The Easter It is one of the most traditional festivals of the Christian calendar and has its origins based both on Jewish tradition and on pagan elements that were appropriated from Christianized peoples, such as the Germans. This celebration has a movable date and its Christian meaning recalls the crucifixion and resurrection from Christ . The word Passover in Portuguese derives from the Hebrew term “Pesach ”.
Jewish Easter
Christian Easter is based on Pesach ("passage", in Hebrew), celebration of Jewish tradition that remembers the liberation of the Hebrew people from slavery in Egypt. The Passover celebrated by the Hebrews was held close to the time that marked the beginning of spring.
In Jewish tradition, this feast in reference to the liberation from slavery in Egypt it was a direct command from Yahweh to Moses, who transmitted it to the Hebrew people according to the biblical account:
Then Moses called all the elders of Israel, and said to them, Choose and take ye lambs for your families, and sacrifice the Passover.
P>Then take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and put it on the lintel of the door, and on both sides shoulder pads, from the blood that is in the basin; but none of you leaves the door of his house until the morning.
For the Lord will pass to strike the Egyptians, but when he sees the blood on the lintel of the door, and on both jambs, the Lord will pass that door, and will not let the destroyer enter your houses to strike you down.
Therefore keep this by statute for yourselves, and for your children forever.
And it shall come to pass, when ye shall enter into the land which the Lord will give you, as he has said, that ye shall keep this worship.
And it will come to pass, when your children say to you:What cult is this?
Then ye shall say:This is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered the our houses. Then the people bowed down and worshiped.
Exodus 12:21-27 |1|
Christian Easter
Although Christianity emerged from a sect derived from Judaism, the meaning of Christian Easter is different, as it recalls the three days from death to the resurrection of Christ . The resurrection of Christ is one of the main pillars of the Christian faith, which highlights the importance of this feast in the calendar of religion.
Christ, seen as the Lamb of God, offered himself in sacrifice to save humanity from sin. After being crucified and killed, he was resurrected after three days. The crucifixion and resurrection of Christ would have happened exactly at the time of the Jewish festival, which created a parallel between the two commemorations.
In the Catholic Christian tradition, Easter ends Lent, which is basically a period of forty days marked by fasts. The last week of Lent, called Holy Week, is initiated by Palm Sunday, which marks the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem; passes by Passion Friday, which makes reference to the death of Christ; and is finalized on Easter Sunday, that celebrates the resurrection of Christ.
The date of Easter was established by the Church during the Council of Nicaea, in A.D. 325. The Church determined that the first full moon after the equinox spring would be the date to start the celebration of Easter. The equinox marks the beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere.
Pagan Elements at Easter
Christianity, in general, during the process of converting pagan Germanic peoples, appropriated numerous traditions of these peoples. Easter, especially in the northern hemisphere, has some associations with pagan traditions. Some historians link Easter with the worship of the Germanic goddess Eostern, also called Ostara . The term Easter in English and German, even, most likely has its origin based on this goddess. See:
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Easter , the English term for Easter (notice the similarity to the name “Eostern”);
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Ostern , the German term for Easter (notice the similarity to the name “Ostara”).
The festivals that took place between Germanic and Celtic peoples for this goddess were held at the same time as the Christian festival. With the Christianization of these peoples, the traditional pagan festival was mixed with the Christian celebration.
Easter symbols are also attributed – the rabbit and the eggs — to pagan elements. It is believed that eggs and rabbits were seen by people in antiquity as symbols of fertility. Thus, as these peoples were Christianized, these elements were being absorbed by the Christian festival. The tradition of decorating eggs and hiding them would have reached the American continent through German immigrants in the 18th century.
|1| Excerpt taken from the Online Bible.
by Daniel Neves
Graduate in History