Easter is a festival that is celebrated with great joy by the Catholic/Christian community all over the world as it marks the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Catholics/Christians believe that on Easter Sunday Jesus Christ rose from the grave in which He was buried and entered into heaven along with the good thief who was also crucified along with Jesus (He repented for his sins and was thus able to enter the kingdom of God).
Easter celebrations begin during the Easter vigil service on Holy Saturday (i.e. the Saturday following Good Friday). There are many traditions and customs that have come to be associated with the festival of Easter. On Easter Sunday people all over the world exchange Easter eggs. These are eggs made out of chocolate or cashewnuts. The egg has a long history of being a part of creation theories and celebrations. The Easter egg is not a Christian tradition, but instead it is believed that it has come from Druidic celebrations of Spring. Dyed eggs were also used by the Egyptians, Persians, Greeks and Romans during the Spring festivals. Christians adopted the eggs and used them to represent the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Easter is a movable feast and is celebrated in various ways in different parts of the world. It is celebrated either in March or April when the trees grow new leaves and nature looks fresh and young. This year, Easter falls on April 5. Easter is a time to reiterate God’s promise to us — that we have a relationship of friendship and love with Him. As we celebrate this joyous occasion, let us pledge to experience the love of Jesus that He poured out for the entire world, and to partake of it and share it with the purpose of standing victorious with the risen Lord.
After Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross, His body was taken down and buried in a cave tomb. The tomb was guarded by Roman soldiers and a very big stone which no one could lift, was put over the entrance so that no one could steal the body. On the following Sunday, which is called Easter Sunday, Mary Magdalene, a disciple of Jesus Christ, followed later by some more people, visited the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away, and that the body of Jesus had gone missing.
Jesus himself was seen that day by Mary Magdalene and the other disciples and for forty days continuously by many other people. His followers realised that God (Abba Father) had raised Him up from the dead. Christians call this the Resurrection. On Maundy Thursday (i.e. the Thursday before Good Friday), Jesus ate His last meal with His disciples. At this meal, Jesus told His disciples that they should love and serve one another. He demonstrated this by washing the feet of all His twelve disciples. On Good Friday Christians remember Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross.
Jubel D’Cruz
