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The origins of Easter What's behind the eggs-travaganza of today's holiday? Sunday, April 16, 2006 Easter marks the day Jesus Christ rose from the grave after his crucifixion.The word Easter comes from two old pagan spring festivals: the European pagan festival of Ostara, which celebrated new life, and the Arabian Sun festival of Ishtar. Early Christians took over the festivals and turned the pagan festivals of new life to mean the new life that Jesus gave the world when he rose from the dead. Easter is celebrated around the same time of year that he was killed. This is because Jesus died at the time of the Jewish Passover festival. Passover dates from about 4,000 years ago when Jewish people remember that God saved them from slavery in Egypt. Jesus was a Jew and so celebrated the Passover. Passover takes place in the first month of the Jewish New Year. The Jewish calendar follows the cycle of the moon, so the date changes a bit every year. The bunny According to tradition the Easter Bunny makes his visit every year, scattering brightly-colored eggs as he goes. The origins of the Easter Bunny aren't clear; the first recorded references to him are generally agreed to have come from Germany in the 1500s. That makes the bunny old - older than England's Father Christmas. In ancient times the rabbit was a symbol of fertility, equated with springtime and renewal of life, and the hare also is associated with the moon, whose cycles determine the precise date of Easter each year. Easter bonnet You can bet your bonnet on it. Easter bonnets come from the European tradition of wearing flowers on a hat to celebrate spring. The tradition was developed over the years into a way of ladies celebrating Easter and of showing off their bonnets. Not that kind of egg roll President Rutherford B. Hayes, the 19th president, was the first to host the Easter Egg Roll for children at the White House. The original site was on the grounds of the United States Capitol. Congress ended the tradition after a particularly active Easter Egg Roll in 1876. At the request of several children, President Hayes brought the event to the White House in 1878. The practice was abandoned during Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency, and revived by Mamie Eisenhower during her husband's term in office. Mrs. Eisenhower opened the event to African American children for the first time. Rabbit food? There are some special foods eaten at Easter time, one of the most famous being hot cross buns, often eaten in the United Kingdom on Good Friday. These are yeast dough buns with currants and raisins in them. Eaten year-round in pagan, pre-Christian times, the treat represented the moon and the four quarters, the four seasons. Christians took over this tradition and changed the meaning so the cross represented the cross that Jesus died on. Another food eaten in the U.K. at Easter time is simnel cake, a rich fruit cake covered with a layer of marzipan. Pancakes are eaten on Shrove Tuesday, traditionally to use up all the fatty foods before Lent. In Denmark people eat Shrovetide buns. In Italy, salty pretzels are traditionally eaten at Easter time. In Russia, little pancakes called blinis are topped with anchovies and a mixture of cream, soft cream, dried fruit and orange peel called paska is eaten. A traditional Greek Easter cake is made with oranges and almonds. And, of course, there are Easter eggs. - - - On the Web: www.whyeaster.com
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