HISTORY OF EASTER

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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 (originally observed on Saturday, later on

Sunday). 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.