Easter is the most important holiday for Christians. But do you know why it is celebrated and why we eat chocolates or lamb? Answers.
Whether one is of the Christian religion or not, Easter never goes unnoticed, especially for chocolate lovers. In the Christian calendar, Easter is one of the most symbolic holidays. Every year, young and old await the Easter week end impatiently. Because the Easter feast always falls on a Sunday, but above all it allows many people to enjoy good chocolates through a traditional egg hunt. Easter also has its share of traditions and stories to share. Here’s everything you need to know about Easter.
What is Easter day in 2023?
This year, Easter falls on Sunday, April 9, 2023. Easter Sunday is a religious celebration. The next day, Monday April 10, 2023, is a public holiday.
Why does Easter never fall on the same date?
The date of Easter is not fixed. On the other hand, the day is, because the Easter feast usually falls on first Sunday after the first full moon following March 21, after the spring equinox. The date changes from one year to another because it depends on the lunar cycle and not on our solar calendar as we know it.
What are the dates of the Easter holidays?
When we talk about Easter, we also think of Easter holiday or spring break. For the students, it is their penultimate break in their school year just before the summer vacation. This year, the Easter holidays fall from Saturday April 8 to Monday April 24, 2023 for the A-area, from Saturday April 15 to Tuesday May 2, 2023 for the B-area and from Saturday April 22 to Tuesday May 9, 2023 for the C-area. Corsica schoolchildren will be on vacation on Saturday April 15 until Tuesday May 2, 2023.
What is Good Friday?
Good Friday is closely linked to Easter. For Christians, it is another religious commemoration that must be celebrated. In 2023, Good Friday is April 7., two days before Easter. It is the saddest day for Christians as it marks the death of Christ on the cross. It is a public holiday in many Christian countries such as Germany, Spain or Italy, but also in the French departments of Moselle, Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin. During Good Friday, the Catholic Church advises fasting or at least eating frugally and Stations of the Cross are organized to reproduce the passion of Christ. Generally celebrated at 3 p.m. on Fridays, they consist of reproducing each stage of the death of Jesus.
Why is Easter Monday a public holiday?
In France, in our country of Judeo-Christian tradition, it is above all Easter Sunday that is important because it marks the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But why is easter monday a holiday when it represents nothing at the religious level? To understand it, you have to go back to the Middle Ages! At the time, the 8 days which followed Easter Sunday, then baptized “Octave of Easter”, were holidays in order to allow Christians to go to daily masses or to go to and from the Vatican. This entirely holiday week disappeared in 1801 after the signing of the Concordat between the Pope and Napoleon Bonaparte, who was then First Consul, and only Monday has remained a holiday since.
What are the Easter traditions?
Worldwide, Easter traditions are numerous. In France, we find some of them like:
- easter bunnies : in eastern France and Germany, it is this animal with long ears that distributes chocolate eggs to children. This tradition originated in southern Germany. In the past, people in these regions could not eat meat during Lent. Rabbits therefore multiplied in the fields during this period and marked the beginning of the revival. It was in the 17th century that they were associated with Easter eggs. The rabbit or more precisely the hare is also the emblematic animal of Ostara, the Germanic goddess of fertility and spring who was venerated in the Middle Ages.
- Decorated eggs : this custom, which dates back to the Middle Ages, comes from the fact that, during Lent, the consumption of eggs was prohibited, fasting and abstinence required. In order not to lose them, we only consumed them during Mi-Lent, preparing pancakes and donuts, then we decorated those laid the following days in order to offer them at Easter.
- Chocolate eggs : in the 18th century, people began to empty eggs to fill them with chocolate and offer them. Moldings of chocolate eggs did not appear until the 19th century with the evolution of manufacturing techniques.
- Easter bells : according to popular tradition, it is the bells, which leave Rome on Holy Thursday, which bring the eggs on Easter morning and ring out the resurrection of Jesus. In the East of France, the stork or the rabbit sometimes replaces the bells to bring Easter eggs.
- Egg hunt : Traditionally, eggs and other Easter chocolates are hidden in gardens, houses or apartments for children to collect.
What are the best Easter chocolates?
Chocolate is the essential dish of Easter. In the form of small praline eggs, frying, molding in the shape of a bell, rabbit, hen or egg but also in desserts, it invites itself to our table during the Easter weekend.
What to eat at Easter?
The star ingredient of the main meal at Easter remains lamb. From the leg to the shoulder, through the ribs, the lamb is cooked and savored in all its forms. Find out how to accommodate this meat and with which dishes to accompany it. All our recipes for the most gourmet:
Where to organize an Easter egg hunt?
Outdoors or at home, in an apartment or in the garden, easter egg hunt is the favorite activity of children. To be hidden everywhere in a flowerpot, in a bush, behind a piece of furniture, the discovery of chocolate eggs will delight young and old alike. Some castles, zoos and other unusual places also organize exceptional life-size egg hunts, sometimes with additional activities to entertain all the members of the family!
What Easter activities to do with the children?
Coloring rabbits, making chicks or eggs at home, decorating cakes or even sending personalized cards… Easter is first and foremost a children’s party! And it’s not because we are in confinement that we cannot carry out these activities which will please young and old alike, offered by our partner Hugo l’Escargot.
Our Easter decoration ideas for the table and the house
Easter is an opportunity to let your imagination run wild and decorate the house thanks to decorative objects made with the children. So you can bet on the DIY to create Easter bells thanks to cardboard boxes or pretty place cards for the festive table. Children will also love the must-have activity every year, namely decorating Easter eggs with paint. To enhance your dining room, you can also make a wreath of spring flowers where you will slip Easter eggs or fake chicks! Also remember to fold your napkins in a clever way: tutorials will help you make rabbit-shaped folds.
What is the symbolism of Christian Easter?
For Christians, Easter is the most important religious holiday and marks the event in the life of Jesus on which their faith is based, namely his resurrection. The celebration of Easter concludes Holy Week describing the Passion of Christ, from the Last Supper – his last meal – to his crucifixion, then his burial. In the Christian religion, this feast symbolizes the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for men but also a certain spiritual renewal and a confirmation of the faith.