Easter 2024

 Introduction

As part of the ongoing updates on religious observance, I would like to share the upcoming traditions of Holy or Great Week and Easter or Pascha.

Holy (or Great) Week is the Christian set of holidays that commemorate the last week of the earthly life of Jesus Christ, beginning with Palm Sunday, running through  Jesus’ crucifixion and concluding with Holy Saturday. Holy Week is then followed by Easter.  Christians believe that Easter commemorates the date of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  As a result, most Christians consider Easter to be the holiest day of the year. 

Dates

Easter and Pascha are what is known as moveable feasts. Moveable feasts vary in the calendar according to a fairly complex set of calculations tied to the first Sunday following the first full moon following the vernal equinox. 

For 2024, for Roman Catholic and Protestant Christian Holy Week began on Palm Sunday March 24, and culminates on Easter Sunday, March 31. 

In the Western traditions, these dates are figured on the Gregorian calendar (that is used in most of the secular world). In the Coptic, Oriental, and Orthodox traditions, these dates are figured on the Julian calendar. As a result, the dates for Easter in the Western tradition usually come four to five days earlier than the equivalent date for Pascha in the Eastern traditions. The two dates can even coincide, as they did in 2010, 2011 and 2017.  

However, this is far from the case for 2024 when Eastern and Oriental Orthodox, Ethiopian Tewahedo and Coptic Easter is at its greatest difference -- in fact, over a month later on May 5. 

The reason for this great difference this year is that Western Christians date Easter on a system independent of the Jewish Passover while  the Orthodox, Ethiopian Tewahedo and Coptic Pascha always occurs on the first Sunday following the Jewish Passover (Pascha means "Passover" in Greek). The Hebrew calendar adjusts the lunar year (on which it is based) to fall roughly within the harvest seasons (which grow to fruition according to the solar year). To accommodate this difference, the Hebrew calendar uses a complicated reckoning to add a periodic leap month. Since the Hebrew calendar had a leap month this year, the two Easters differed by the length of that extra lunar month.

Because these come so much later this year, we will handle the customs and importance of Holy Week/Great Week and Pascha (in Eastern Orthodox and Coptic traditions) and Fasika (in Ethiopian tradition) closer to the date on which they will be celebrated.

Holy Week  


Palm Sunday

Entry of Christinto Jerusalem by Maximino Cereso

The first day of Holy Week is known as Palm Sunday to Protestants (and unofficially to Roman Catholics), as Passion Sunday to Roman Catholics (at least officially so since a formal name change in 1970).

Regardless of name, the holiday celebrates the triumphal entry of Jesus into the city of Jerusalem described in all four of the canonical Gospels.  

In three of the four canonical Gospels, the crowds cut branches to herald Jesus’ entry. For example, Luke 12: 13 reads: 

They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, 
"Hosanna!" 
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"
"Blessed is the King of Israel!"  

Many Christian traditions burn the fronds afterwards for use on Ash Wednesday of the following year. From this comes the tradition of processions with branches of some sort. 

Palm Sunday Procession Mount of Olives, Jerusalem

Among most Roman Catholics, the processions are usually with palm fronds, although among many Italian Catholic traditions, olive branches by themselves or mixed with palms are used. 

In Ireland (where palm fronds were typically unavailable), worshipers carried yew branches, which is where the holiday gets its Gaelic name of Domhnach an Iúir or "Yew Sunday."

In Latvia, pussy willows are used which is why in Latvian the holiday is known as Pupolsvetdiena or "Pussy Willow Sunday." Traditionally in Latvia, parents wake their young children up by lightly swatting them with a pussy willow branch saying "round and healthy like a pussy willow."

Some national customs have developed around the day.  In Wales and parts of England, it is customary to eat figs.  In Lebanon, Christians celebrate with the shanineh, a procession in the church in which children carry candles decorated with flowers and ribbons while sitting on their parents’ shoulders and being marched around the church.    In Italy, Palm Sunday is the traditional day for making up with those with whom one has quarreled during the year.  

