Understand the meaning of Easter and how religions celebrate it

Anyone who follows any of the many religions of Christian origin is in full Holy Weekthe week before Easter🇧🇷 This is a great time for us to understand what exactly the date is all about. What is the meaning of this holiday in which families gather to have lunch (traditionally, some dish with fish) and exchange chocolate eggs?

The religious origin of Christian Easter

In short, Christian Easter is the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The word Easter means ′′ passage ′′ and symbolizes the hope of a new life.

Holy Week began yesterday, on Palm Sunday, as it was the date on which Christ entered Jerusalem to celebrate the Jewish Passover. This was before he was betrayed by Judas Iscariot, tried and sentenced to crucifixion. According to the biblical account, on that occasion the population celebrated his arrival and welcomed him by covering the entrance to the city with palm leaves.

During the week, Christ was handed over to the temple guards by being kissed by Judas – this was the agreed sign to indicate who was the leader they were looking for. The judgment was on account of the governor Pontius Pilate, the Jewish leaders and the tetrarch of the region, Herod. After much indecision, it was decided that he was a criminal, by indirectly claiming that he was the Son of God, and would be crucified between two thieves.

Good Friday, which is a national holiday in Brazil and in several countries with a Christian majority, is precisely the day that Jesus was crucified and, after six hours, he died.

And finally Easter Sunday arrives, the day when Christianity celebrates the Resurrection of Christ and his first appearance to the disciples.

The Symbols of the Celebration of Christian Easter

Within Christianity, the celebration of Easter has some variations. For example: while Catholics do not eat red meat throughout Lent (the 40 days leading up to Easter), Protestants do not have this food restriction.

Some symbols, however, are common in different Christian strands. Easter eggs are the most traditional, and symbolize new life. They come from antiquity, from when the Egyptians and Persians dyed eggs to present friends at the beginning of spring, marking the new life of the season. Christians adapted the habit to symbolize the resurrection of Christ and the opportunity for new life it brought.

The Easter rabbit was born as a tradition among Christians in Germany in the 18th century. It is the Egyptian symbol of fertility, birth and life, and therefore was also placed in the Christian context of Easter.

The bread and wine refer to Christ’s choice to demonstrate his love to the apostles and disciples, representing his body and blood and celebrating eternal life. The lamb, in turn, is the symbol of Christ himself, the lamb of God, who sacrificed himself to spare all humanity, in an allusion to the Passover lambs (just below, when you read about the Jewish Passover, you will understand better) .

And finally, the cross is the ultimate symbol of Christ’s suffering and resurrection, so that Christians do not forget everything that happened.

the Jewish Passover

Up there we talked about the celebration of the Jewish Passover, in which Christ himself participated. It has a totally different meaning from Christian Easter, of course. The name is also different: it is Passover.

Jewish Easter marks the conquest of freedom of the Hebrews (the Jewish people), led by Moses, after 400 years of slavery in Egypt. On the feast of Pesach, the Jews eat lamb, symbolizing the lambs sacrificed by the families still in Egypt to indicate to the angel of death which were the Jewish houses through which he should pass straight, and the matza, an unleavened bread that reminds that in the escape from Egypt there was no time left to leaven the food.

The whole story is in the second book of the Torah (Jewish) and the Old Testament book of the Bible (Christian) and has been depicted in several films.

Easter for other religions

There are religions that do not celebrate Easter in any way, as it is not an event related to them. There are Buddhism, Islam and Spiritism.

Jehovah’s Witnesses have a different biblical reading of Easter and, therefore, do not celebrate it. For its followers, the current Easter is not based on the Bible, but on pagan fertility rites, which makes it unacceptable.

In Umbanda and Candomblé, the celebration of Easter is similar to the Catholic one, according to Fucesp (Federation of Umbanda and Candomblé of the State of São Paulo), since most of the beliefs come from Catholicism. According to tradition, on Good Friday the terreiros do not open, on Saturday Ogum is revered and on Sunday Easter is celebrated, with lunch with family and friends and an exchange of eggs.