Easter The History

When examining Easter the history it's important to understand all the elements that make up the holiday – religious, linguistic, and elements of pagan rituals.

For the word aspect of Easter the history, the word Easter dates back to the Greek word Pascha which came from the Hebrew word for Passover. Easter and Passover both stand for life. In Christianity Easter is a remembrance of the death and resurrection of Christ, while for Jews Passover recalls a time when Jewish first born children were spared while the first born of every Egyptian was killed to convince Pharaoh to free the Jews. Remember too that Jesus was a Jew, and he celebrated passover with the last supper. Our English word, Easter, comes from the Old English name of a month in the Germanic Calendar, Eostre, which itself may come from the name of a goddess, Eostre, who often carried a basket filled with eggs.

Eastertide in Easter the history is the whole of the Easter season. At one time this was marked as 40 days from Easter until Ascension Day, the day Jesus rose into heaven, but now it lasts 50 days until Pentecost, when the apostles were visited by the Holy Spirit. Pentecost took place on Shavout, a Jewish commemoration of the day God delivered Ten Commandments to Moses.

There were many disputes as to the time and specific date for Easter. The final argument is commonly called the Quartodeciman controversy. The whole argument was whether to celebrate Easter on Nisan 14, a Hebrew calendar date, or the following Sunday. Passover Proper, held on Nisan 14, is the day people get ready for the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The Bishop of the Roman Province of Asia wanted the Easter celebration on Nisan 14, while the rest of the Christian world celebrated it on the following Sunday. That was because Nisan 14 could fall any day of the week, while most Christians wanted to celebrate Easter on a Sunday. When the dispute first began the Bishop of Phyrgia and the Bishop of Rome agreed to disagree, and let it stand. But one generation later all the Asia minor Bishops were excommunicated because they would not celebrate Easter the Sunday following Nisan 14.

It was further complicated by having to rely on Jewish scholars to determine the date each year for Nisan 14, and thus when Easter happened. Sometimes there were two Nisan 14's in the same year, because Jewish scholars set the date one year before the spring equinox after the last year it was after the spring equinox. The First Council of Nicaea separated Easter from the Hebrew calendar.

Easter the History went on to determine the date for Easter with a number of calculations – do a Google search to learn more.

News About Easter

Easter Island statues have full bodies and contain ancient petroglyphs 15 May 2012 at 6:12pm
Click image to see more photos. (EISP/EISP) Explorers have long known there was more to the 887 statues on Easter Island?some 2,000 miles west of Chile?than just the statue heads made famous in photographs. When most people think of the renowned monolithic statues, they think of the heads only. But in October 2011, the Easter [...]

Inside Easter Island's Secrets 16 May 2012 at 9:09am
The first methodical investigation of the statues at Rapa Nui, which many think of as simple heads, reveals the complete figures buried over centuries by natural forces.

Academic All-Star: Eisenhower senior Jason Easter 16 May 2012 at 10:30pm
Eisenhower High School senior Jason Easter will major in aeronautical engineering. Next year he will go to the University of Washington.

Local communities host Easter activities 17 May 2012 at 11:47pm
Easter is just around the corner and local communities are preparing for a visit from the Easter Bunny.

Easter already carrying presidential load 11 May 2012 at 6:23am
URBANA ? When University of Illinois students walk across the stage Sunday to receive their diplomas, President Michael Hogan will not be there to shake their hands. Instead, Robert Easter, who is the president designate, will congratulate them. Easter also attended UI-Chicago commencement ceremonies and will be at the UI-Springfield commencement this Saturday. read more

Eastern Connecticut Easter Seals group honors civic leader 17 May 2012 at 8:01pm
Easter Seals Capital Region & Eastern Connecticut presented its Civic Leadership award to Jerry G. Olson, primary trustee of Olde Mistick Village, at the annual Walk With Me Kick-Off Celebration Wednesday at Go Fish in Mystic.

The Easter Bunny arrives at Town East Mall 17 May 2012 at 11:42pm
The Easter Bunny is hopping into the area to visit with children at Town East Mall. He arrives on Tuesday, March 13 and will be welcoming visitors until Saturday, April 7 when he leaves to deliver eggs around the world.

Religious leaders say on Easter that faith and politics are inseparable 17 May 2012 at 11:24pm
Influential pastor Rick Warren defended the place of religion in politics during a television interview that aired Sunday morning, arguing that ?faith is simply a world view.? Warren made his statements only a few weeks after a Pew Research Center survey showed 38 percent of Americans -- an all-time high -- believe political leaders spend too much time talking about religion. A majority, 54 ...

Stormont to mark Easter Rising 14 May 2012 at 8:14am
The NI Assembly Commission announces plans to commemorate the 1916 Easter Rising.

Retail Sales in U.S. Cool on Early Easter and Seasonable Weather 15 May 2012 at 5:37am
Retail sales in the U.S. rose in April at the slowest pace of the year, showing unseasonably mild weather and pre-Easter shopping may have pulled consumers to stores the prior month.