Easter is the first holiday of spring and for most of us it symbolizes the reawakening of the earth after a long winter. The origins of many of our Easter traditions date back to pagan times and the rituals associated with the coming of spring. Some of the symbols associated with Easter are the Easter bunny, which represents fertility, and Easter eggs, which originally were painted bright colors to represent the sunlight of spring.

Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is the most important feast in the Christian calendar. The churches are filled with worshipers, the altars are decorated with flowers, and the music proclaims the joy of the season.

Easter Sunday falls sometime between March 22 and April 25. It falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon following March 21. The date of Easter Sunday was established by the church council of Nicaea in A.D. 325.

Easter Sunday ends a period of preparation for the feast of Easter. This 40-day period of prayer and fasting, called Lent, begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter. The week from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday is known as Holy Week. Good Friday marks Christ’s crucifixion; and Easter Sunday, his resurrection.

The custom of a sunrise service on Easter Sunday can be traced to ancient spring festivals that celebrated the rising sun. The custom developed further in the Middle Ages, when celebrations at sunrise were also popular. People gathered to pray as the sun appeared and then went in procession to their churches.

The new clothes worn on Easter Sunday are a symbol of new life. The custom comes from the baptism on Easter Sunday of early Christians who were led into church wearing new robes of white linen. The present-day Easter parade has a parallel in the Middle Ages, when people walked about the country-side on Easter, stopping along the way to pray. Nowadays many people walk in Easter parades to show and see new spring clothes, especially hats.

The Easter Egg
One of the best-known Easter symbols is the egg, which has symbolized renewed life since ancient days. The egg is said to be a symbol of life because in all living creatures life begins in the egg. The Persians and Egyptians also colored eggs and ate them during their new year’s celebration, which came in the spring.

Today many people still color Easter eggs and decorate them with fancy patterns and symbols. The sun symbolizes good fortune; the rooster, fulfillment of wishes; the deer, good health; the flowers, love and charity.

The original tradition of Easter egg coloring is said to have started in Persia in 3000 B.C. to celebrate the first day of spring. The first known egg dyeing in the U.S. was by the Pennsylvania Dutch (German) settlers in the early 1700’s. They used natural materials such as onion skin and bark to color the shells.

Egg-rolling is a present-day Easter custom that takes place each year on the lawn of the White House, in Washington, D.C. In Austria, France, Germany, Iran, Iraq, Norway, and Syria, an egg-knocking game is played. The object of the contest is to hit everyone else’s egg and to keep one’s own unbroken. The last player with a whole egg is declared the winner.

The Easter Basket
Easter Baskets symbolize nests where the Easter Bunny laid it’s Easter Eggs. Today, baskets are used for the Easter Bunny hide to colored eggs and other goodies in for children to find on Easter!

Hot-Cross Buns
Eating hot-cross buns is a Good Friday custom that has taken root in America. The Anglo-Saxons consumed cakes as part of the celebration that attended the welcoming of spring. Early missionaries gave up trying to break them of the habit, and compromised by drawing a cross upon the cakes and blessing them.

• 2 packages active dry yeast (1/4 ounce, each)
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 cup warm milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup softened butter or margarine
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 6 1/2 to 7 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup dried currents
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 2 Tbsp water
• 1 egg yolk

Have the water and milk at 110-115°F. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add the warm milk sugar, butter, vanilla, salt, nutmeg, and 3 cups of the flour. Beat until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating the mixture well after each addition. Stir in the dried fruit and enough flour to make a soft dough.

Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 6 to 8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl and turn over to grease the top. Cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 1 hour).

Punch the dough down and shape into 30 balls. Place on greased baking sheets. Using a sharp knife, cut a cross (or X) on the top of each roll. Cover again and let rise until doubled (about 30 minutes). Beat the water and egg yolk together and brush over the rolls. Bake at 375°F for 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on wire racks. Drizzle icing over the top of each roll following the lines of the cut cross.

ICING: Combine 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, 4 teaspoons milk or cream, a dash of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract. Stir until smooth. Adjust sugar and milk to make a mixture which flows easily.

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. However, a caveat must be introduced here. The “full moon” in the rule is the ecclesiastical full moon, which is defined as the fourteenth day of a tabular lunation, where day 1 corresponds to the ecclesiastical New Moon. It does not always occur on the same date as the astronomical full moon. The ecclesiastical “vernal equinox” is always on March 21. Therefore, Easter must be celebrated on a Sunday between the dates of March 22 and April 25.

When is Easter?
Easter 2005

Ash Wednesday is 9 February
Palm Sunday is 20 March
Good Friday is 25 March
(Western) Easter Sunday is 27 March
(Orthodox) Easter Sunday is 1 May

Easter 2006

Ash Wednesday is 01 March
Palm Sunday is 9 April
Good Friday is 14 April
(Western) Easter Sunday is 16 April
(Orthodox) Easter Sunday is 23 April

Easter will be celebrated on Sunday March 27, 2005. Greek/Orthodox Easter will be celebrated Sunday, May 01st, 2005.