Easter and its significance

Easter is the sacred celebration of Christ's resurrection from the dead. Easter recalls the resurrection of Jesus Christ and is a joyous festival that coincides with the arrival of the spring season. The date of Easter varies from March 22 to April 25. Protestants and Roman Catholics observe Easter on the first Sunday after the Paschal full moon, the full moon following the vernal equinox. The English name "Easter" according to the Venerable Bede, comes from the Anglo-Saxon "Eostre", the goddess of fertility and birth. Easter abounds with symbolism. The rabbit, bunny, lamb, cross, lighted candles, eggs and chicks, are all seen as having importance in the celebration of Easter.

Importance of "The Great Fifty Days": The Great Fifty Days begins with Easter Sunday and concludes on the Day of Pentecost. (The word Pentecost actually comes from the Greek word for fifty.) During these fifty days several customs are often observed that assist in highlighting the festivity of the season.

• The paschal candle is moved from its normal place near the baptismal font to a prominent place near the altar. 
• The liturgical color of white is used during the entire fifty days-longer than at any other time of the church year. 
• The "Alleluia," which is omitted during the penitential season of Lent, is restored to the liturgy as the premier expression of joy celebrating Jesus' resurrection. 

The seven weeks that span the time between Jesus' resurrection and the sending of the Spirit are sometimes even called a "week of weeks."

Significance of Paschal Lamb: Lamb has become associated with Easter for two reasons: one is that Christ became known as the Lamb of God in Christian theology, atoning for the sins of man by his sacrifice on the cross. But the idea of the "sacrificial lamb" is older. Pesach means "skipping" or "passing over" and, according to Jewish lore, the Israelites marked their doors with the blood of a lamb to prevent the Angel of Death killing their first born; their doors were therefore literally "passed over".

Significance of Rabbits and Egg: Eggs, of course, are ancient symbols of fertility, for very obvious reasons, while the Seder meal incorporates a hard boiled egg as a symbol of new life. The ancient Persians also painted eggs for Nowrooz, their New Year celebration falling on the spring equinox. An egg has also been seen to be associated with the rebirth or resurrection of Christ. The custom of eating them also derives from the fact that they were forbidden during Lent.

The Easter bunny or rabbit comes from the hare, another ancient, pre-Christian symbol of fertility associated with spring. But it gets even more complicated than that. Anglo-Saxon mythology says Eostara changed her pet bird into a rabbit to entertain a group of children, and the rabbit laid brightly colored eggs for them.

Lighted candles and/or bonfires also symbolize light, renewal, hope and warmth. They most likely acquired these meanings from the more nature-oriented ideas of paganism.

Easter oldest custom: The oldest custom used to take place in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia, where there was a tradition of spanking or whipping of woman on Easter Monday. In the morning, males throw water at females and spank them with a special handmade whip, consisting of eight, 12 or even 24 withies (willow rods), which is usually from half a meter to two meters long and decorated with colored ribbons at the end. The spanking is symbolic and normally not painful or intended to cause suffering. A legend says females should be spanked in order to keep their health and beauty during the next year.

Easter is the oldest and most important Christian festival, marking the end of the fasting season of Lent and the death, on Good (derived from God's) Friday and resurrection of Jesus Christ, on Easter Sunday. So Happy Easter to all, and happy egg eating,

(Sources: lcms.org, angelfire.com, stpaulskingsville.org,  independent.co.uk)