Date of Celebration : Western - March 23, 2008 // Eastern - April 27, 2008
In medieval times
a festival of egg throwing was held in church, during which the
priest would throw a hard-boiled egg to one of the choirboys. It
was then tossed from one choirboy to the next and whoever held
the egg when the clock struck 12 was the winner and retained the
egg.
The first Easter baskets were made to look like birds' nests.
Easter Bonnets are a throw back to the days when the people
denied themselves the pleasure of wearing finery for the
duration of Lent.
The traditional act of painting eggs is called Pysanka.
To Egyptians, the egg was a sacred token of the renovation of
mankind after the Flood.
The egg has always been a symbol of the Resurrection to
Christians.
The date of Passover is variable as it is dependent on the
phases of the moon, and thus Easter is also a movable feast.
The
custom of giving eggs at Easter time has been traced back to Egyptians,
Persians, Gauls, Greeks and Romans, to whom the egg was a symbol of
life.
Every year at Easter Pope John Paul sends his " Urbi et Orbi " to the
world.
Easter is now celebrated (in the words of the Book of Common Prayer) on
the first Sunday after the full moon which happens on or after March 21,
the Spring Equinox.
Some Churches still keep up the old tradition of using evergreens -
symbolic of eternal life - embroidered in red on white, or woven in
straw, but most now prefer displays of flowers in the spring colours of
green, yellow and white.
In the United States Easter is celebrated with a large Easter Egg Hunt
by children on the White House Lawn.
To the Jews, the egg marked the time of their departure from the land of
Egypt.
By tradition, it was obligatory (or at least lucky) for churchgoers to
wear some bright new piece of clothing - at least an Easter bonnet, if
not a complete new outfit.
