Easter History Exercises

The date of Easter was fixed by the Council of Nicaea in the year 325 AD. The Council decided that Easter would always be celebrated on the first Sunday after the European spring equinox. This date was then considered the most important in the Christian calendar, because:

a) is when the exit of the Jewish people from the Babylonian captivity is commemorated.

b) is when the miracles of Christ are celebrated.

c) is when the Birth of Christ is celebrated.

d) is when the Resurrection of Christ is celebrated.

e) is when the reconstruction of the time of Solomon is celebrated.

The culture of giving away decorated eggs during the Easter period is very old in Europe and has its roots in the pagan mythology of the north of that continent. Even before chocolate eggs began to be produced, ordinary eggs were decorated with paint and some ornaments. During the Russian Empire, with the Romanov dynasty, at Easter time, some special eggs were produced, made of precious metals and stones, to be presented to members of the royal family. The maker of these eggs was:

a) François Lous Cailler.

b) William Neilson

c) Henri Nestlé.

d) Maximo Gorky.

e) Peter Carl Fabergé.

In the contemporary world, it is very common to see two main symbols at Easter time:the rabbit and the chocolate eggs. These symbols, however, hark back to a cult-centered, pre-Christian northern European pagan tradition:

a) to the goddess Aphrodite, goddess of love.

b) to the goddess Eostre, or Ostera, goddess of fertility.

c) to the god Mithra, god of the Sun.

d) to the goddess Nana, wife of the god Balder.

e) to the god Odin, king of all gods.

(UEL-PR) Easter, in the culture of the Hebrew people, is related to:

a) the conquest of Canaan, the Promised Land, after the captivity of the Hebrews in Babylon.

b) the unification of the kingdom of Israel after the troubled period generated by the Schism of the 12 Hebrew tribes.

c) the exodus, initially led by Moses, after the Hebrews stayed in Egypt for more than 400 years.

d) the succession of David, as king of the Hebrews, after the conquest of Jerusalem by the Canaanites.

e) the resistance put up by the Jews, after the annexation of Judea by Rome.

Letter D

The date of Easter celebrates, according to Christian tradition, the Resurrection of Christ and the victory over death and sin. From this date the entire Christian calendar is defined (mainly that of the Catholic liturgy), including dates such as Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, etc.

Letter E

Peter Carl Fabergé was a famous Russian jeweler whose services were hired by Russian Tsar Alexander III in 1885 to manufacture a luxurious egg-shaped piece of jewelry to give as a gift to his wife, Marie Fedorovna, at Easter time. The success of this piece made Fabergé produce more similar eggs for the rest of the family. These eggs are now found in museums and banks that guard the Romanov family treasure.

Letter B

Both the rabbit and the Easter egg were symbols of the cult of the Norse goddess Eostre, the goddess of fertility, who was worshiped at the height of European Spring, when winter was waning, and birds and animals, such as rabbits, began their reproductive cycle. As symbols of rebirth in nature, the egg and the rabbit ended up being assimilated by Christian culture and associated with the Resurrection of Christ.

Letter C

Passover, which in Hebrew tradition is called Pesach ("crossing", "passage"), symbolizes for the Jews the liberation from the Egyptian yoke, which was led by Moses. The exodus narrative has been identified with the Resurrection of Christ, by Christian tradition, with deliverance from sin and death.