Easter is the main holiday of the Christian calendar. It is not for nothing that it is called "holidays, a holiday and a celebration of celebrations." At the same time, the origin of the word "Easter" is not completely clear. The holiday itself is not tied to a specific date and was celebrated even before the birth of Christ.
The origin of the Easter holiday
Pre-Christian Passover was considered a family Jewish holiday of nomadic pastoralists. On this day, a lamb was sacrificed to the Jewish God Yahweh, the blood of which was smeared on the doors, and the meat was baked over the fire and quickly eaten with unleavened bread. Participants in the meal were required to wear travel clothing.
Later, Easter began to be associated with the events described in the Old Testament, the exodus of the Jews from Egypt. It is believed that the name of the holiday comes from the Hebrew verb "pass", meaning "to cross." The ritual of hasty eating of meat began to symbolize the readiness to flee. During the period of the holiday, celebrated for 7 days, only desalinated bread was baked - this was due to the fact that before the exodus from Egypt, the Jews for 7 days ate bread baked without the use of Egyptian leaven.
The Last Supper took place just on the day of the Old Testament Passover, which Christ celebrated with the apostles. However, he brought new meaning to the ancient rite. Instead of a lamb, the Lord sacrificed himself, becoming a Divine Lamb. His subsequent death symbolized the atoning sacrifice for Easter. During the Eucharist rite introduced at the Last Supper, Christ invited the believers to eat their body (bread) and drink their blood (wine).
In the first centuries of Christianity, a tradition arose to celebrate 2 Easter, symbolizing the death and resurrection of Christ. The first was carried out in deep sorrow and strict fasting, and the second - in jubilation and with a plentiful meal. Only later was it decided to celebrate one Passover, separating it from the Jewish one.
Celebrating Easter today
The modern Christian holiday of Easter is based on the story of the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after the crucifixion. Now Easter has become the day that Christians devote to the memories of the life, death and resurrection of the Savior. It was originally celebrated in different places at different times. In 325, the decision of the First Ecumenical Council of the Christian Church was made to celebrate Easter on Sunday, which comes after the first spring full moon. This day falls on the period from April 4 to May 8. However, the calculation of Easter dates in the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church is different. Therefore, according to the Orthodox and Catholic calendar, Easter is often celebrated on different days.
Most of the Easter rituals have survived to this day, including an all-night vigil, a procession of the cross, christianity, dyeing eggs, making Easter cakes and pasokh. Christianity is an exchange of kisses, which is accompanied by the uttering of the traditional Easter greeting: "Christ is risen!" - "Truly resurrected!" At the same time, an exchange of colored eggs took place.
There are different versions of the origin of the tradition of dyeing eggs. According to one of them, chicken eggs, falling to the ground, turned into drops of blood of the crucified Christ. The tears of the Mother of God, sobbing at the foot of the cross, fell on these blood-red eggs, leaving beautiful patterns on them. When Christ was taken down from the cross, the believers collected and divided these eggs among themselves, and when they heard the good news of the Resurrection, they began to pass them on to each other.
Easter cake and cottage cheese Easter are traditional dishes of the Easter table. It is believed that before the crucifixion, Christ and his disciples ate unleavened bread, and after the Resurrection - leavened bread, i.e. yeast. It is symbolized by the Easter cake. Easter is made of pureed cottage cheese in the form of a four-sided pyramid, which personified Golgotha - the mountain on which Jesus Christ was crucified.
