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Easter
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There is little question that many symbols of Easter have been adopted from various cultures. But this is true for almost all Christian symbols, including the cross (the sign of the fish is the most unique and original Christian symbol). But this has always been the case since the days of Abraham and Moses. That is, God’s people have always used symbols with which they were familiar from the surrounding culture, and then infused them with new meaning to commemorate and worship God. In the process the symbols are radically transformed into a means to express faith in the only true God in spite of their "pagan" origins. Such sacred Old Testament institutions as animal sacrifice, circumcision, temple worship, the priesthood, and prophets, even names for God like El, were all adapted from preexisting counterparts in Canaanite religious practice.
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Easter day is most people's favorite day of the year. A lamb is roasted and friends and families get together to eat, drink, talk and dance. In some towns like Arachova and Livadeia, it is a community celebrationwith rows of lambs roasting in the village square. In other towns like Monemvasia, Rhodes, Hydra, Halkidiki, Koroni, Chania and Lerosthe effigy of Judas or Barabbas is burned. In Syros and Karpathos people bring their guns and shoot Judas as a scapegoat for society's ills. In the town of Asine in the Argolid they actually have a street battle with the men of the upper and lower parts of the village hurling insults and fireworks at each other.In southern Messenia people go to the main squares to watch the saetapolemos, which are rockets without sticks that the men hold whilethe force of the explosions makes them jump as if they are dancing.
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Not all Easter traditions are Christian in nature. Many are pagan "imports" and, even then, many pagan and Christian traditions have been secularized over time. The Easter Bunny, for example, derives from the worship of the Anglo-Saxon goddess of fertility Eastre (hence the name Easter) whose natural symbol was the rabbit. Use of the Easter Bunny was brought to America by German immigrants - non-German Christians ignored the rabbit until some time after the Civil War when the celebration of Easter became more widespread.
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Such Easter eggs are generally referred to as pysanka (plural pysanky). In Eastern Europe, egg decoration is an ancient folk craft treasured in families and passed down from generation to generation. In Czarist Russia, this craft was elevated to such a degree that it was even imitated by such famous jewelers as Fabergé. Whether created with gold leaf and sapphires or just homemade dyes, the designs involve a variety of standard motifs—geometrical, animal, and floral. The geometrical motifs are probably the oldest, and range from simple horizontal and vertical lines to sectionalize the egg to sun symbols like the tripod, or to the "endless line" forms. Some of the most complex patterns incorporate stars and rosettes.
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By default, for years after 1752, Easter is calculated according to the rules of the Gregorian Calendar, introduced in 1582, and adopted in England in September 1752. For years to 1752, the Julian Calendar is used. Alternatively, you may force the use of the Gregorian or Julian Calendars.
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Easter is termed a movable Christian holy day because it is not fixed in relation to the civil calendar. Easter falls at some point between late March and late April each year (early April to early May in Eastern Christianity), following the cycle of the moon.
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Easter