ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, March 27, 1997 TAG: 9703280010
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: N-12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CODY LOWE THE ROANOKE TIMES
For most churches, Easter is the first Sunday after the first full moon of the vernal equinox. Passover apparently coincided with an fertility rite connected with the beginning of spring.
Spring has long been a time for celebration.
The vernal equinox - when day and night are the same length, just before the days begin to get longer - apparently was recognized even in prehistoric times.
The beginning of spring was a critical time, marking the rejuvenation of the earth. For agrarian cultures, particularly, it became connected with religious ceremonies seeking the blessings of nature or gods for fertility.
In Western cultures, the season today is most widely associated with the celebrations of Easter and Passover.
Eostre was the name of a spring goddess in Anglo-Saxon religions. Her name was co-opted by early Christians who spread into the northern regions of Europe, and the name Easter came to be applied to the
springtime celebration of the resurrection of Christ.
Except where English, German or Dutch is spoken, the name of the holiday is Pascha - or a derivative of that word. It comes from the Hebrew "Paschal" - Passover.
Jesus' crucifixion is recorded as having immediately followed a Passover meal with his disciples.
The observance of Passover - when Jews celebrate the liberation of their ancestors from slavery in Egypt - apparently coincided with an earlier fertility rite connected with the beginning of spring.
The observance of Easter in the Christian church remains related to Passover, in that it continues to be set according to the cycles of the moon and the spring equinox.
Most churches observe the holiday on the first Sunday after the first full moon of the equinox. The Orthodox church, following an older calendar and a requirement that Easter must always follow Passover, may celebrate the holiday
several weeks later.
The determination of Passover - based on an ancient lunar calendar - also may vary from year to year. This year, it begins about three weeks after Easter.
|By CODY LOWE| |THE ROANOKE TIMES|
Spring has long been a time for celebration.
The vernal equinox - when day and night are the same length, just before the days begin to get longer - apparently was recognized even in prehistoric times.
The beginning of spring was a critical time, marking the rejuvenation of the earth. For agrarian cultures, particularly, it became connected with religious ceremonies seeking the blessings of nature or gods for
fertility.
In Western cultures, the season today is most widely associated with the celebrations of Easter and Passover.
Eostre was the name of a spring goddess in Anglo-Saxon religions. Her name was co-opted by early Christians who spread into the northern regions of Europe, and the name Easter came to be applied to the
springtime celebration of the resurrection of Christ.
Except where English, German or Dutch is spoken, the name of the holiday is Pascha - or a derivative of that word. It comes from the Hebrew "Paschal" - Passover.
Jesus' crucifixion is recorded as having immediately followed a Passover meal with his disciples.
The observance of Passover - when Jews celebrate the liberation of their ancestors from slavery in Egypt - apparently coincided with an earlier fertility rite connected with the beginning of spring.
The observance of Easter in the Christian church remains related to Passover, in that it continues to be set according to the cycles of the moon and the spring equinox.
Most churches observe the holiday on the first Sunday after the first full moon of the equinox. The Orthodox church, following an older calendar and a requirement that Easter must always follow Passover, may celebrate the holiday several weeks later.
The determination of Passover - based on an ancient lunar calendar - also may vary from year to year. This year, it begins about three weeks after Easter.
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