Easter Holiday and Traditions

On January 6th is the Epiphany. (ii) The Easter Cycle - This is the most important cycle. Beginning on Ash Wednesday, people receive ashes on their forehead in mass. Lent is a 40 day period before Easter, commemorative of the 40 days Jesus went into the desert. This reflective preparation ends with Holy week, containing contrasting important days, Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

The actual date is set as the first Sunday after the first full moon that occurs after March 21, one of the first days of spring. Christians celebrate the end of death and the rebirth of life; but instead of focusing upon nature, Christians believe that Easter marks the day that Jesus Christ was resurrected after spending three days dead in his tomb. Easter retains great importance for Eastern Orthodox and Protestant churches as well. For Eastern Orthodox Christians, there is an important procession which symbolizes the failed search for the body of Jesus, followed a return to the church where lit candles symbolize Jesus' resurrection.

During Holy Week a special service is held within mass which includes:- The Reinstitution of the Eucharist, Ministers of the Parish, its also the final before Good Friday. Friday: this day is known as Good Friday. This is because its the day that Jesus sacrificed himself for us. The service that usually takes place is called the Stations of the Cross. Prayers are said at each station as Jesus' last hours on Earth are remembered.

Festivals as a Celebration of a Christian Event Festivals are a celebration of a Christian event. The are seven main festivals these are: Advent, Christmas, the Epiphany, Ash Wednesday, Lent, Easter, Ascension Thursday and Pentecost Sunday. Advent is the first and most important in the church’s year. Advent is a period of four weeks that some Christians use as a countdown to Christmas. Advent is really a time of preparing for the coming of Christ.

For children and parents, the arrival of Santa Claus is the culmination of Christmas. For many businesses, Christmas is a very important time of the year for lucrative revenue growth and additional profits. In the early years of Christianity, Easter was recognized as the main holiday and celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ had not yet begun. Easter is also a Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Christ after his crucifixion. Around the fourth century, church members and clergy decided to celebrate his birth as a holiday.

The final week of Lent is the week before Easter Sunday. Like other important days in the Easter month, (for example, Spy Wednesday, “The Last Supper”) occurs on Thursday. The Last Supper was shared by Jesus and his disciples which was the last meal they shared together. Next, comes Good Friday in which Christians remember Christ’s crucifixion and burial. Similarly, in America Easter month is the same as it is in Kosova.

Mardi Gras This paper is about Mardi Gras, A festival or Carnival celebrated once a year. In this paper I will discuss how Mardi Gras originated, when it is celebrated, how it is celebrated, and what does it mean to all the different cultures. Mardi Gras, in the French speaking parts of the world and in some US southern states is the last day of carnival festivities preceding Lent, the time of penitence observed by Christians in preparation for Easter. Mardi Gras (?Fat Tuesday?) is a French term for Shrove Tuesday, the day before the start of Lent.

Therefore, from the beginning, Sunday became the day of the week for believers to gather in commemoration of when Jesus rose from the dead. Furthermore, there is a clear connection between the Jewish Passover and the Christian Easter, which is why the Jewish feast was adopted for the Easter celebration. However, the festivity differs in the fact that Christians commemorate the anniversary of the death and Resurrection of Christ (Catholic Encyclopedia). For such a holiday, it has always been a concern throughout the Church to have some standardization of when to observe this ... ... middle of paper ... ...alendar seems to have a profound affect on praxis, since the dates of history would change depending on which system was being examined. The biggest change in lifestyle during the controversy would have been caused by Victor as well as the ruling of the Council of Nicaea.

The ancient Romans held year-end celebrations to honor Saturn, their harvest god; and Mithras, the god of light. Various peoples in northern Europe held festivals in mid-December to celebrate the end of the harvest season. As part of all these celebrations, the people prepared special foods, decorated their homes with greenery, and joined in singing and gift giving. These customs gradually became part of the Christmas celebration. In the late 300's, Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire.

In the Christian religion, Easter has become a grand day of celebration in honor of the resurrection of Christ. Easter falls on the first Sunday following the first full moon after a specific time and varies on how the day is followed throughout. Each denomination of the faith varies on the celebration day, hosting various outings and activities. Specifically, the Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox denominations of Christianity view and celebrate the Holy Day of Easter differently. In addition to the various amounts of changes throughout the denominations, Easter has become modernized to what the world now sees as a big bunny handling colorful, candy-filled eggs for little children, making smiles appear left and right.