Easter Traditions Vary Wildly Around The World - Make Sure Yours Is A Reputable One!

Easter traditions are a big part of the spring time holiday. Not only are these traditions religious, but also secular and seasonal in nature.

The first of the Easter traditions to examine is the name of the holiday itself. Throughout much of the world the word for the holiday is different from the English word. The Germanic calendar and Old English give us the English word, derived from Eostre. But in most other languages the holiday name comes from the Greek Pascha, itself related to the Hebrew word for the Passover. The Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre may also have something to do with the English Easter she often carried baskets of eggs.

When it comes to Easter Traditions Passover is important in more than just name. Christians mark the Last Supper as a key event in the Easter celebration, and it took place either just prior to or during Passover. In addition much of the symbolism for Easter is similar to the symbolism for Passover because both holidays are about renewed life. Christ rose from his grave on Easter, according to the celebration. At passover Jews remember the angel of death killing all the first born sons in Egypt, but passing over those homes that were marked with blood as prescribed by God. The seasonal symbols such as young animals and eggs are all about life, as is the spring season itself, thanks to association with both of these holidays.

For a long time the date of Passover had a lot to do with Easter traditions. Instead of set on a certain date, Passover and Easter take place during a certain range of dates, depending on phases of the moon and sun. Up until the 4th century AD Christians depended on Jewish scholars to calculate the dates for Passover, and then would base the date for Easter on that either on the Jewish date of preparing for Passover or on the first Sunday following that date. The first council of Nicaea in 325 AD separated the Christian Easter from the Jewish calculation One set of disputes ended, but there are still occasional discussions about the date for Easter. In America Easter falls on any one of 35 dates between March 22 and April 25. It's a very long cycle over 5 millions years in total. Easter in 2008 was on March 23, and will again fall on that date in 2160.

There are a lot more Easter traditions than have been covered here. Google can lead to a lot more information about this fascinating holiday.