When is the date of Easter, many symbols that foreshadow it can be observed in the most diverse places. A common example can be seen in any supermarkets of medium or large size: rows and rows of chocolate eggs, often accompanied by posters with images of the famous easter bunny.
However, despite the popularity of these symbols, we usually don't care to know their meanings in depth.. To learn more about the symbolsof Easter, it is necessary to know a little about the history of this celebration.
Read too: Carnival - celebratedog that precedes Ash Wednesday
History and meanings of Easter symbols
We know that the Easter yeah, in the western world, since the beginning of Middle Ages, celebrated by christians and, like many of the Christian celebrations, it has a link with the jewish tradition. Over the centuries that the Europe was Christianized, many elements of pagan cultures were also assimilated by the Church and connected with its rituals. The banal symbols mentioned in the previous paragraph, the rabbit and eggs, for example, were already symbols present in northern European cultures.
Symbols of Pagan Origin
Easter, for the Christian world, marks the celebration of ResurrectioninChrist and, generally, the symbols that are associated with it refer to this idea. You eggs it's the Bunnywere part of ancient Germanic rituals and represented deities linked to the idea of fertility, such as ostara, goddess of spring. how spring is the seasons where there is a kind of “rebirth” of vegetation, after the harsh winters of Europe, these symbols also came to represent the Resurrection of Christ.
Bunny: among the Germans, he was the first animal to come out of the den, after the Winter, and start to reproduce.
Eggs: these, in turn, to the same peoples, were painted and ornamented to be delivered as gifts during the spring.
See too: History of Santa Claus – origin of one of the figures that symbolize Christmas
Symbols of Christian Origin
In addition to these two symbols, we also have the symbols that are directly associated with the Catholic liturgy. It is the case of the following:
- Lamb: represents the sacrifice of Christ, immolated to redeem the sins of men. This image appears on several occasions in the Bible, both in the Old and New Testaments. It also represents the innocent victim, the “son of God” who brought “light” but was killed by those whom he came to save.
- White robes: they are worn on the night of the Easter vigil and refer to the idea of victory over death and Calvary.
- Empty tomb: also brings this message of victory over death and the Resurrection.
- Easter candle: it is the candle that burns on the altar and represents the light of Christ, who, as the prayer of the Creed, "went down to the mansion of the dead", but "was raised on the third day and ascended into Heaven". This “light” brings, again, the idea of victory over death.
- Fish: it is one of the oldest symbols of Christianity, but even today it is considered a symbol of the risen Christ, because, in addition to being one of the instruments of miraculous action (multiplication of the loaves and fishes), it is also considered a symbol of renewal and baptism, as it is an animal that always lives in water.
- Paschal colomba: the so-called paschal colomba (or dove), as well as the Panettone at the time of the Christmas, is a type of bread made with dehydrated fruits, very present on Easter day in some countries. Its story goes back to Easter in the region of Pavia, Italy, a village in northern Italy.
- Bread and wine: like fish, they are ancient symbols of Christianity. They represent the body and blood of Christ, shed for the remission of sins. Once again it refers to sacrifice.
- Bell: Christian temple bells ring on Easter day to announce the advent of the Resurrection. They represent the harbinger of victory over death.
- Sunflower: for having the natural characteristic of turning to the shello as it travels through heaven, it has also become a symbol of Christians, who need to be turned to "the Sun of Christ", on whom they feed through the grace consented to death and Resurrection.
By Me. Cláudio Fernandes
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/pascoa/simbolos-pascoa.htm
