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Every year, millions of people around the world celebrate the traditions of Easter. But do you know where those traditions came from? What do a bunny, eggs, and a basket have to do with Jesus? Why does the date vary so widely? Why is the holiday even named Easter? This article will help clear some of these questions up.
1. The Date
Did you know that prior to 325 A.D., Easter was celebrated on many different days? It might fall on Friday one year, and Saturday the next year. However, in 325 A.D., Emperor Constantine brought together the Council of Nicaea to determine a wide variety of Christian issues. One of the issues they resolved was to always place Easter celebrations on Sunday. They decreed that Easter shall fall on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox. Since the spring equinox is on March 21st, this means that Easter will always fall on a Sunday between March 22 and April 25th.
2. The Name
What does "Easter" mean? It is actually a modern spelling of the pagan holiday Eastre, celebrated by the Germans. This in turn was a day which celebrated the goddess of fertility and springtime, Oestre (or Eostre).
3. Lent
Among Catholics and many other Christian denominations, Easter is the last day of Lent. During the 46-day period of Lent, Christians are expected to fast or make other sacrifices in recognition of the "ultimate sacrifice" that Jesus made. Mardi Gras is the day before this long period of fasting and sacrifice, hence the name "Fat Tuesday".
4. Easter Bunny
The Easter Bunny also dates back to the ancient pagan religions of the Anglo-Saxons. Since Easter is a time of rebirth and fertility, they usually used this day to pay tribute to their fertility goddesses. The bunny, rabbit, or hare was generally thought of as the earthly manifestation of fertility. Rabbits are able to reproduce extremely quickly, and humans wished to be blessed with some of that fertility. Although the Germans brought the Easter Bunny to America early in its history, it wasn't until after the Civil War that it was widely incorporated into America's Easter traditions.
5. Easter Egg
The egg has been a symbol of rebirth throughout history and within many mythological traditions. People of ancient cultures used to exchange colored eggs long before the practice was incorporated into our modern celebrations of Easter.
6. Easter Basket
The earliest Easter Baskets weren't baskets, but were actually nests. Dutch children would follow the tradition of filling their caps and bonnets with grass and leaving them out overnight. If they were good, the fertility goddess would lay brightly colored eggs in the nest. This tradition has since been adapted and modified to the modern Easter basket filled with fake grass.
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