the old spring celebration. This made it more comfortable for other people to accept Christianity.

But it is pointed out by some that the Easter festival, as celebrated today, is related with the Hebrew tradition, the Jewish Passover. This is being celebrated during Nisan, the first month of the Hebrew lunar year. The Jewish Passover under Moses commemorates Israel's deliverance from about 300 years of bondage in Egypt.

It was in during this Passover in 30 AD Christ was crucified under the order of the Roman governor Pontius Pilate as the then Jewish high priests accused Jesus of "blasphemy". The resurrection came three days later, on the Easter Sunday. The early Christians, many of them being brought up in Jewish tradition regarded Easter as a new feature of the Pascha (Passover). It was observed in memory of the advent of the Messiah, as foretold by the prophets. And it is equanimous with the proclamation of the resurrection. Thus the early Christian Passover turned out to be a unitive celebration in memory of the passion-death-resurrection of Jesus. However, by the 4th century, Good Friday came to be observed as a separate occasion. And the Pascha Sunday had been devoted exclusively to the honor of the glorious resurrection.

Throughout the Christendom the Sunday of Pascha had become a holiday to honor Christ. At the same time many of the pagan spring rites came to be a part of its celebration. May be it was the increasing number of new converts who could not totally break free of the influence of pagan culture of their forefathers.

But despite all the influence there was an important shift in the spirit. No more glorification of the physical return of the Sun God. Instead the emphasis was shifted

to the Sun of Righteousness who had won banishing the horrors of death for ever.

The Feast of Easter was well established by the second century. But there had been dispute over the exact date of the Easter observance between the Eastern and Western Churches. The East wanted to have it on a weekday because early Christians observed Passover every year on the 14th of Nisan, the month based on the lunar calendar. But, the West wanted that Easter should always be a Sunday regardless of the date.

To solve this problem the emperor Constantine called the Council of Nicaea in 325. The question of the date of Easter was one of its main concerns. The council decided that Easter should fall on Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox. But fixing up the date of the Equinox was still a problem. The Alexandrians, noted for their rich knowledge in astronomical calculations were given the task. And March 21 was made out to be the perfect date for spring equinox.

The dating of Easter today follows the same. Accordingly, churches in the West observe it on the first day of the full moon that occurs on or following the Spring equinox on March 21., it became a movable feast between March 21 and April 25.

Still some churches in the East observe Easter according to the date of the Passover festival.The preparation takes off as early as on the Ash Wednesday from which the period of penitence in the Lent begins. The Lent and the Holy week end on the Easter Sunday, the day of resurrection.

Easter Symbols

Easter eggs & baby chicks- Eggs and chicks symbolize new life. Eggs have been a symbol of spring since ancient times. An egg also is a symbol of the rock tomb out of which Christ emerged when he arose again. The chick, hatching out of the egg, symbolizes new life or re-birth. 

Easter bunny- The rabbit, or hare, was a symbol of abundant new life in ancient times, and reminds us of spring and new life.

Easter Lilies- The white blossoms symbolize the purity of Jesus. Lilies, emerging from the earth in the spring, also symbolize new life and the resurrection of Christ. All About Easter Lilies.

The lamb - Represents Jesus, "the Lamb of God".

The cross - Symbolizes Jesus' victory over death.

Palm branches- Represents when Jesus arrived in Jerusalem on the first Palm Sunday and people waved palm branches, welcoming him.

Easter hats & wearing new clothes for Easter- Symbolizes new life offered through the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Hot Cross Buns- Hot cross buns have a cross of icing on the top to remind people of Christ.

Candles - Symbolize Jesus, "the light of the world".

Pretzels - A food eaten during Lent- the twisted shaped symbolizes arms crossed in prayer.

Easter & Spring flowers- Daffodils and tulips bloom in the spring, and symbolize spring and new life.

Baby animals- Baby animals born in the spring also represent spring and new life.

The Butterfly is one of the significant symbols of Easter. Its whole life cycle is meant to symbolize the life of Jesus Christ. The first stage, is the caterpillar, which stands for His life on Earth. Second phase begins from the cocoon stage, portraying the crucifixion and burial of Jesus. The third and final stage is the butterfly, representing His raising from the dead in a glorified body and peace.

Stories for Children

Fairy Tulips

Once upon a time there was a good old woman who lived in a little house. She had in her garden a bed of beautiful striped tulips.

One night she was wakened by the sounds of sweet singing and of babies laughing. She looked out at the window. The sounds seemed to come from the tulip bed, but she could see nothing.

The next morning she walked among her flowers, but there were no signs of any one having been there the night before.

On the following night she was again wakened by sweet singing and babies laughing. She rose and stole softly through her garden. The moon was shining brightly on the tulip bed, and the flowers were swaying to and fro. The old woman looked closely and she saw, standing by each tulip, a little Fairy mother who was crooning and rocking the flower like a cradle, while in each tulip-cup lay a little Fairy baby laughing and playing.

The good old woman stole quietly back to her house, and from that time on she never picked a tulip, nor did she allow her neighbors to touch the flowers.

The tulips grew daily brighter in color and larger in size, and they gave out a delicious

perfume like that of roses. They began, too, to bloom all the year round. And every night the little Fairy mothers caressed their babies and rocked them to sleep in the flower-cups.

The day came when the good old woman died, and the tulip-bed was torn up by folks who did not know about the Fairies, and parsley was planted there instead of the flowers. But the parsley withered, and so did all the other plants in the garden, and from that time nothing would grow there.

But the good old woman's grave grew beautiful, for the Fairies sang above it, and kept it green; while on the grave and all around it there sprang up tulips, daffodils, and violets, and other lovely flowers of spring.

The Hare and the elephant

Once upon a time . . . in the Indian jungle, lived a young elephant whose playmate was a very large hare. In spite of the difference in size, they were great friends and had fun playing strange guessing games. One day, the hare said to his chum: "Which of us is bigger: you or me?"

At that silly question, the little elephant nearly choked on his banana. "You must be joking!" he exclaimed, "Why, even on tiptoe, you re not as high as my knee!"

But the hare went on: "That's what you think! Since I say that I'm bigger than you, we need a judge. Don't you agree?"

"Oh, yes," said the elephant in surprise. "Well, let's go along to the village and see what the Humans have to say. They're the cleverest of all the animals, and the best judges!"

As they reached the village, they met some of the villagers. "Look at that young elephant! Isn't he small?" folk remarked as the unusual couple strolled by.

"Yes, he is indeed! But he'll soon grow up," said others.

Then somebody noticed the hare. "What a huge hare!" they all cried.

Now, the hare tried to keep in front of elephant and puffed out his chest. As he passed, all the villagers exclaimed: "Look at his paws! And those ears! That's the biggest hare we've ever seen!"

When he heard this, the hare turned to his friend, saying, "We can go home now! That's settled! I'm huge and you're tiny!"

The elephant tossed his heavy head. At a loss for words, he knew the hare had won by low cunning. But back on the jungle path, he lifted his foot and said to the hare, walking ahead, "Get out of my way before a tiny elephant crushes a big hare like you!"