Friday, April 22, 2011

Easter Delights

Happy Easter everyone!  This year Easter falls on April 24, or one day earlier than the latest possible date.  Because of the changing dates, Easter could nearly be considered a "floating holiday".  I mean think about it, Christmas is always December 25 no matter what day of the week it happens to be, and Thanksgiving is always the fourth Thursday in November, no matter what the date.  But Easter can be as early as March 22 and as late as April 25.  Why is that?

The calculations are a bit complex, and I confess I find it too confusing to read, absorb and spew it back for you, so here is the way one source explains it:
Easter Sunday is the Sunday following the Paschal Full Moon (PFM) date for the year. In June 325 A.D. astronomers approximated astronomical full moon dates for the Christian church, calling them Ecclesiastical Full Moon (EFM) dates. From 326 A.D. the PFM date has always been the EFM date after March 20 (which was the equinox date in 325 A.D.).*
Aside from the date-related confusion, Easter brings many traditions, some religious, some cultural and some just for kids.  Here are some of the things you see around Easter.


Easter Eggs.  The egg, the pagan symbol of rebirth, was adopted by Christians as the symbol of Jesus' resurrection.  Today, a popular Easter activity is an Easter Egg hunt. Here's a tip for boiling all those eggs.

As with most holidays, there is one or more foods associated with it.  First is a tasty treat called Hot Cross Buns, which were allegedly small wheat cakes baked to honor Eostre, goddess of Spring.  Later, Christians substituted sweetbreads blessed by the church.

The roast lamb found on many Easter dinner tables dates back to the first Passover of the Jewish people.  People would eat the roast lamb, hoping that God's angels would pass them over, thus the term Passover.

Ham is another popular Easter entree.  In the early days before refrigeration, any fresh pork that wasn't consumed during the winter before Lent was cured, and since this process takes a while, the hams were ready just in time for Easter making them the perfect choice for Easter dinner.  

What are some of your favorite Easter traditions?

8 comments:

  1. Happy Easter to you and yours, Linda! For a lot years, we had a party on Easter and an Easter Egg Hunt for the kids. Now, we go to my son's and watch his kids look for the eggs!

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  2. Hope you are having a beautiful Easter, Linda!

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  3. Thank goodness the church was not able to cast out all the fun when they pinched our pagan festivals! Long live the Bunny and Santa!
    Nicholas was just a kind old man who made toys and was declared a saint. They tried to pinch him too!

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  4. Happy Easter! I love Easter. I love seeing all the little girls in their Easter Sunday best. I miss it now that my kids are pre-teens and teens.

    Hope you had a lovely Easter.

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  5. Happy Easter! I love Easter. I love seeing all the little girls in their Easter Sunday best. I miss it now that my kids are pre-teens and teens.

    Hope you had a lovely Easter.

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  6. Jingle- Thanks, I hope you had a happy one too.

    Linda- We had dinner with hubby's family on Saturday, and just did our own thing yesterday.

    Talon- Thanks! You too, Talon.

    Stafford Ray- There's always someone trying to take the magic out of things!

    chrisd- Mine was nice and the weather was gorgeous. Hope yours was too.

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  7. Linda,

    While I'm late, I really enjoyed this post about Easter. I didn't know about ham or the reason the date changed. I enjoyed learning about this.

    Thanks for sharing. Happy Belated Easter. Can you wish someone a belated Easter...it sounds a bit strange, but you know I mean well.

    Have a great day:~)

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  8. Sara- I didn't know these things either. That's the beauty of blogging. Discovering and sharing things. A happy belated Easter to you. We celebrated Easter with hubby's family Saturday night, along with celebrating our niece's 12 birthday (the 15th).

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