Recipes Food Cooking

The history of Easter began with torture, and the implements of that torture are still an integral part of the entire celebration. Crosses were once the cruelest form of punishment that the Romans used, which should have made it unlikely that these would one day turn into symbols of hope and faith.

But because of the Christian belief in the divine sacrifice made by Christ on one of these torture objects, Easter crosses have become something else in believers’ eyes.

As a result, even while these symbols stand for Christianity in general at all times of the year, Easter crosses in particular automatically take on greater significance.

In the Indian Orthodox Church, which is a branch of Christianity that is said to have been founded by the Apostle Thomas himself on his travels, these crosses are an integral part of the Easter devotional atmosphere from beginning to end.

During the whole Lent period the crosses in each of these churches are covered with a veil and moved to the center of their own church, where people kiss them as they enter and as they leave. This is just the beginning of the object’s long Easter career.

At this point, the Easter crosses are carried by the celebrants of the churches in a procession around the building. And at the end of the service, the people are blessed by being touched with the cross. The crosses are then set on their heads on a stand in the sanctuary, and remain there until the Feast of Ascension.

Christian Easter services all involve crosses in some way, no matter which denomination is celebrating. But not many other branches of the church use them in quite the same powerful way that the Indian Orthodox Church does.

To read more The Significance Of Easter Crosses

Critic James A. Keller suggests that the central event in Christian faith, which is the basis of Easter celebrations, can never be fully grasped.

He writes, “All we have is other people’s accounts of what the eyewitnesses purportedly saw, and these accounts are typically sketchy and were written many years later. Thus, the historian who wants to understand what the resurrection event was must use later, sketchy, second-hand accounts of what the eyewitnesses saw, and from these accounts he must try to determine what the resurrection event was.”

Despite disputes surrounding the accuracy of reports about His resurrection, Christians around the world participate in traditional rituals to celebrate Easter.

According to the apostle John, Mary of Magdala saw Jesus following the resurrection and to eleven disciples (not including Thomas) on the same day. A week later, He appeared to the twelve disciples, including “Doubting” Thomas and He also met with Simon, Peter and Nathaniel from Cana, Zebedee’s sons and two other disciples by Lake Tiberias.

Lastly, the Acts of the Apostles cite Jesus’s appearance to Saul/Paul on the road to Damascus, to Peter in a trance and to the twelve apostles as He ascended into heaven.

In 1 Corinthians 15 St. Paul wrote, “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith,” which proves that the resurrection is the single most important event in Church history.

He added, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor. 15:14-20).

That is why Christians celebrate this day more than any other in the calendar year.

To read more The Significance Of The Resurrection

When people celebrate their own particular Easter traditions, especially in the church, they are conscious of the fact that they are sharing the celebration with millions of Christians in other parts of the world.

But despite the common Christian stories that underlie this commemoration of the death and resurrection of Christ, many of the customs used by churches in different regions will vary. Some, like the date of Easter, are decided by church decree while others reflect the specific cultures in which churches find themselves.

Some Easter traditions take place on a very large scale and might vary from country to country, yet will still tie believers together from all over the world.

These great Carnivals are held annually in Rio de Janeiro and Mardi Gras in New Orleans, as well as the annual Passion Plays in places like Oberammergau in Germany or Fazenda in Brazil.

Of course, by no means is every attendee there because they’re thinking of the meaning of Easter, but these events are still important in the lives of many believers.

Some countries’ Easter traditions seem to combine elements from other Christian holidays, or appear to bear little relation to Easter at all. For example, in Papua, New Guinea, congregations have an Easter Tree at the front of the church for the Easter Sunday service.

Packages of tobacco and cigarettes are hung from the branches, and are distributed to the people after the service. This is a custom to which North American Christians would have trouble relating.

But even though certain values may differ from culture to culture, resulting in these different traditions, Christians still share a common faith, which is what’s really important.

To read more Many Easter Traditions Around The World

There are many types of re-enactments of the Easter story that extend it beyond the church’s walls or beyond the chronological confines of the Easter celebration itself. This occurs because many believers feel the need to draw the story of Christ’s death and resurrection into their lives in a deeper way, in order to strengthen their faith.

The Christian Easter message is not something that occurs only on one special weekend in the spring, but is meant to be incorporated into believers’ lives and attitudes all year long.

A much more literal re-enactment of the Easter story, called the Passion Play, takes place either in local churches or on a much larger scale in towns like Oberammergau in Germany, or Fazenda in Brazil.

This play draws the faithful (and more than a few tourists) from every part of the world. The participants recreate the events leading to the death and resurrection of Christ. This re-enactment drives home the truths of this most powerful of the Christian stories in a deep and dramatic way.

Many people engage in commemorative re-enactments of the Easter story every time they go to church.

The Stations of the Cross, patterned after several events between the moment of Christ’s arrest and crucifixion, are often set up in chapels or sculptures around a church, so each week a believer can meditate upon the ramifications and meaning of Easter in their lives.

All of these different re-enactments serve to strengthen a believer’s faith and keep the salvation story alive in their daily life.

To read more Re-Enactment Of The Easter Story

The last thing you want to hear during a spring break or a long weekend is that your kids are bored. Involving them in Easter activities will help prevent this, and may provide a chance for you to teach them the meanings your family ascribes to this spring season.

If you are a family that adheres to the Christian faith, then you may look for things like Easter poems to learn or games to play. Or you may just want to find some good pictures for them to color, or crafts to make.

If you want to add a more spiritual turn to activities at Easter, then other websites can help you expand to include that extra dimension as well. For example, the Children’s Chapel site (www.childrenschapel.org) provides the blueprint for many activities that include object lessons to teach the Christian Easter story.

There are Easter egg hunts where each egg has part of the story painted on it, or you might want to print out coloring pages that have images from that story. Between songs, crafts and stories, you can make sure your children understand the relation of Easter to your faith.

Teachers could also arrange Easter activities, though they wouldn’t necessarily want to promote the views of any particular faith. This celebration takes place all over the world, so studying the customs in other countries can provide an excellent education about world cultures.

So for example, a class could study Easter songs from other countries, or how eggs have been decorated for other types of spring equinox festivals. The activities can be inspired by Easter, but can then be used to provide a valuable learning experience as well.

To read more Where To Find Easter Activities Online

The Easter stories are familiar to most people in the North American culture, and of course they are closely associated with the Christian church.

But when you look at the ancient fertility festivals that existed in the past, and have a closer look at the history of Easter symbols and traditions, it soon becomes clear that this is, in essence, a pagan holiday.

There may still be reasons to say it’s Christian as well, connected to Christ’s divinity and His death and resurrection, but the pagan elements are undeniable.

Myths that eventually tied in with the Easter stories of death and resurrection were already well known throughout the Middle East as the church began to form.

For example, the tale of the Phrygian goddess Cybele and the death and eventual resurrection of her lover, Attis, was widespread throughout Anatolia, and other lands around Israel.

The history of Easter, as it was known in the church, likely began with that story and the many other similar myths in the region.

The Easter stories of Christianity, with its own dying and resurrecting god, fit so well with other festivals celebrated in the spring that one might almost think it was planned that way.

Christians may shrink from some of the elements they would consider less savory, especially those dealing with sex and a goddess, yet the origin of Easter does lie in a story about the creation of a new form of life.

Viewed this way, it may be possible for Christians to think of their own Easter celebrations as a culmination of the aspirations of all those earlier fertility cults.

To read more Easter Stories With Symbols And Traditions