Happy Easter everyone. I have put together a Easter site that all should enjoy. You will find everything from the meaning of Easter to decorating your Easter eggs here.
Easter is a time of springtime festivals. In Christian countries Easter is celebrated as the religious holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the son of God. But the celebrations of Easter have many customs and legends that are pagan in origin and have nothing to do with Christianity
Scholars, accepting the derivation proposed by the 8th-century English scholar St. Bede, believe the name Easter is thought to come from the Scandinavian "Ostra" and the Teutonic "Ostern" or "Eastre," both Goddesses of mythology signifying spring and fertility whose festival was celebrated on the day of the vernal equinox
Traditions associated with the festival survive in the Easter rabbit, a symbol of fertility, and in colored easter eggs, originally painted with bright colors to represent the sunlight of spring, and used in Easter-egg rolling contests or given as gifts
The Christian celebration of Easter embodies a number of converging traditions with emphasis on the relation of Easter to the Jewish festival of Passover, or Pesach, from which is derived Pasch, another name used by Europeans for Easter. Passover is an important feast in the Jewish calendar which is celebrated for 8 days and commemorates the flight and freedom of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt
The early Christians, many of whom were of Jewish origin, were brought up in the Hebrew tradition and regarded Easter as a new feature of the Passover festival, a commemoration of the advent of the Messiah as foretold by the prophets.
Easter is observed by the churches of the West on the first Sunday following the full moon that occurs on or following the spring equinox (March 2I). So Easter became a "movable" feast which can occur as early as March 22 or as late as April 25
Christian churches in the East which were closer to the birthplace of the new religion and in which old traditions were strong, observe Easter according to the date of the Passover festival
Easter is at the end of the Lenten season, which covers a forty-six-day period that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends with Easter. The Lenten season itself comprises forty days, as the six Sundays in Lent are not actually a part of Lent. Sundays are considered a commemoration of Easter Sunday and have always been excluded from the Lenten fast. The Lenten season is a period of penitence in preparation for the highest festival of the church year, Easter
Holy Week, the last week of Lent, begins its with the observance of Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday takes its name from Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem where the crowds laid palms at his feet. Holy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper, which was held the evening before the Crucifixion. Friday in Holy Week is the anniversary of the Crufixion, the day that Christ was crucified and died on the cross
Holy week and the Lenten season end with Easter Sunday, the day of resurrection of Jesus Christ
to share with your kids.
by M. Josephine Todd, 1909 There's a story quite funny, About a toy bunny, And the wonderful things she can do; Every bright Easter morning, Without warning, She colors eggs, red, green, or blue. Some she covers with spots, Some with quaint little dots, And some with strange mixed colors, too Red and green, blue and yellow, But each unlike his fellow Are eggs of every hue. And it's odd, as folks say, That on no other day In all of the whole year through, Does this wonderful bunny, So busy and funny, Color eggs of every hue. If this story you doubt She will soon find you out, And what do you think she will do? On the next Easter morning She'll bring you without warning, Those eggs of every hue.
Oh, the Easter Bunny's coming, she's the one I long to see. She's got eggs in her basket, she's bringing them to me. I'm looking out the window and I hope she gets here quick, I need marshmallow bunnies and a little chocolate chick.
Oh, I love Easter Sunday and it comes round every year Right now I'm so excited cause the Easter Bunny's here! The Easter eggs are lovely, with swirls on them because,The Easter Bunny paints them with her little furry paws.
We'll take the eggs and hide them, all up and down the hill, And I'll go back to find them with my little brother, Bill. We will pile up all the goodies and I'll eat all I can take, And then end Easter Sunday with a big old belly ache.
Oh, the Easter Bunny's coming, she's the one I long to see. She's got eggs in her basket, she's bringing them to me. I'm looking out the window and I hope she gets here quick, I need marshmallow bunnies and a little chocolate chick.
I need marshmallow bunnies and a little chocolate chick! I need marshmallow bunnies and a little chocolate chick! Grandpa Tucker
Old Easter cards Easter pictures from magazines your childrens drawings light weight cardboard or heavy construction paper glue contact paper Gather up Easter cards from past years, pictures from magazines or your children's favorite drawings. Glue onto light cardboard or construction paper in decorative fashion the size of a placemat. Cover this collage with clear contact paper to seal the placemat. Be sure to have your child date and sign it. These make great gifts for grandparents.
Paper mache paste balloon tape 1-inch pieces newspaper, newsprint or paper toweling pie tin paint brushes colored tissue paper (optional) shellac Paper mache recipe 1 cup water Mix in 1/4 cup flour until thin and runny Stir this mixture into 5 cups lightly boiling water. Gently boil for 2-3 minutes. Cool until you can dip paper into mixture without burning yourself. Eggs Make paper mache paste as above. When cool pour into pie tin. Blow up a balloon and tape to a table. Dip strips of newspaper in paste and place carefully on balloon. Continue overlapping pieces of newspaper on balloon. Cover balloon completely and let dry. It may take overnight to dry, particularly if children have use lots of paste. Once dry decorate the dried balloon with paint or colored tissue in pretty pastel Easter colors. Finish with shellac for a shiny, glazed effect.
Liquid tempra paint paper cups (for each color) small pieces of foam or sponge clothes pins (for each color) egg cups clear acrylic spray Place hard boiled or blown eggs in egg cups. Partially fill paper cups with different colors of paint. Clip a piece of sponge to a clothes pin and dip into paper cups, use the clothes pin as a handle. Lightly dab the sponge over the top half of the egg. Let dry. Turn egg over and repeat procedure. Let the egg dry completely. If using blown eggs, spray with acrylic spray for a permanent finish.
May each of you have a
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History Of
Easter
Easter
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