Easter is a spring festival that celebrates the central event of the Christian faith: the resurrection of Christ three days after his death by crucifixion. Easter is the oldest Christian holiday and the most important day of the church year. All the Christian movable feasts and the entire liturgical year of worship are arranged around Easter.
Easter Sunday is preceded by the season of Lent, a 40-day period of fasting and repentance culminating in Holy Week, and followed by a 50-day Easter Season that stretches from Easter to Pentecost.
In Roman Catholicism, and some Lutheran and Anglican churches, Easter is celebrated with a vigil that consists of "the blessing of the new fire (a practice introduced during the early Middle Ages); the lighting of the paschal candle; a service of lessons, called the prophecies; followed by the blessing of the font and baptisms and then the mass of Easter." The traditional customs of the Catholic church are described in detail in the online Catholic Encyclopedia.
Protestant observances also include baptism and the Eucharist (or Lord's Supper), and often a sunrise service (to commemorate Mary Magdalene's arrival at the empty tomb "early, while it was still dark") and special hymns and songs.
Over the centuries, these religious observances have been supplemented by popular customs, many of were incorporated from springtime fertility celebrations of European and Middle Eastern pagan religion. Rabbits and eggs, for example, are widely-used pagan symbols for fertility. Christians view the Easter eggs as symbols of joy and celebration (as they were forbidden during the fast of Lent) and of new life and resurrection. A common custom is to hide brightly colored eggs for children to find.
And that is exactly what we will do! We will hide some eggs in the garden, have a scrumptious Easter breakfast that this year I will prepare with the girls, since they are into cooking & baking... yes MY girls!! And I am wondering: Do they still believe in the Easter bunny, it seems they do, but for how long will they believe in this magical world of Easter bunny, Tooth fairy and Santa Claus? When did you or your children figure it out?? The girls are turning 8 next month, and I know by that age I already had figured it out for a while....
But I won't burst their bubble! Let's hide some eggs... I hope our own bunnies won't eat them... haha LOL!
Tell me what are your traditions for Easter? What are the foods you are making, any traditional dishes you like to share??
As a child I remember we always would get new 'Sunday' clothes, new clothes for the summer season, but we could only wear them on Sundays... these days my girls have everyday 'Sunday' clothes!
Have a great day,
Mireille
