yeting1976
The custom of the Easter egg hunt, folklore tells us, was started by a German duchess. It was said the brightly decorated eggs were left by the Easter rabbit for the country children, who made a game of finding the eggs.The most elaborate Easter eggs are not even real eggs. A Russian jeweler, Carl Faberge, made his eggs out of gold, silver and jewels. The eggs opened to show tiny figures of people, animals, plants or buildings. The Russian emperor gave these eggs as gifts.The Easter Bunny is the modern version of a very old Easter symbol. The hare, a larger relative of the rabbit, was an animal sacred to the goddess Eostre.The custom of wearing new clothes on Easter began around 300 A.D., around the time of Constantine, the first Christian emperor. He decreed that members of his court should wear their finest clothes on Easter.中文在下面寻找复活节彩蛋的习俗，据民间传说，是由一位德国公爵夫人兴起的。据说，五彩缤纷的彩蛋是复活节兔子为乡村的孩子们留下的。孩子们把找蛋作为一种游戏。最精心制作的复活节彩蛋甚至不是真蛋。一个叫卡尔·费伯奇的俄国珠宝商曾用金、银和珠宝做成彩蛋。打开蛋还可以看到小小的人、动物、植物和房子。俄国皇帝以此作为礼物送人。复活节兔子是非常古老的复活节象征的现代说法。野兔是兔子的大个子亲戚，它是专供厄俄斯特女神用的圣物。在复活节穿新衣服的习俗是在公元后300年左右开始的，大约在第一个基督徒皇帝康斯坦丁的时代。他下令在复活节那天朝臣们都得穿最好的衣服。
一碗人间烟火
Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is the most important feast in the Christian calendar. The churches are filled with worshipers, the altars are decorated with flowers, and the music proclaims the joy of the season.Easter Sunday falls sometime between March 22 and April 25. It falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon following March 21. The date of Easter Sunday was established by the church council of Nicaea in A.D. 325.Easter Sunday ends a period of preparation for the feast of Easter. This 40-day period of prayer and fasting, called Lent, begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter. The week from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday is known as Holy Week. Good Friday marks Christ's crucifixion; and Easter Sunday, his resurrection.The custom of a sunrise service on Easter Sunday can be traced to ancient spring festivals that celebrated the rising sun. The custom developed further in the Middle Ages, when celebrations at sunrise were also popular. People gathered to pray as the sun appeared and then went in procession to their churches.The new clothes worn on Easter Sunday are a symbol of new life. The custom comes from the baptism on Easter Sunday of early Christians who were led into church wearing new robes of white linen. The present-day Easter parade has a parallel in the Middle Ages, when people walked about the country-side on Easter, stopping along the way to pray. Nowadays many people walk in Easter parades to show and see new spring clothes, especially hats.The Easter EggOne of the best-known Easter symbols is the egg, which has symbolized renewed life since ancient days. The egg is said to be a symbol of life because in all living creatures life begins in the egg. The Persians and Egyptians also colored eggs and ate them during their new year's celebration, which came in the spring.Today many people still color Easter eggs and decorate them with fancy patterns and symbols. The sun symbolizes good fortune; the rooster, fulfillment of wishes; the deer, good health; the flowers, love and charity.Egg-rolling is a present-day Easter custom that takes place each year on the lawn of the White House, in Washington, D.C. In Austria, France, Germany, Iran, Iraq, Norway, and Syria, an egg-knocking game is played. The object of the contest is to hit everyone else's egg and to keep one's own unbroken. The last player with a whole egg is declared the winner.The Easter BasketEaster Baskets symbolize nests where the Easter Bunny laid it's Easter Eggs. Today, baskets are used for the Easter Bunny hide to colored eggs and other goodies in for children to find on Easter!The Easter Bunny, Lamb & ChickThe 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 lamb represents Jesus and relates His death to that of the lamb sacrificed on the first Passover. Christians traditionally refer to Jesus as "the Lamb of God." Many people serve lamb as part of the Easter feast.The Chick is another Easter Symbol that represents new life or rebirth. The Chick breaking out it's shell is a symbol for Jesus' ressurrection, when the rock was moved and he imerged from the tomb.