Holy Thursday

The Thursday of Holy Week is known as Holy Thursday among Roman Catholics and most Protestant denominations.  It is known as Maundy Thursday among Anglican Protestants. Some Protestant churches (especially those of Scandinavian origin) use the term Sheer Thursday interchangeably with Holy Thursday.  Regardless of name, the holiday commemorates Jesus’ Last Supper, the celebration of the Passover Seder with the disciples.  

Among Germans – both Catholic and Lutheran – eggs are also dyed on Holy Thursday, although there the color is traditionally green. 

Many Roman Catholics (famously the Pope) and some Protestant sects wash each other's feet in recognition of this act of humility performed by Jesus at the Last Supper. 

Pope Francis washing feet on Holy Thursday

Among Filipino Catholics, it is customary to visit several churches as a way of keeping vigil as the disciples did when Jesus prayed at the Garden of Gethsemane.   The French practice the custom of the “flying bells” in which the church bells are prohibited from ringing until Easter, while children are told that the bells have flown away carrying away all the grief people feel.

Good Friday 
The Friday of Holy Week is called Good Friday among Roman Catholics and Protestants and as Passion, Holy or Great Friday among Eastern Orthodox. Regardless of name, the date marks the Crucifixion of Jesus on Golgotha (or Calvary) Hill in Jerusalem.  

This date is a very somber holiday for all Christians.  In many Roman Catholic and Protestant traditions, the cross is covered or various ornaments are removed from the church. Among many Lutherans, after Good Friday services, the congregants leave the church and seal the doors (symbolic of the entombment of Christ).  

Among some Roman Catholics, Good Friday is either a fast day or a partial fast day.  This often varies by nationality.  For example, among Catholics in Ireland (and thus many of Irish descent outside of Ireland), it is customary to fast except for three bites of bread and three sips of water (representing the Trinity).  

Bermuda kite

Bermuda is known for its annual kite-flying tradition. The famous Bermuda kites are flown only one day a year: on Good Friday. The hexagonal Bermuda kites usually feature colorful geometric patterns. Some of the kites make buzzing noises. Others are so huge that they may take more than one person to get them aloft. All of them are made with strings going around flat sticks nailed at the center that form the spokes of a wheel, and all contain very long tails. The kite-flying are symbolic of the ascension to heaven.

Other Good Friday national customs include setting a bonfire and burning straw effigies of Judas in Portugal and covering mirrors as a sign of mourning in Poland. In many Roman Catholic countries – notably in Latin America and the Philippines, Good Friday processions centered on carrying a life-size cross are paraded through the main street or central square.

Holy Saturday 

The Saturday before Easter is called Holy Saturday by Roman Catholics and most Protestants.  The holiday represents the day between the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. Among Roman Catholics and most Protestants, this is the day in which Christ died or rested in the tomb.  

Traditionally Roman Catholics abstain from meat but this tradition was stopped by the Pope in 1970. Among Roman Catholics and Anglicans, Holy Saturday is the only day in the year in which Mass is not celebrated. 

While variations exist as to the nature of what Christ did during this time, most Roman Catholic, Anglican, Calvinist (Reformed), and Latter Day Saints traditions attribute some form of Christ’s “harrowing of Hell” in which Jesus descended among the dead.  

Święconka

Among Polish Catholics, baskets of food including a butter lamb are brought to the church for a special blessing.  This service is called Święconka or "the Blessing of the Baskets."

In Roman Catholic, Anglican, Calvinist (Reformed) and Lutheran tradition, a holy vigil is held at night as Easter approaches. 

  

Easter Vigil, Chartres Cathedral

Easter 

Easter is the most important day of the Christian year.  This is the celebration in all traditions of the resurrection of Christ. In all Christian faiths, special services are held. Among Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans and Methodists, the lighting of a Paschal candle is part of the service, representing the risen Christ.  

Opposition to National and Secular Practices

The national customs associated with Easter or Pascha are numerous.  It should be noted, though, that several fundamentalist Protestants sects such as (among others) adherents of the United Church of God International, Reform Adventism, and Jehovah’s Witness oppose national or secular practices on Easter for what they believe to be its pagan origins. This was also the official position of the Church of Scotland until the beginning of the 20th century.

Some Protestant sects object to the Easter Bunny and Easter eggs

These Protestant groups particularly object to the fertility symbols used in many North American and British celebrations – such as the Easter Bunny,  which they assert go back to the pagan Ostara holiday with its worship of Eostre from which Easter derives its name in most Germanic language countries, including English.  

