Easter around the world
The celebration of Easter is the celebration of the triumph of life over death. Dedicated to the honor of Christ who gave his life for the sins of His loved ones,
it is a great festival to the Christians all over the world. It is joyous because
it was on Easter He had shown himself.
Most Christians observe Easter on the first Sunday
after the first full moon following the first day of spring
in the Northern Hemisphere. Meanwhile, the eastern Orthodox Churches
celebrate Easter later because of additional factors
in calculating the date of Easter.
All over the Northern hemisphere,
the customs of the Easter season are more or less alike.
The Lenten penance and fasting; carnivals,
egg exchanging, eating, decorating and egg hunts.
Also there are Passion Plays and Easter parades.
However, some follow customs that are special to their country.
The True Christian spirit
Easter reminds you of all those joyous celebrations. But they are not just all of Easter. They wait to greet you at the end of the Holy week. In fact, Easter is a long journey through various stages. All these are meant for readying a Christian's soul for the greatest feast at the end of the Holy Week on Easter Sunday And each stage bears a symbolic meaning with certain phase of the life of Christ
Let us start with the stage that lies at the gateway. It's the Ash Wednesday where the journey begins. The Ash opens the gate to the Lent, the Even the Holy week itself follows a journey of penance through Lent.
Lent:
Lent is a forty day period of penance meant for sharing the sorrows and sufferings of Christ by the self-denying Christians. Originally Lent was meant for a period of complete fasting to commemorate the forty-day fast of Jesus. Jesus spent these days in the desert after his baptism and till the beginning of his public ministry. In the early church, this fasting period was meant for a preparation to receive the sacrament to be given to those who would be baptized on the Easter eve.
In course of time, the emphasis of the season turned from preparing for baptism to more penitential aspects. Even persons guilty of notorious sins spent the time performing public penances. Only at the end of the Lent were they publicly accepted back in an elaborate ceremony. The penitents were presented to the bishop singly. And then in a group they protested themselves while seven penitential psalms were sung.
Palm Sunday:
The last Sunday of the Lent is known as the Palm Sunday. This is when Jesus rode triumphantly into Jerusalem where he was greeted warmly by the crowd. In the words of St Matthew:
Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" And this is where the basis of the Palm Sunday procession lies.
The first reference to the Palm Sunday procession, is found in the travel journal of Etheria, the nun from the northwest Spain. She made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem toward the end of the fourth century. She referred the day to be the beginning of the Paschal Week.
In the Western Church the procession is reportedly adopted first in Spain, possibly in the fifth century. And it had not been before the twelfth century when the procession was held in Rome. In the United States, the Messiah Lutheran church in Philadelphia revived an old Palm Sunday custom. There an ass is led down the center aisle accompanied by the pastor and two costumed members of the congregation. Meanwhile the entire church body sings, "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name." In Episcopal churches, parishioners are given palm leaves at the end of the service. Presently the day is meant for a nice get together of all churches: Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, and Lutheran.
Information on:
Palm Sunday
Which Day?
Christian Holiday
History of Palm Sunday
Holly Week
Ash Wednesday
Easter History>
Easter in U.S.
A walk through the Holy Week
The icons of Easter
Easter
Lent
Preperation for Lent
The Day of Resurrection
Jokes for Easter:
Page One
Page Two
Page Three
Poems on Easter:
Easter comes but once a year
In all the world
The Crucifixion
Funny Bunny
Rowena Bennett
Easter Holiday
Easter Bunny
Easter Bunny Hugs And Kisses
Easter Bunny Poop
Calendar showing Palm Sunday
Calendar showing Ash Wednesday
Calendar showing Easter
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