CHRISTIAN EASTER (JEWISH PASSOVER) – ACCORDING TO CATHOLIC LITURGY
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Easter was initially celebrated by Israelites as Passover festival. According to the bible, it was on the first day f the fourth month; logically 1st April. It was commemorated as a remembrance of liberation of Israelites from slavery in Egypt. It was the night in which the Israelites left Egypt where they had been kept slaves for a long time and Moses led them out of the country.
It is actually a day that signified the start of a long journey to freedom and salvation. The reason the Israelites were under oppression was basically the erroneous sending of Joseph to Egypt due to hatred for him. The offspring were suffering as a result of this mistake because, had it not been for Joseph being governor in Egypt, his father and brothers could had not lived there as they fled starvation.
The redeemer was Moses, a servant of God who was elected from amongst the Jews.
Easter, annual festival commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the most important feast of the Christian year. Easter is a joyous occasion because on this day Christians celebrate Christ’s victory over death. To those who believe in Christ, Easter also symbolizes their own participation in his death and rebirth to a new life.
EASTER CELEBRATION
In Western Christianity, Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox. Thus, for Western churches the earliest possible date of Easter is March 22 and the latest possible date is April 25. In Eastern (Orthodox) Christianity, Easter is celebrated on a Sunday between April 4 and May 8, usually following the date of Western Easter by a week or more. In some years the dates of Western Easter and Orthodox Easter coincide.
THE LENT
Easter is the central point in a long season of religious observances. It is preceded by Lent, a 40-day period of penitence and prayer observed by many Christians. Among Western churches, Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday, the last day of Holy Week, which immediately precedes Easter Sunday. The Easter Season lasts until Trinity Sunday, the eighth Sunday after Easter.
The story of Christ’s death and resurrection is told, with minor variations, in each of the four Gospels. The events are said to have occurred nearly 2,000 years ago during the eight-day period now commemorated by Holy Week and Easter Sunday. According to the Gospels, Christ was crucified on the evening of Passover and shortly afterward rose from the dead.
THE PALM SUNDAY
On Palm Sunday, Jesus and his disciples entered the city of Jerusalem, where people were gathering for the Jewish festival of Passover. As word of Jesus’ arrival spread through the city, it aroused great excitement because many believed he might be the long-awaited messiah. People welcomed him by spreading palm branches as a carpet before him. Palm Sunday commemorates the event.
During the following three days, the priests of the Temple and the Roman rulers of Jerusalem became increasingly alarmed at Jesus’ teachings and at his great influence, which threatened their authority. Seeking a way to dispose of the threat, the priests agreed to pay Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus’ disciples who had approached them, 30 pieces of silver to betray Jesus.
The next day, known as Maundy Thursday (or Holy Thursday), Jesus and his disciples probably celebrated Passover at the Last Supper. After the meal, while Jesus was praying alone in the garden of Gethsemane, Judas led the arresting officers to him. Jesus was tried, convicted, crucified, and buried on Good Friday, which became the chief fast day of the Christian calendar.
THE BURIAL OF CHRIST
On Holy Saturday, the body of Jesus rested in the tomb in which it had been sealed. Jesus had said that after three days he would be resurrected. Consequently, according to Saint Matthew, the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, ordered the posting of guards at the tomb to prevent Jesus’ followers from removing the body and claiming that he had arisen from the dead.
RESSURECTION OF CHRIST
Early on Easter morning, several women who were among Jesus’ followers came to his tomb to anoint his body. They found that the great stone that sealed the entrance had been rolled away and that the tomb was empty. At that moment, according to Saint Luke, two angels appeared, saying “Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen!” This momentous event, which was taken as proof of Christ’s divinity and signaled his triumph over death, sin, and evil, is celebrated on Easter Sunday.
EASTER CUSTOMS
In some parts of Europe huge bonfires are lighted on hilltops and in churchyards on the eve of Easter. They are sometimes called Judas fires, because effigies of Judas Iscariot are frequently burned in them. The Easter eve bonfires predate Christianity and were originally intended to celebrate the arrival of spring. The burning effigy once symbolized winter.
A popular Easter custom in the United States has been to wear new clothes on Easter Sunday. In New York City many people display their new outfits as they stroll along Fifth Avenue in an Easter parade. Parades take place on a smaller scale in many other communities. Few Easter paraders realize that the custom originated within the church hundreds of years ago, when those who were baptized on Holy Saturday were given new white robes to wear. Other members of the congregation, recalling their earlier participation in the ceremony of baptism, also put on new garments in memory of the occasion.
The many religious rituals of Lent and Holy Week culminate in the observance of Easter Sunday. Since this is the most important and joyous feast day of the year, the services are appropriately elaborate. They are accompanied by the richest possible displays of vestments, ritual accessories, and flowers, including the traditional Easter lilies. In many places, sunrise services are held outdoors.
In the Roman Catholic Church the most solemn Easter service is the vigil observed on the night of Holy Saturday. The vigil includes the blessing of the new fire, the procession of the paschal candle, scripture reading, and often baptisms. It is ended by a mass, in which the sacrifice of Christ is reenacted.
