Special days to enjoy together

HE SUFFERED, HE DIED, HE IS RISEN

Three verbs representing the events of the end of Jesus’ life on earth: his suffering, his death by crucifixion, his rise to life again. These events are celebrated in a series of festivals leading up to Easter. We have taken a look at this festive period and this is what we have found out.

EASTER KEY FACTS

Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is now a Christian festival but it is believed that the holiday originated with the pagan rituals of spring.

There are different names for Easter : the English speaking countries use the word Easter based on the goddess Eostre, the Lithuanian word Velykos and the Latvian word Lieldienas are based on Great Day or Great Night, whereas the Italian one Pasqua and the Russian Pascha are based on Pesach the name for Passover.

Have you ever wondered why Easter is on different dates every year? Easy: Easter is a movable feast because it is celebrated on the first Sunday following the full moon of the spring equinox and in western churches this is always between 22^nd March and 25^th April.

The 40 days before Easter are called Lent. But the days before Easter are 46. How come? Easy: the Lent is made up of 40 days since the 6 Sundays are considered a commemoration of Easter Sunday and they have always been excluded.

The Holy Week is the week before Easter Sunday and the start is Palm Sunday that celebrates the entry of Jesus in Jerusalem. Jesus entered Jerusalem on the back of a donkey and he was greeted by people who laid palms on his feet and this day is commemorated with the blessing of palm or olive leaves. According to a German scholar Anton Baumstark (1872-1848) the custom of blessing the palms goes back to the 8^th century and in cold countries flowers or different trees were used such as willow, box or yew. Later on this ritual was followed by a procession. The blessed branches were then put over the bed or decorate the frame of some holy picture, a custom which still exists today in Italy since it is believed that they can protect people. You won’t believe it but in Lithuania the elders whip the children with palm branches or branches of juniper to clean them of their sins and it is believed that if a child is whipped hard enough he or she will have a good year .In Vilnius region people also make lovely compositions of dried flowers , they are called Verbos which is the word for palm.

The Holy Thursday or Maundy Thursday is the night on which Jesus was betrayed by Judas in the Garden of Gethsemane.

The word “maundy “comes from the command (mandate) given by Christ at the Last Supper, that we should love one another.

In Roman Catholic churches the anthem “Mandatum novum do vobis” (a new commandment I give to you) is sung on Maundy Thursday.

Holy Friday commemorates Jesus' s death and it is a day of prayer, repentance and fasting . In many churches services begin at 3 o'clock, the time Christ is believed to have died.

EASTER SYMBOLS AND EGG DECORATION

Easter has a lot of symbols, most of them common in the world and representing spring, fertility, renewal, abundant new life. Everybody knows what these symbols are: the rabbit, or hare, which is a symbol of abundant new life, the spring flowers like daffodils and tulips that bloom in the spring or the lily that represents also the purity of Jesus.

What is symbol number one? The egg: in every tradition it represents birth. We have found out that according to an Indian myth the universe originated from a cosmic egg that was then divided into two giving origin to the sky and the earth, whereas according to a Greek myth a bird symbolizing the night was fertilized by the wind, it laid a silver egg and from this egg the universe was born. The egg is also a symbol of the rock tomb out of which Christ emerged when he rose again.

The tradition of donating Easter eggs comes from this symbolism and it goes back as far as the 12th century and in the time of the Sun King it became a custom to give eggs made of precious materials and to hide a surprise inside the egg. Any comment on what you found inside your delicious chocolate egg ?

Eggs are also painted and different cultures have developed their own way to paint Easter eggs.

In Greece they are painted dark red to symbolize the blood of Christ;

in Germany and Austria the eggs are green and the Austrian artists design patterns by tying tiny plants around the egg and after boiling it , the plants are removed and a nice pattern appears.

In Poland and Russia eggs are decorated in a manner called Pysanki. Melted beeswax is put on the egg and then the egg is dipped into successive baths of dye and after every dip the egg is painted so that at the end a pattern of lines and colours emerges.

In Lithuania two methods are used, one based on producing designs on dyed eggs by scratching them or using wax to create patterns. Why the decoration? Well, people believed that patterns and especially colours had special meanings: black symbolized earth, fertility abundance; red meant life, energy, birth; green had to insure growth health and peace; yellow and brown harvest and light and blue meant blessing and heaven. So a decorated egg was supposed to bring health, prosperity and happiness.

Eggs are good also to play games like egg hunt, egg roll and egg tapping. In some countries like UK and Latvia egg knocking competitions are held: competitors line up and knock eggs together, if an egg is cracked, the competitor is out. Lithuanians also compete in egg rolling. The eggs are rolled from a ramp made from a piece of wood, bark or carton with a downward incline. They aim at the eggs of another player located in the circle on the ground. When the rolled egg hits another egg then the lucky player takes both eggs. The winner is the person who has the most eggs left. In the USA an Easter party is hosted by the President and the highlight of the event is the egg rolling race.