Christian manner.
As it happened, the pagan festival of Eastre occurred at the same time of
year as the Christian observance of the Resurrection of Christ. It made
sense, therefore, to alter the festival itself, to make it a Christian
celebration as converts were slowly won over. The early name, Eastre, was
eventually changed to its modern spelling, Easter.
The Date of Easter
Prior to A.D. 325, Easter was variously celebrated on different days of the
week, including Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. In that year, the Council of
Nicaea was convened by emperor Constantine. It issued the Easter Rule which
states that Easter shall be celebrated on the first Sunday that occurs
after the first full moon on or after the vernal equinox. However, a caveat
must be introduced here. The "full moon" in the rule is the ecclesiastical
full moon, which is defined as the fourteenth day of a tabular lunation,
where day 1 corresponds to the ecclesiastical New Moon. It does not always
occur on the same date as the astronomical full moon. The ecclesiastical
"vernal equinox" is always on March 21. Therefore, Easter must be
celebrated on a Sunday between the dates of March 22 and April 25.
The Lenten Season
Lent is the forty-six day period just prior to Easter Sunday. It begins on
Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras (French for "Fat Tuesday") is a celebration,
sometimes called "Carnival," practiced around the world, on the Tuesday
prior to Ash Wednesday. It was designed as a way to "get it all out" before
the sacrifices of Lent began. New Orleans is the focal point of Mardi Gras
celebrations in the U.S. Read about the religious meanings of the Lenten
Season.
The Cross
The Cross is the symbol of the Crucifixion, as opposed to the Resurrection.
However, at the Council of Nicaea, in A.D. 325, Constantine decreed that
the Cross was the official symbol of Christianity. The Cross is not only a
symbol of Easter, but it is more widely used, especially by the Catholic
Church, as a year-round symbol of their faith.
The Easter Bunny
The Easter Bunny is not a modern invention. The symbol originated with the
pagan festival of Eastre. The goddess, Eastre, was worshipped by the Anglo-
Saxons through her earthly symbol, the rabbit.
The Germans brought the symbol of the Easter rabbit to America. It was
widely ignored by other Christians until shortly after the Civil War. In
fact, Easter itself was not widely celebrated in America until after that
time.
The Easter Egg
As with the Easter Bunny and the holiday itself, the Easter Egg predates
the Christian holiday of Easter. The exchange of eggs in the springtime is
a custom that was centuries old when Easter was first celebrated by
Christians.
From the earliest times, the egg was a symbol of rebirth in most cultures.
Eggs were often wrapped in gold leaf or, if you were a peasant, colored
brightly by boiling them with the leaves or petals of certain flowers.
Today, children hunt colored eggs and place them in Easter baskets along
with the modern version of real Easter eggs -- those made of plastic or
chocolate candy.
St. Patrick's Day! (March 17)
Customs and Traditions
The person who was to become St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, was
born in Wales about AD 385. His given name was Maewyn, and he almost didn't
get the job of bishop of Ireland because he lacked the required
scholarship.
Far from being a saint, until he was 16, he considered himself a pagan. At
that age, he was sold into slavery by a group of Irish marauders that
raided his village. During his captivity, he became closer to God.
He escaped from slavery after six years and went to Gaul where he studied
in the monastery under St. Germain, bishop of Auxerre for a period of
twelve years. During his training he became aware that his calling was to
convert the pagans to Christianity.
His wishes were to return to Ireland, to convert the native pagans to
Christianity. But his superiors instead appointed St. Palladius. But two
years later, Palladius transferred to Scotland. Patrick, having adopted
that Christian name earlier, was then appointed as second bishop to
Ireland.
Patrick was quite successful at winning converts. And this fact upset the
Celtic Druids. Patrick was arrested several times, but escaped each time.
He traveled throughout Ireland, establishing monasteries across the
country. He also set up schools and churches which would aid him in his
conversion of the Irish country to Christianity.
His mission in Ireland lasted for thirty years. After that time, Patrick
retired to County Down. He died on March 17 in AD 461. That day has been
commemorated as St. Patrick's Day ever since.
Much Irish folklore surrounds St. Patrick's Day. Not much of it is actually
substantiated.