Indeed, the etymology of the word "Easter" in English deriving from the pagan holiday Ostara has led some Protestant groups to call the holiday "Resurrection Day" in place of Easter.

They also object to the easter egg (or egg-shaped substitutions such as jelly beans) and Easter egg hunts, as having derived from the Persian worship of the fertility goddess Ishtar or other pre-Christian Persian traditions such as Zoroastrianism's Naw-Rúz

For more on Ostara, please see my earlier blog post at

http://davidvictorvector.blogspot.com/2012/03/ostara.html

For more on Naw-Rúz, please see my earlier blog post at

 
https://davidvictorvector.blogspot.com/2024/03/naw-ruz-nowruz-newruz-bahai-zoroastrian.html

It should be noted that those groups opposed to national and secular practices nonetheless believe in the holiday's religiously Christian subject matter, such as the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.  Their objections are only to what they believe to be national or secular practices.

National and Secular Traditions 

For a great many Christians, Easter’s various national and secular traditions are well-loved and honored. 

The Easter Egg

White House Easter egg hunt

In the United States, England, Wales and Canada, many secular traditions are widely practiced. Some of these have spread to other countries as well.  These practices include the coming of an Easter Bunny who hides or lays Easter eggs that children then collect in an Easter egg hunt.  Even the United States President has an official Easter egg hunt on the White House lawn. 

The giving of Easter baskets with small toys and candy (notably jelly beans, chocolate eggs and bunnies, and marshmallow chicks called Peeps) to children is traditional.  Sometimes, the baskets are hidden from the children who then must search to find them. 

Children meeting the Easter Bunny Howell, Michigan Nature Center

At restaurants, children can have Easter breakfast with the Easter Bunny (a person dressed in a bunny outfit).  Children may also visit the Easter Bunny at shopping malls, museums and parks.

Many cities have official Easter parades. Some of the best-known annual Easter Parades in London, New York, Baltimore, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Louisville, New Orleans, and Toronto.

Outside of North America, one widely practiced custom is the playing of some variation of the “egg-knocking” game.  People crack their Easter eggs against other people’s Easter eggs and the last person with an unbroken egg is supposed to have a year of good luck. Variations of this practice are common in Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Latvia, the Netherlands and Norway.

National Easter-Related Customs Around the World

Australia 

Australians celebrate Easter with the Easter Bilby (a long-eared native bandicoot) instead of a rabbit. 

In part, this is because the bilby is a local animal, but in part this is because Australians are less fond of rabbits than many other nationalities are. Australia has been plagued by rabbits which have destroyed crops and endangered native wildlife.  

England

Easter in England traditionally features Morris Dances. The first record of Morris Dances dates to 1448. That said, some have argued that similar dances actually predate Christianity and derive from pagan springtime dance rituals to frighten away the spirits of winter. 

 

Hot-Cross Buns

Easter is also marked by the eating of hot-cross buns. These are buns made of sweetened bread with an icing-filled cross cut over their top. The hot-cross buns also predate Christianity, with the cross formerly dividing the bun into the four quadrants of the moon, but repurposed to represent the crucifixion. A recipe for hot-cross buns can be found at
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/hot-cross-buns-i/


France 

In France, Christians hug and kiss as the church bells are rung. This has particular significance as the church bells are prohibited from ringing from Good Friday through Easter. The bells (which children are told “flew away” to see the Pope on Holy Thursday) return with chocolate Easter eggs.

Israel
 

Pilgrims Walk the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem at Easter

Israeli Christians and Christian tourists to the Holy Land crowd Jerusalem to walk the Via Dolorosa (or "Way of Suffering"). This is the path believed to be the route Christ followed on his way to be crucified.

The pilgrims stop at each of the nine exterior Stations of the Cross, beginning at the Lion's Gate (also called St. Stephen's Gate) and ending at Golgotha (Calvary) Hill. 

There are 14 Stations of the Cross altogether but the last five are all within the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

Palestine

Many Palestinian Christians celebrate the day before Easter with a "Saturday of Fire" marking the belief that fire emanated from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (in contested East Jerusalem).  

