Easter

Easter

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is celebrated by the Christian holiday Easter, just three days after his crucifixion at the Calvary.  The New Testament explains the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his crucifixion, and also provides hope of new life for Christian believers. As written in the holy bible: New International Version, 1 Corinthians 15:14 makes emphasis on the significances of Easter when the bible reads, “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain”; which is why Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches hold Easter to be the most significant holiday in Christianity even more so than Christmas.

The preparation for Easter traditionally begins on Shrove Tuesday which is the day before Ash Friday and the start of Lent. Lent lasts for duration of 40 days and finishes on Easter Sunday. In Christianity, Christians are taught that Jesus spent 40 days and nights tempted by the devil in the desert before starting his ministry.  Hence, the importance and meaning behind Lent is a very important time for Christians, where some religious institutions symbolise Lent by adorning religious objects with flowers. The holy week occurs at the last week of Lent and these seven days are used to remember the last 7 days of the life of Jesus. Christians on Good Friday mourn over the death of Jesus. It is believed by Christians that Jesus was on the cross between the periods of 12pm-3pm, hence during this period many pray and some churches carry out funeral rights for Jesus. The last day of Lent is known as Holy Saturday during which time churches prepare for Easter Day by decorating and cleaning, and evening Vigil is carried out where believers keep a lookout and anticipate the arrival of Easter Day.  Furthermore, Christians light candles from the paschal candle, which represents the light of Jesus. By lighting this candle Christians believe it represents the transitions from darkness to light, in that Jesus was able to conquer over death and over evil.

A popular symbol of Easter is the egg, and on this holiday can be found in the form of candy and hard boiled eggs.  Interestingly eggs are meant to be symbolic of the resurrection of Jesus. That is, Christians believe like the cave that Jesus was buried in looked lifeless with stones placed across it; an egg also reflects the same. However, once the egg hatches, life springs from what seemed lifeless, similarly in what happened with the resurrection of Jesus. Furthermore, in Orthodox Christianity red eggs are given after Eater Liturgy. The Orthodox Christians crack the eggs against each other’s, symbolizing a hope to get away from the grasp of sins and misery and enter a new life deriving from Christ’s resurrection.