Christ is Risen! Easter, the most important celebration of Christianity. History of the holiday

Easter is the oldest and most important Christian holiday, having been celebrated since the apostolic era.

The Holy Apostle Paul was the first to report the Passover celebration, of the Jews, to Jesus Christ and urged Christians to honor the Savior: “Here is Christ, our Passover, He sacrificed Himself for us; let us celebrate, therefore, not with the old dough, nor with the dough of malice and deceit, but with the unleavened bread of purity and truth” (I Corinthians V, 7-8).

The name Easter was applied to the commemoration of the Last Supper

The name Easter was initially applied by the first Christians to the annual commemoration of the Last Supper, which took place on the evening of Nisan 13 (the 13th day of the month of Nisan in the Jewish calendar – the first month of the year, according to the Torah) and consisted of -a ritual meal. This celebration replaced the old Jewish Passover meal, which marked the feast of unleavened bread (loaves made of flour and water, which are eaten only on holidays).

In the first centuries of Christianity, the feast was called the Easter of the Cross and the Easter of the Resurrection. Over time, however, the meaning of the word Easter was restricted only to the celebration of the Resurrection.

The celebration began after the first full moon following the Spring Equinox (March 21). This system has been preserved to this day.

Regardless of when it is celebrated, Easter is a day when Christians go to church and respect tradition. In early Christianity, those who were baptized during the Easter service were dressed in white. They wore these clothes all week, as a symbol of their new life. Those who had already been baptized did not wear white clothes, but only new ones, to show that they share the new life of Christ. In this way, the habit of wearing new clothes became an Easter tradition.

During the Middle Ages, in Europe, those who participated in the Easter liturgy, then made a long procession. It was led by a priest who carried a crucifix or a candle. The tradition of Easter Parades, existing in the West, evolved from this custom.

The celebration of Easter is extended for almost a week, in the places of worship, the Holy Liturgy takes place every day. From Easter until Pentecost, rosaries in churches and fasts and eves were forbidden. Orthodoxy preserved the theological importance of the paschal mystery from the old Christian church. Easter remains the center of Orthodox worship, followed by the Nativity. The bodily birth and the Resurrection as God of Jesus Christ represent the two poles of divine love towards people.

Easter fits into the prehistoric model of symbolic rebirth of time and space through the sacrifice of the adored divinity, substituted by an effigy, a man, an animal, a bird or a bird’s egg.

The fundamental difference between Christianity and other religious dogmas consists in the fact that the sacrifice by substitution of the pre-Christian god was replaced by the sacrifice of Jesus, performed only once, on Golgotha, in the name of all people and ritually updated every year by believers.

The lamb is the symbol of Jesus throughout the Christian tradition. Prayers for the blessing of lambs date back to the 7th century, and from the 9th century, roast lamb became a main dish on the Pope’s Easter table. Lambs from butter, pasta or sugar are also very popular in Europe.

In ancient Egypt and Persia, friends exchanged colored eggs on the day of the spring equinox, the beginning of the new year. Eggs have always been a symbol of creation, fertility and new life. Christians from the Near East adopted this custom and the Easter egg became a religious symbol, representing the moment when Jesus was resurrected. The eggs are usually colored red, as a symbol of the blood of all people. In the medieval period, colored eggs were offered to all servants and children, along with other gifts. Easter eggs are a universal symbol.

Easter, the greatest Christian holiday, has always been celebrated as a day of joy, that of the Lord’s Resurrection. The night of Resurrection is spent in churches, in vigil and prayer, songs of joy and with many lights, signs of Salvation. From this night until the Ascension, Christians greet each other with “Christ is risen!” and I answer with “He is truly risen!”. In the past, to celebrate the Lord’s Salvation, the authorities pardoned the prisoners, freed the slaves, reduced the gifts, generally performed acts of magnanimity. Offerings were brought to the churches: sweet bread (Easter), cheese, meat, especially lamb (reminiscent of the Jewish Paschal lamb) and red eggs, which reminded of the blood of Jesus. All these were blessed and then distributed to the poor, a custom preserved until modern times.

Because eggs could not be eaten during Lent, they took pride of place on the table after the Resurrection. In the Christian tradition, the egg, colored and decorated, is the symbol of the Savior, who leaves the grave and returns to life, like a chicken out of the coop.