Italy

Throughout Italy, as in France, people hug and kiss at the ringing of the church bells. Beyond that, dozens of local traditions highlight this or that city or town's Easter practices.  A few examples illustrate some of this.

Corse Rusticane, Merano, Italy

In Merano in Alto Adige/Südtirol each year on Easter Monday, the Corse Rusticane horse race takes place at the Maia Racecourse. This race is only among Haflinger horses (the local breed) and the riders wear the traditional outfits of the local towns and villages. Leading up to the race is a great parade of the Haflinger racehorses and of people dressed in traditional outfits.

Explosion of the Scoppio del Carro Florence, Italy

In Florence in Tuscany, people take part in the annual Scoppio del Carro (cart explosion), in which a massive two-story high cart is filled with fireworks and dragged by oxen through the city center. The Archbishop lights a dove-shaped rocket-firework which travels down a connecting wire to the cart. The tradition, begun in 1679, holds that the bigger the explosion, the better will be the coming harvest.

In another tradition in Tredozio in Emilia-Romagna, the town's four sections hold the annual Palio dell'Uovo or race of the eggs. 

These are just three of many such local traditions in Italy.

The Netherlands

Traditionally, villages in the Eastern portions of the Netherlands hold communal bonfires as part of Easter festivities. Each town competes with the others nearby to build the largest bonfire.

Dutch Paasbrood

Throughout the Netherlands regardless of region, people look forward to eating Paasbrood (Easter bread) which is a once-a-year treat made of sweetened bread and almond paste with lemon peel and currants or golden raisins. 

A recipe for Paasbrood can be found at: 
http://www.countryliving.com/recipefinder/dutch-paasbrood-3043

Latvia

The hanging of swings (and the swinging on them) is a traditional Latvian Easter custom. These are 

Latvian Easter Swing

usually giant swings large enough to hold unmarried couples and has its origins in rites for finding suitable marriage partners. The swings, however, are not limited to unmarried couples though, and are a great favorite among children. Swinging high is particularly a goal for individuals (rather than couples) as the folk tradition holds that the higher someone can swing, the earlier that Spring will arrive. The custom of springtime swings predates the coming of Christianity in Latvia.

Latvians also dye eggs as in other countries. One Latvian difference here, though, is the use of onion skins to do the dyeing. White eggs are submerged in an onion skin mixture. A short submersion produces a bright yellow egg; a long submersion produces a brown-colored egg. Traditionally, leaves and strings are attached to the eggs before submersion. When the leaves or strings are removed, patterns are left on the eggs. On Easter morning, family and friends engage in Easter egg matches.  Each person knocks his or her egg against one another's eggs. The egg that remains uncracked by the end is supposed to bring the owner good luck and good health for the year.

Sweden

Easter is one of the most widely celebrated holidays in Sweden, rivaling Christmas in its importance. As Elizabeth Dacey-Fondelius, writing in the English-language Swedish paper The Local, explains:

Easter celebrations and traditions for the secular Swede are nearly as sacred as Christmas to the Swedish culture. Even devout atheists pay respect to the long-standing traditional norms that the holiday dictates in Sweden. Easter is a big deal to the entire country. http://www.thelocal.se/3525/20110421

Swedish Påskkärringar

One uniquely Swedish Easter custom is that of the påskkärringar (Easter witches or hags). On the Thursday before Easter, children paint their cheeks, put on headscarves that tie under their chins and wear long skirts and aprons. Then, carrying their broomsticks, they go door to door among their neighbors asking for Easter treats  (much in the manner of North America's Halloween). On Holy Saturday, much of the country lights bonfires to hasten the påskkärringar on their way back to their secret witches' meadow at Blåkulla (Blue Mountain). In Stockholm, these bonfires are prohibited but the påskkärringar seem to make their way home before Easter in any case.

Swedish påskris

An additional custom fairly unique to Sweden is that of decorating with birch branches -- called  påskris. Swedes adorn the birch branches with brightly-colored feathers and hang decorated easter eggs from them. 

The påskris which now shows up in shops and on people's houses and porches are today fairly detached from their original purpose. At one time, undecorated birch branches were used to whip each other's backs on Good Friday to take part in Jesus' suffering on the cross. 

