Easter and the history  

By Landon Bennett 

Easter Is one of the main holidays or feasts of Christianity, it is said to originate from the 2^nd century, but it’s likely even before that, and it represents the resurrection of Jesus for whom many believe. Easter is a joyous holiday because it represents fulfillment in the prophecy of the Old Testament. In 325 the Council of Nicaea agreed that Easter should be on the First Sunday following the full moon after spring equinox. It can fall on any Sunday between March 22 and April 25. Eastern Orthodox churches don’t use the same exact calculation and theirs is based on the Julian calendar. 

Changing the date on which the Resurrection was to be observed started a huge controversy in early Christianity. The argument was known as the “Paschal controversies” and it was not resolved until the 8^th century. Easter has gained many traditions not all of them even pertaining to the holiday’s core itself, but the meals are, and they consist of egg, ham, cheese, bread, and sweets that are blessed for the holiday. Everything with painting and coloring Easter eggs was first recorded in the 13^th century. Some churches prohibited the eating of eggs during Holy Week, but chickens still laid eggs during the week, it was then alluded that they were “Holy Week eggs” and the decorations on them symbolized the resurrection of Jesus, in Orthodox tradition the eggs are painted red to symbolize the blood Jesus shed on the cross. 

Easter egg hunts are something everyone should be accustomed to with this holiday and originally the United States first lady Lucy Hayes the wife of President Rutherford B. Hayes sponsored the first annual Easter egg roll, on this event children and their parents’ rolled eggs on the Monday following Easter. The event was then moved to the White House from the U.S. Capitol building and large crowds formed so they believed that the traffic of people was damaging the grounds. In 1876 Ulysses S. Grant passed a law that no longer allowed this to happen. The bunny mascot of Easter came to light when it was said to lay eggs, decorate, and hide them along with gifts in children’s baskets but in other cultures there’s many different animals.  

Regardless of how Easter started or what it entails it’s a holiday none the less which gives time to spend with the people who are loved and to celebrate something even if its not entirely what the holiday originates to. 

When asked about Easter Mr. Veronesi said, “As a social studies teacher it’s always interesting to me to look at a culture’s traditions and to trace those traditions back to their historical origins. A bunny that hides eggs seems odd until you understand that there are historical reasons those traditions have been handed down to us.”