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发帖数: 9567 | 1 As with almost all holidays that have their roots in Christianity,
Easter has been secularized and commercialized. The dichotomous nature
of Easter and its symbols, however, is not necessarily a modern
fabrication.
Since its conception as a holy celebration in the second century, Easter
has had its non-religious side. In fact, Easter was originally a pagan
festival.
The ancient Saxons celebrated the return of spring with an uproarious
festival commemorating their goddess of offspring and of springtime,
Eastre. When the second-century Christian missionaries encountered the
tribes of the north with their pagan celebrations, they attempted to
convert them to Christianity. They did so, however, in a clandestine
manner.
It would have been suicide for the very early Christian converts to
celebrate their holy days with observances that did not coincide with
celebrations that already existed. To save lives, the missionaries
cleverly decided to spread their religious message slowly throughout the
populations by allowing them to continue to celebrate pagan feasts, but
to do so in a Christian manner.
As it happened, the pagan festival of Eastre occurred at the same time
of year as the Christian observance of the Resurrection of Christ. It
made sense, therefore, to alter the festival itself, to make it a
Christian celebration as converts were slowly won over. The early name,
Eastre, was eventually changed to its modern spelling, Easter.
The Date of Easter
Prior to A.D. 325, Easter was variously celebrated on different days of
the week, including Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. In that year, the
Council of Nicaea was convened by emperor Constantine. It issued the
Easter Rule which states that Easter shall be celebrated on the first
Sunday that occurs after the first full moon on or after the vernal
equinox, or first day of spring. Therefore, Easter must be celebrated on
a Sunday between the dates of March 22 and April 25. Its date is tied to
the lunar cycle.
The Lenten Season
Lent is the forty-six day period just prior to Easter Sunday. It begins
on Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras (French for "Fat Tuesday") is a
celebration, sometimes called "Carnival," practiced around the world, on
the Tuesday prior to Ash Wednesday. It was designed as a way to "get it
all out" before the sacrifices of Lent began. New Orleans is the focal
point of Mardi Gras celebrations in the U.S. Read about the religious
meanings of the Lenten Season.
The Cross
The Cross is the symbol of the Crucifixion, as opposed to the
Resurrection. However, at the Council of Nicaea, in A.D. 325,
Constantine decreed that the Cross was the official symbol of
Christianity. The Cross is not only a symbol of Easter, but it is more
widely used, especially by the Catholic Church, as a year-round symbol
of their faith.
The Easter Bunny
The Easter Bunny is not a modern invention. The symbol originated with
the pagan festival of Eastre. The goddess Eastre was worshipped by the
Anglo-Saxons through her earthly symbol, the rabbit.
The Germans brought the symbol of the Easter rabbit to America. It was
widely ignored by other Christians until shortly after the Civil War. In
fact, Easter itself was not widely celebrated in America until after
that time.
The Easter Egg
As with the Easter Bunny and the holiday itself, the Easter Egg predates
the Christian holiday of Easter. The exchange of eggs in the springtime
is a custom that was centuries old when Easter was first celebrated by
Christians.
From the earliest times, the egg was a symbol of rebirth in most
cultures. Eggs were often wrapped in gold leaf or, if you were a
peasant, colored brightly by boiling them with the leaves or petals of
certain flowers.
Today, children hunt colored eggs and place them in Easter baskets along
with the modern version of real Easter eggs -- those made of plastic or
chocolate candy.
http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/onlinediscipleship/easter/the_
s_of_easter.aspx |
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