NEW BIRTH -- This beautiful tiger lily graphic by Sally commemorates Easter and the rebirth of Spring.
Rebirth and Renewal
Easter Celebrates Resurrection
Sunday Christians all over the world celebrate Easter, an occasion commemorating the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The day also honors the rebirth of Spring and, for many, the renewal of faith, hope, and new life.
Since its conception as a holy celebration in the second century AD, Easter has had its non-religious side and, like most Christian holidays, was originally a pagan festival.
The ancient Saxons celebrated the return of spring with an uproarious festival commemorating Eastre, their goddess of offspring and of springtime. When second-century Christian missionaries encountered the tribes of the north with their pagan celebrations, they attempted to convert them to Christianity, but in a clandestine manner.
To save lives, the missionaries cleverly decided to spread their religious message slowly throughout the populations by allowing them to continue to celebrate pagan feasts, but to do so in a Christian manner.
Pagan Eastre Becomes Easter
The pagan festival of Eastre occurred at the same time of year as the Christian observance of the Resurrection of Christ. It made sense to alter the festival itself and make it a Christian celebration as converts were slowly won over. The early name, Eastre, was eventually changed to its modern spelling, Easter.
Both the rabbit, Eastre's earthly symbol, and the exchange of eggs, a celebration of springtime's rebirth, were centuries old customs of the pagan festival that eventually merged with the religious Easter season.
More about the history of Easter and the parallel pagan festivities can be read at Wilstar.
In the first of many Easter greetings, here is a Clay Aiken graphic created by AmazingCA with a photo by PermaSwooned especially for today.
Click to expand AmazingCA's Easter graphic to wallpaper size.
From message boards to social networking sites to smartphones, Easter greetings have taken over the digital sphere in which we communicate.
An unending stream of joyous Easter wishes, pastel and brightly colored eggs, floral arrangements, hopping bunnies, and cute little baby chicks have become mainstay anywhere you turn.
A few weeks ago, a friend shared the link for CLIPish 3D Animations, home base for thousands of images to add to text messages. For more information about the icons, see this Clipish site. Below are three samples of the Easter fare.
No iphone? Email the images as attachments.
Click on the screen cap to link to the Jacquie Lawson site and listen to "Jesu. Joy of Man's Desiring" from Cantata BWV 147 by J.S. Bach as you view a special Easter card. You will be instructed to click on the church spire to begin.
Screen cap links to Easter card for Clay Nation.
Caro
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