Some of this lore includes the belief that Patrick raised people from the
dead. He also is said to have given a sermon from a hilltop that drove all
the snakes from Ireland. Of course, no snakes were ever native to Ireland,
and some people think this is a metaphor for the conversion of the pagans.
Though originally a Catholic holy day, St. Patrick's Day has evolved into
more of a secular holiday.
One traditional icon of the day is the shamrock. And this stems from a more
bona fide Irish tale that tells how Patrick used the three-leafed shamrock
to explain the Trinity. He used it in his sermons to represent how the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit could all exist as separate elements
of the same entity. His followers adopted the custom of wearing a shamrock
on his feast day.
The St. Patrick's Day custom came to America in 1737. That was the first
year St. Patrick's Day was publicly celebrated in this country, in Boston.
Groundhog Day! (March 20)
How Did the Groundhog Get a Day of His Own?
The lowly groundhog, often called a woodchuck, is the only mammal to have a
day named in his honor. The groundhog's day is February 2. Granted, it’s
not a federal holiday; nobody gets off work. But still, to have a day named
after you is quite a feat.
How did the groundhog come by this honor?
It stems from the ancient belief that hibernating creatures were able to
predict the arrival of springtime by their emergence.
The German immigrants known as Pennsylvania Dutch brought the tradition to
America in the 18th century. They had once regarded the badger as the
winter-spring barometer. But the job was reassigned to the groundhog after
importing their Candlemas traditions to the U.S. Candlemas commemorates the
ritual purification of Mary, 40 days after the birth of Jesus.
Candlemas is one of the four "cross-quarters" of the year, occurring half
way between the first day of winter and the first day of spring.
Traditionally, it was believed that if Candlemas was sunny, the remaining
six weeks of winter would be stormy and cold. But if it rained or snowed on
Candlemas, the rest of the winter would be mild. If an animal "sees its
shadow," it must be sunny, so more wintry weather is predicted:
If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Winter has another flight.
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Winter will not come again.
The groundhog and badger were not the only animals that have been used to
predict spring. Other Europeans used the bear or hedgehog--but in any case
the honor belonged to a creature that hibernated. Its emergence symbolized
the imminent arrival of spring.
Traditionally, the groundhog is supposed to awaken on February 2, Groundhog
Day, and come up out of his burrow. If he sees his shadow, he will return
to the burrow for six more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t see his shadow,
he remains outside and starts his year, because he knows that spring has
arrived early.
In the U.S., the “official” groundhog is kept in Punxsutawney,
Pennsylvania. Every February 2, amid a raucous celebration early in the
morning, “Punxsutawney Phil” as the groundhog is called, is pulled from his
den by his keepers, who are dressed in tuxedos. Phil then whispers his
weather prediction into the ear of his keeper, who then announces it to the
anxiously-awaiting crowd.
Of course, this is for show. It’s a fun celebration and a great tradition.
But Phil's keepers secretly decide upon the "forecast" in advance of the
groundhog's arousal.
Besides, spring always arrives on or near March 21, so whether the
groundhog decides to return to his den or remain above ground, the sad fact
is spring will always have to wait at least six more weeks.
April fool’s day! (April 1)
Unlike most of the other nonfoolish holidays, the history of April Fool's
Day, sometimes called All Fool's Day, is not totally clear. There really
wasn't a "first April Fool's Day" that can be pinpointed on the calendar.
Some believe it sort of evolved simultaneously in several cultures at the
same time, from celebrations involving the first day of spring.
The closest point in time that can be identified as the beginning of this
tradition was in 1582, in France. Prior to that year, the new year was
celebrated for eight days, beginning on March 25. The celebration
culminated on April 1. With the reform of the calendar under Charles IX,
the Gregorian Calendar was introduced, and New Year's Day was moved to
January 1.
However, communications being what they were in the days when news traveled
by foot, many people did not receive the news for several years. Others,
the more obstinate crowd, refused to accept the new calendar and continued
to celebrate the new year on April 1. These backward folk were labeled as
"fools" by the general populace. They were subject to some ridicule, and
were often sent on "fools errands" or were made the butt of other practical
jokes.
This harassment evolved, over time, into a tradition of prank-playing on
