THE Easter it is a celebration of the Christian religious calendar in memory of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Christian celebration was inspired by a jewish celebration call peach, that took place at the same time that Jesus was supposedly crucified and resurrected.
A well-known feature of Easter is the fact that your celebration ismobile, therefore, every year it is held on a different date. The criteria used to define this date were established by the authorities of the Catholic Church during the Council of Nicaea, held in the 4th century AD. Ç.
Accessalso: Why can't you eat meat on Good Friday?
Origin of Easter
The Easter celebrated by Christians is a resignification of a Jewish festival. However, Christian and Jewish commemoration have completely different meanings. this one, called peach, was carried out by the memory of the deliverance from the Hebrews of slavery in Egypt.
This story is narrated in the “Pentateuchs” — the first five books of the Bible. The word
peach, from the Hebrew language, means “passage” and mentions the passage of the angel of death in Egypt — the tenth plague, according to the biblical narrative. The feast was revised by Christians, starting to relate to the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.Importance of Easter
Easter is, for many Christians, the most important feast on the religious calendar, as it highlights an event of great importance within the Christian faith: the resurrection — understood in Christianity as a demonstration of the divinity of Jesus.
This idea can be seen in the Bible, since it records a speech by Paul, who states (in I Corinthians 15:14): “And if Christ is not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith also is vain”|1|. Thus, we can identify the importance of Jesus' resurrection within the religious vision of Christianity.
From this point of view, it was through the resurrection that the mankind had redemption from their sins. Jesus Christ, therefore, willingly sacrificed himself to redeem mankind and give them another chance of salvation. Once the sacrifice was performed, the power of God would have been manifested.
Holy Week
The liturgical calendar practiced by Catholics follows the approach of Easter with great devotion. Her preparation is carried out during the Lent — period of 40 days before this celebration and when the faithful perform some penance (the type of penance is chosen by each person).
Another important mark of this preparation is the WeekSanta, a tradition that seeks to remember the steps of Jesus during his last week, going through his crucifixion and resurrection. In Catholic tradition, Holy Week begins in the Palm Sunday and recalls Jesus' triumphant arrival in Jerusalem.
Holy Week also remembers the lastSupper, at Holy Thursday. This was Jesus' last supper with his disciples. It was held during the aforementioned Jewish celebration (peach), and in it Jesus announced that one of the disciples would betray him and that the others would flee in the face of his persecution.
On Maundy Thursday, the Rite of the Foot Wash as a way of remembering Jesus' act of bending down to wash the feet of his disciples at the place where they took supper. The act is understood within Christian belief as a demonstration of an important commandment of Christ: to love one another.
Also on Maundy Thursday, Jesus was arrested as a result of betrayal of Judas Iscariot. The next day, the Good friday, he was tortured and Sentenced to death. The Christian tradition often reenacts these events in plays known as Passion of christ. After being condemned, Christ was crucified on a hill known as Golgotha.
Also in Holy Week, the day following the crucifixion of Christ is known as Saturday of Hallelujah, and the Sunday he rose is the Easter Sunday.
Know more:Why Ash Wednesday?
Easter Traditions
![The enactments of Christ's arrest, crucifixion, death, and resurrection are known as the Passion of Christ. [1]](/f/145f600369991a763e97a825fa676967.jpg)
As mentioned, Easter is one of the most important celebrations in the Christian religious calendar, and therefore traditions are held in this period. In this text we have already mentioned the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, known as the Passion of Christ.
On Hallelujah Saturday, in certain places, a ritual known as WorkoutinJudas, in which a puppet with human proportions is beaten and burned as a kind of punishment to Judas for having betrayed Jesus. During Easter, it is tradition that masses or services are aimed at the celebration of these events and large suppers (Eucharist, for Catholics) are held.
In the interior of the state of Goiás, an Easter ritual has been held for nearly three centuries: the Procession of the Stove. This procession was introduced to the city in the mid-18th century by a Spanish priest and stages the persecution and imprisonment of Jesus Christ. The party is one of the great cultural heritages of that state and brings together thousands of people every year.
From a secular point of view, Easter also has well-established traditions. These practices are related to the Easter eggs and they can manifest themselves by exchanging them as gifts, or, in the case of children, by making them look for them within a certain space.
The date of Easter, as mentioned, is mobile, and its institution was made, in the fourth century, by the Catholic Church. During the Council of Nicaea, Church authorities have set their celebration for the first Sunday after the full moon following the equinox spring (to the Northern Hemisphere).
Grades
|1| I Corinthians 15:14. To access, click on here.
Image credits
[1] networks and Shutterstock
By Daniel Neves
History teacher
