EASTER O PASCUA
Easter, also called Ostermontag in German or Pascua in Spanish, is a tradition that comes from thousands of years ago, the question is: has it always had the same meaning?
Well, in this post I am going to reveal the why of this name, where does it come from and what is its reason for being . In addition to the reason for the tradition of the rabbit and the chocolate eggs.
Like many of the festivities that we have today, Easter did not begin by being celebrated for reasons of the Christian religion, it was Christianized to adapt it to the pagan festival that was carried out at that time. And, what was being celebrated was the arrival of spring. That's right, at Easter what was celebrated was the arrival of spring, but ... What does Easter have to do with spring?
It turns out that in Germanic mythology, the goddess of spring is called Ostara , which ended up leading to Easter in English and Ostern in German. And what does Easter u Ostern have to do with Pascua ?
WHERE DOES THE NAME OF EASTER COME FROM?
The term “Passover” comes from the Hebrew Pesach. In Latin it is written pascha transliteration of the Greek pásja, and this, in turn from the Aramaic pásja. That is, this word refers to the action of 'celebrating a step, a transit, a change, a transformation'. And it is that, the Jewish people, on the feast of Passover (Pesach), remember their passage through the Red Sea, guided by Moses and thus being freed the people chosen by Yahveh from the slavery he suffered in Egypt.
Christians, on the other hand, with the feast of Pascua mainly commemorate (since they celebrate various Easter feasts, for different reasons) the passage of Jesus Christ from death to life , his resurrection, which took place in Sunday, on the third day of his death, to save God's people, who are thus freed from the consequences of sins that separate them from the Creator.
WHEN IS EASTER CELEBRATED?
To know when Easter or Pascua is celebrated, the same pattern is always followed. First we look for the first full moon of spring, then the first Sunday after the full moon will be Easter Sunday.
Therefore, if we look at the lunar calendar of this year 2022, we will see that the first full moon is on April 16, so on April 17, which is the first Sunday after the full moon will be Easter Sunday. This year, Holy Thursday and Good Friday will be on April 14 and 15, respectively. If you want to know when it will drop Easter in 2023 , I invite you to click here to see the lunar calendar.
THE EASTER SYMBOLS, A RABBIT AND CHOCOLATE EGGS
The goddess Ostara, symbolizes spring and fertility , hence the rabbit or hare was taken as a symbol, since these animals are well known for their ability to reproduce.
Like rabbits, eggs are a symbol of fertility, although there are several stories as to why eggs are a symbol of Easter.
One of them says that thousands of years ago, after the long winters, the first source of food found in the peoples of the north, were the eggs of the birds that came from the South strong>. Hence, it is considered a typical food of that time of year. This is just one of the stories that appear regarding the tradition of eating chocolate eggs on these dates.
It should also be noted that making them out of chocolate, although in principle they were made out of sugar, dates back to the 19th century , in which the chocolate eggs began to be decorated and created.
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Muchas gracias por ilustrarme al respecto. Siempre es positivo aprender algo nuevo. Los seguire leyendo en el futuro.
Muchas gracias por tus palabras Juan, ¡Un saludo!