Conclusion

I hope that this has been worthwhile, and I welcome your comments or additions. As always, this blog is meant only to inform; there is no intention to indicate what is or is not proper or improper religious practice.

There are many customs and traditions for Easter that I have not included here. Please feel free to share your own in the comments section. 

 

Want To Read More?

Alikiviadis C. Calivas, "The Origins of Pascha and Great Week": http://www.goarch.org/ourfaith/ourfaith8504

CelebratingEaster.com:  http://www.celebratingeaster.com/traditions/

Easter World, "Easter Celebrations Around the World": http://www.dgreetings.com/easter/easter-world.html

Mary Fairchild, "What is Easter?" About.com, Christianity:  http://christianity.about.com/od/holidaytips/qt/whatiseaster.htm

Michael San Filippo, "Buona Pasqua! Easter in Italy" : http://italian.about.com/od/festivalsholidays/a/aa031401a.htm

New Advent, "Easter": http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05224d.htm

Nortdstjernan.com "Happy Easter! A Swedish Easter: The symbols, the food, the traditions." http://www.nordstjernan.com/news/traditions/1167

"Baltic Tenacity" provides information of Latvian Pussy Willow Sunday: https://u.osu.edu/baltictenacity/latvia/

Clip Art Sources

Opening Happy Easter clipart: http://www.clipartpal.com/clipart_pd/holiday/easter/happyeaster_10282.html

Entry of Christ into Jerusalem by Maximino Cereso: http://www.servicioskoinonia.org/cerezo/dibujosA/19RamosA.jpg

Palm Sunday Procession, Mount of Olives, Jerusalem: http://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/21mount-olive-processionjpg.jpg?w=450&h=300
 
Pope Francis washing feet on Holy Thursday: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.euronews.com%2F2023%2F04%2F06%2Fpope-francis-washes-feet-in-traditional-holy-thursday-easter-ritual&psig=AOvVaw3EiEf8bdgmqOe7DuoGW62N&ust=1711746696643000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBIQjRxqFwoTCIisufbvl4UDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD

Bermuda Kite: http://members.chello.nl/h.hagg3/Bermuda_Kite_3.htm

Święconka: http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plik:%C5%9Awi%C4%99cone2007.jpg

Easter Vigil, Chartres Cathedral: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Vigil

Easter Bunny with egg basket clip art: https://d27fcql9yjk2c0.cloudfront.net/assets/3178348/lightbox/Easter%20Bunny.jpg?1299876470

White House Easter egg hunt: http://www.army.mil/article/55725/Fort_Meade_youth_hunt_for_Easter_eggs_at_the_White_House/

Children with Easter Bunny, Howell, Michigan Nature Center: http://howellnaturecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Easter-Bunny-Breakfast.jpg
Bilbies not bunnies: http://members.optusnet.com.au/bilbies/Easter_Bilby.htm

Hot Cross Buns: http://www.womansday.com/food-recipes/traditional-easter-eats-around-the-world-117631

Pilgrims Walk The Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh_8LaLTQ733hv9KDfUfJU2MXyxdlX6g1yjCKvE8SLwDFN64tEVo-CG6XlhRXahLEb6M6LeGD1GPyaf865-bW7eawCO3r3esTRIxXZB_G-G7YbVHhMZoRQl73gAqAez-CGmeRliqbPh_v-/s1600/JerusalemViaDolorosa1-800wH.jpg

Corse Rusticane in Merano: http://altoadige.gelocal.it/cronaca/2011/04/24/news/corse-rusticane-all-ippodromo-4033076

Explosion of the Scoppio del Carro, Florence: http://www.ultimateitaly.com/festival-events/scoppio-del-carro.html

Dutch Paasbrood: http://www.countryliving.com/recipefinder/dutch-paasbrood-3043

Latvian Easter Swing: http://www.mytravelkit.org/2010/04/happy-easter/

Swedish Påskkärringar:  http://www.thelocal.se/3525/20110421

Swedish påskris: http://www.nordstjernan.com/news/traditions/1167

Closing Happy Easter clip art: http://www.clipartpal.com/clipart_pd/holiday/easter/happyeaster_10285.html