| Most people know Easter as a traditionally Christian holiday. It celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. However, most historians agree that the origins of the Easter celebrations are pagan and have no connection to Christianity. The scholars show evidence that the celebrations of Easter comes from pagan spring celebrations and worshipping of "Eastre", the goddess of fertility. It's not a coincidence that the Easter bunny and eggs are the symbols of this holiday, as they are traditional symbols of fertility. The festival took place on the day of the vernal equinox.
Easter eggs are painted with bright colors symbolizing the sunshine and luck of the spring, which is the time when plants and animals reproduce.
Christians have added their touch to this traditional pagan holiday.
They started to associate this holiday with the Jewish celebrations of Passover, which has to do with the fight for freedom from Egyptian slavery. The first Christians were Jewish and it was natural for them to combine this old holiday with their festival. Through the centuries, less and less people were practicing the old pagan religion, and Easter became truly a Christian holiday, where more and more people forgetting of its true origins.
The calendar date for this holiday has no fixed date, but according to Western churches, has to be observed on the first Sunday following the fool moon, so it may happen anywhere between March 22 and April 25. The Christian celebrations of Easter are preceded by the forty days of lent, the last week of those being the Holy Week. The last week of lent and the Holy Week end with Easter Sunday - the day of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
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Easter is this Sunday. President Bush is hiding the Easter eggs in the White House. Dick Cheney is hiding the Easter bunnies he shot in the face.
