Written by Caitlynn Woods (Features Writer)
Easter, one of the most popular holidays amongst Christians all around the world, has been dated all the way back to the second century. Easter is the holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Right before Easter Sunday occurs is Good Friday, the day when Jesus was crucified. Each year, Good Friday takes place on the first Friday after the March equinox. In correlation to that, Easter Sunday happens on the first Sunday after the March equinox.
Easter is most commonly celebrated in countries that are heavily populated with Christians. Spain, France, Germany, and Italy have the biggest Easter celebrations known around the world. In Spain, Easter is celebrated throughout a whole week. This huge celebration includes parades, music, and lots of dancing. While places like Spain include more explosive traditions for Easter, here in America there are many fun traditions as well.
On the separate day mentioned earlier, Good Friday is commonly observed by Christians. While there may not be much celebration, plenty of services to recount Jesus’s painful crucifixion occur. As well as that, many Christians refrain from eating on Good Friday to represent their sorrows for Jesus. Although Good Friday is about a horrible event, it is called Good Friday because it led to the resurrection of Jesus and the birth of one of the most popular religions in the world.
Regardless of religion, Easter is still a great day to uphold fun traditions. Dying Easter eggs, dating all the way back to the ancient pagans, is a fun way to celebrate Easter and represent rebirth and life. Another interesting tradition held on Easter would be that of the famous Easter Bunny. Even though rabbits don’t have much correlation with Christianity, they are well known for populating fast, so in turn, they represent fertility. This makes for stories such as the Easter bunny, alongside Easter baskets which are just representations of rabbit/chick nests.
Inside the easter baskets would normally be some form of chocolate, be it a chocolate bunny or a chocolate egg. There is not much of a significance in specifically the treat, chocolate but it just adds a more kid-catering catch to the holiday itself. For older individuals, instead of chocolate, the more enjoyable tradition on Easter Sunday would be Sunday service. It is a church service that is focused on the resurrection of Jesus Christ and includes candle lighting, flowers, and the ringing of church bells.
Later in the night on Easter Sunday, there would usually be many family feasts happening all around the world. What is typically on the menu for the Easter holiday is things like ham, stuffed lamb, smoked pork, potatoes, cabbage, and more. Not just dinner, but dessert items could include hot cross buns, carrot cake, cream pie, cheesecake, angel food cake, and plenty of different kinds of cookies.
On a separate note, in places like Norway, many unconventional Easter traditions take place. Starting off with the most normal tradition of theirs, citizens of Norway will paint Easter eggs, rather than dying them. Another out-of-the-ordinary Easter tradition is skiing. It may have nothing to do with the story behind the holiday but it occurs all around Norway. The oddest tradition for Easter, however, would have to circle around murder mysteries. In Norway, on Easter, there will be plenty of crime case specials and detective stories playing on tv. As well as that, the popular board game, Clue, is very common to play in Norway on Easter.
To briefly conclude, Easter is a holiday celebrated all around the world. It includes many fun traditions like egg dying, Easter baskets, good food, and amazing religious gatherings. In some places, the entire week surrounding Easter is full of parades, flying colors, and dancing; however, it is important not to ignore the deep meanings behind the exciting Easter day that we all know and love.
The Claw 