Easter celebrations are an important part of various religious rituals for Christians to this day. Every year, this Easter celebration is held between the end of March and the end of April.
Why does it have to be between March and April, the reason is because this month is the beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere.
This was later appointed as one of the important decisions at the Council of Nicea in 325 AD that Easter celebrations were always held in the first week after the first full moon occurred on or after the vernal equinox.
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The church estimates that the turning point will be after March 21.
However, the date of the Easter celebration always changes, in the eastern and western parts of the world because it follows the spring forecast.
For example, when this post was written in 2023, the date of Easter in the eastern world falls on April 16 and in the west April 9. But next year in 2024 the Easter celebration in the east will fall on May 5, while in the west it will be March 31.
Why does this Easter celebration always change and differ?
The reason is that the calculation results use the combinatorial method on the church calendar.
Easter Sunday is determined after the full moon date of Easter.
Oh yes, this Easter full moon is not a full moon in the astronomical sense, like seeing an egg-shaped moon in the sky, but an ecclesiastical full moon which is calculated using a calculation table.
The formula for calculating it is a bit complicated, but I won't review it in detail because it uses a formula that is not easy to learn.
Apart from discussing the details of determining the Easter full moon, this Easter celebration is held to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Christians believe that Jesus rose after his crucifixion in April 30 AD.
It is usually spring between March and April, so this is also associated with the resurrection of Jesus as an enlightenment for humans.
Jewish and Christian Easter celebrations are different
Not only Christians celebrate Easter, but Jews also celebrate Easter. However, these two people have completely different meanings.
For the Jews, the Easter celebration is interpreted as a day of freedom for the Israelites from the period of slavery to the king of Pharaoh, where it is said that the prophet Moses took his followers across the Red Sea because they were being chased by the king of Pharaoh's troops.
Long story short, the king of Pharaoh and his troops drowned in the Red Sea.
Meanwhile, for Christians, the Easter celebration is interpreted as the resurrection of Jesus from his death to atone for human sins.
Baubles of Easter celebrations
It has become a habit that various kinds of attributes are always present at Easter celebrations. Summarized from various sources, these attributes are:
1. Easter eggs
In the early centuries, gifting someone with eggs became a tradition for people in northern Europe and the Asian continent as spring entered. This is a common thing to do and is interpreted as a symbol of fertility because spring has arrived.
Quoted from the Wikipedia page, King Edward 1 of England in the Middle Ages first ordered the distribution of 450 boiled eggs to all members of the kingdom during the Easter celebration.
2. Easter bunny
The Easter bunny tradition first appeared in the Alsace region of France and southwest Germany in 1600. From these two places, German immigrants brought this tradition to the American continent.
The rabbit symbol is included as one of the symbols in Easter celebrations, because this animal is considered very fertile because it is able to give birth several times a year.
So the rabbit is interpreted as a symbol of fertility when Easter celebrations are in line with the situation when spring has arrived.
3. Bread
It feels incomplete if when Easter arrives there is no way to share bread with a cross on it. The bread is interpreted as a symbol of the body of Jesus who died on the cross.
The tradition of sharing bread during Easter celebrations first appeared in the English city of Albans in 1361. At that time, at the St Albans monastery, hot bread with a cross was distributed during the Good Friday celebration. From here, bread became one of the ornaments in Easter celebrations.
That's a review about Easter, why until now it has always been celebrated by Christians all over the world.
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