fattyprejudice

Happy Easter to you all. I understand that some of you don’t celebrate easter, either for your own religious  or non-religious reasons, and I respect that.  In our household, we celebrate with the Easter Bunny bringing easter baskets full of jelly beans, chocolate bunnies and other goodies to delight any child.  While this may seem sacreligious to some of you, it is how I was raised.  On that note, we also celebrate the reason for the season, which is the day that a very special man rose from the dead after being persecuted and crucified for our sins.  Jesus traveled a very long road with both faithful followers and enemies alike, spreading the word of his lord and father.  His doctrine is the number one best seller for many many years, you may have heard of it, it is called “The Bible”.  He died for our sins, only to rise again to sit at his father’s right hand to rule the kingdom of heaven.  I have done some reading to understand how Easter is celebrated in some other countries because my husband is from Germany and we live in America.  Since I was not raised Catholic as my husband was, I wanted to understand the way that his family celebrates and compare it to how we celebrate.  The source for the following is from wikipedia.  You can follow the link and learn more about how Easter is celebrated in other countries.  I hope you find this as interesting as I did.

“Western Christianity

In Western Christianity, Easter marks the end of Lent, a period of fasting and penitence in preparation for Easter, which begins on Ash Wednesday and lasts forty days (not counting Sundays).

The week before Easter, known as Holy Week, is very special in the Christian tradition. The Sunday before Easter is Palm Sunday and the last three days before Easter are Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday (sometimes referred to as Silent Saturday). Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday respectively commemorate Jesus’ entry in Jerusalem, the Last Supper and the Crucifixion. Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday are sometimes referred to as the Easter Triduum (Latin for “Three Days”). In some countries, Easter lasts two days, with the second called “Easter Monday.” The week beginning with Easter Sunday is called Easter Week or the Octave of Easter, and each day is prefaced with “Easter”, e.g. Easter Monday, Easter Tuesday, etc. Easter Saturday is therefore the Saturday after Easter Sunday. The day before Easter is properly called Holy Saturday. Many churches begin celebrating Easter late in the evening of Holy Saturday at a service called the Easter Vigil.

Eastertide, or Paschaltide, the season of Easter, begins on Easter Sunday and lasts until the day of Pentecost, seven weeks later.

 English Speaking World

Coloured Easter eggs in the United States.Throughout North America, the British Isles, New Zealand and Australia the Easter holiday has been partially secularized, so that somefamilies participate only in the attendant revelry, central to which is (traditionally) decorating Easter eggs on Saturday evening and hunting for them Sunday morning, by which time they have been mysteriously hidden all over the house and garden. Chocolate eggs have largely supplanted decorated eggs in New Zealand and Australia.

In North America, Australia and New Zealand, parents often tell their children that eggs and other treats have been delivered and hidden by the Easter Bunny in an Easter basket which children find waiting for them when they wake up. Many families in America will attend Sunday Mass or services in the morning and then participate in a feast or party in the afternoon; the food cooked for the feast and the customs practiced at the feast may be influenced by Jewish cuisine and the Jewish holiday of Passover.In the UK children still decorate eggs, but most British people simply exchange chocolate eggs on the Sunday. Chocolate Easter Bunnies can be found in shops. Many families have a traditional Sunday roast, particularly roast lamb, and some eat Easter foods such as Simnel cake, a fruit cake with eleven marzipan balls representing the eleven faithful apostles. Hot cross buns, spiced buns with a cross on top, are traditionally associated with Good Friday, but today are often eaten well before and after. In Scotland, the north of England, and Northern Ireland, the traditions of rolling decorated eggs down steep hills and pace egging are still adhered to.

In the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda, the most notable feature of the Easter celebration is the flying of kites to symbolize Christ’s ascent.^[48] Traditional Bermuda kites are constructed by Bermudians of all ages as Easter approaches, and are normally only flown at Easter. In addition to hot cross buns and Easter eggs, fish cakes are traditionally eaten in Bermuda at this time.

Belgium and France

Flemish-speaking Belgium shares many of the same traditions as North America but sometimes it’s said that the Bells of Rome bring the Easter eggs together with the Easter Bunny. The story goes that the bells of every church leave for Rome on Holy Saturday, called “Stille Zaterdag” (literally “Silent Saturday”) in Dutch. So, because the bells are in Rome, the bells don’t ring anywhere.

Similarly, in French-speaking Belgium and France, “Easter bells” (« les cloches de Pâques ») also bring Easter eggs. However, bells in churches are silent beginning Maundy Thursday, the first day of the Paschal Triduum, as a sign of mourning. It is said that all of the bells depart for Rome and return on Easter Day bringing eggs with them to drop during their passage.

Netherlands and Northern Germany

People watching the Easter fire in ‘De Achterhoek’ in eastern Netherlands

In the northern and eastern parts of the Netherlands (Twente and Achterhoek), Easter Fires (in Dutch: “Paasvuur”) are lit on Easter Day at sunset. Easter Fires also take place on the same day in large portions of Northern Germany (”Osterfeuer”).“

If you would like information pertaining to the history of Easter, and more on how it is celebrated in different countries, head on over to Wikipedia via this link.  It is filled with more information than you  probably ever wanted to know!

Have a blessed day!

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