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EASTER TRADITIONS Stefan maria Avi a b
EASTER DATE • Easter and the holidays that are related to it are moveable feasts, in that they do not fall on a fixed date in the Gregorian or Julian calendars (both of which follow the cycle of the sun and the seasons). Instead, the date for Easter is determined on a lunisolar calendar similar to the Hebrew calendar. The First Council of Nicaea (325) established the date of Easter as the first Sunday after the full moon (the Paschal Full Moon) following the March equinox. Ecclesiastically, the equinox is reckoned to be on 21 March (even though the equinox occurs, astronomically speaking, on 20 March in most years), and the "full moon" is not necessarily the astronomically correct date.
EASTER EGGS • An Easter egg is an intentional inside joke, hidden message, or feature in a work such as a computer program, movie, book, or crossword. According to game designer Warren Robinett, the term was coined at Atari by personnel who were alerted to the presence of a secret message which had been hidden by Robinett in his already widely distributed game, Adventure.[1][2] The name has been said to evoke the idea of a traditional Easter egg hunt.[3]
BUTTER LAMB • The butter lamb, also known as a buttered lamb, is a traditional butter sculpture accompanying the Easter meal for many Russian, Slovenian, Polish Catholics.[1] Butter is shaped into a lamb either by hand or in a lamb-shaped mould.[2] It is also sold at delis, Polish specialty markets, and some general grocery stores at Easter time. The butter lamb is a particular tradition in Buffalo, New York's Broadway Market, in which the annual introduction of the butter lamb is a symbol of spring.[3][4][5] • Frequently the eyes are represented by peppercorns and a white banner with a red cross on a toothpick is placed on its back. • Its name in Polish is baranekwielkanocny. Its name in Russian is barashekizmasla (барашекизмасла).[6] A variant is the sugar lamb
BABKA • Babka is a spongy, brioche-like yeast cake made mainly in Eastern Europe. It is traditionally baked for Easter Sunday in Poland, Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Albania, and for the major holidays (Christmas, Easter, New Year, Pentecost) in Romania. Traditionally it does not have any filling, and is glazed with a vanilla- or chocolate-flavored icing and decorated with almonds or candied fruit, sometimes with rum added
HOLLY FIRE • Orthodox tradition holds that the Holy Fire is a miracle that happens annually on the day preceding Orthodox Easter, in which a blue light emanates within Jesus Christ's tomb (usually rising from the marble slab covering the stone bed believed to be that upon which Jesus' body was placed for burial) now in the Holy Sepulchre, which eventually forms a column containing a form of fire, from which candles are lit, which are then used to light the candles of the clergy and pilgrims in attendance. The fire is also said to spontaneously light other lamps and candles around the church.[1][2][3] Pilgrims and clergy claim that the Holy Fire does not burn them.
EASTER WEEK • In the Latin Rite of Catholicism, Anglican and other Western churches, Easter Week is the week beginning with the Christian feast of Easter and ending a week later on Easter Saturday.[1] The term is sometimes inaccurately used to mean the week before Easter, which is properly known as Holy Week, and particularly confusing in this context is the secular usage of the term Easter Saturday to refer to the day known liturgically as Holy Saturday or Easter Eve (the day before Easter), rather than the Saturday following Easter. • While the first day of Easter Week is called Easter Day or Easter Sunday, the other days in the week may be designated according to any of the following patterns: (1) Monday of Easter Week (e.g. in the Church of England's Common Worship calendar[1]), (2) Monday in Easter Week (e.g., in the Anglican Church's Book of Common Prayer calendar[2]), or (3) Easter Monday. In former years, Easter, as the most important celebration in Christianity, was observed for a week, and it still is celebrated in the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church and Anglicanism with an octave.[2] The Te Deum is sung at the conclusion of Matins/Office of Readings and the Gloria in excelsisDeo is sung at Mass each day of the Octave. The paschal sequence, VictimaePaschaliLaudes, may be sung before the Gospel reading on each of these days as well and the gospel readings for each of these days is a scriptural account of the resurrection of Christ (Monday—Matthew 28:8-15; Tuesday—John 20:11-18; Wednesday—Luke 24:13-35; Thursday—Luke 24:35-48; Friday—John 21:1-14; Saturday—Mark 16:9-15).
EASTER SONGS • Jesus Christ is Risen Today was first written in Latin as a Bohemian carol in the 14th century by an unknown author on manuscripts written in Munich and Breslau.[4] In Latin, it had eleven verses.[4] It was first translated into English in 1708 by John Baptist Walsh to be included in his LyraDavidica, or a Collection of Divine Songs and Hymns. The verses of the hymn were later revised in 1749 by John Arnold. Initially the hymn only had three verses translated with just the first verse being a direct translation;[4] however in 1740, one of the founders of Methodism, Charles Wesley added a fourth verse to the hymn as an alternative which was later adopted into the hymn as part of it.[1] The hymn is also noted for having Alleluia as a refrain after every line
EASTER BUNNY • The Easter Bunny (also called the Easter Rabbit or Easter Hare) is a fantasy character depicted as a rabbit bringing Easter eggs. Originating among German Lutherans, the Easter Hare originally played the role of a judge, evaluating whether children were good or disobedient in behaviour at the start of the season of Eastertide.[1] The Easter Bunny is sometimes depicted with clothes. In legend, the creature carries colored eggs in his basket, candy and sometimes also toys to the homes of children, and as such shows similarities to Santa Claus, as they both bring gifts to children on the night before their respective holiday. The custom was first mentioned in Georg Franck von Franckenau's De ovispaschalibus[2] (About Easter Eggs) in 1682[3] referring to a German tradition of an Easter Hare bringing Easter Eggs for the children. In many church services on Easter Sunday, a live rabbit representing the Easter Bunny, is brought into the congregation, especially for the children's message.[4]