Celebrating Easter (with Baskets!)

You guys, I love Easter. The intense preparation of Lent is difficult and beautiful and lead me back to a place of deep joy at Easter.

Each year around this time, when I see people lamenting bunnies and dismissing the whole thing as pagan, I want to remind them of the beautiful Christian origins of this feast. This is the Feast of Feasts! Early Christians didn't keep this feast because they secretly didn't want to give up their pagan traditions - they had the greatest reason of all to celebrate. We, too, have every reason to celebrate this day with joy - even with eggs and baskets!

So, to encourage you to embrace this season, with Jesus, baskets, and all, I offer this little introduction to the Christian origins of Easter, with some pictures from my family's celebration of Pascha in recent years. Here we go!

1. "Easter" or "Pascha"

The word "Easter" derives from the old Germanic word for the month Easter usually fell in: Ēosturmōnaþ (our month of April). The month was named for the goddess Eostre, a germanic divinity, in the same way that many of our months are named for Roman gods. This connection to the goddess is dependent solely on a statement by Bede in the 8th century. But, don't let this vague connection worry you - the Christian celebration of Easter undoubtedly preceded the term. (Wikipedia: Easter Etymology)

Early Christians called the feast by the greek name for Passover, Πάσχα, that is Pascha, since the resurrection happened during the Passover weekend and the earliest Christians were Jews. (Wikipedia: Easter Etymology) The words can be used interchangeably. 

In 1 Corinthians, Paul calls Christ the passover lamb, πάσχα, "For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." We keep the feast anew because Christ fulfills the old!

Butter Lambs are a traditional Easter treat!

2. Beginnings

The Jewish Christians continued to celebrate Passover with the new Christian implications. A fully formed Christian celebration of Pascha is evidenced by the mid-2nd century by the Paschal homily of Melitos of Sardis: 

"This one is the passover of our salvation. This is the one who patiently endured many things in many people: This is the one who was murdered in Abel, and bound as a sacrifice in Isaac, and exiled in Jacob, and sold in Joseph, and exposed in Moses, and sacrificed in the lamb, and hunted down in David, and dishonored in the prophets. This is the one who became human in a virgin, who was hanged on the tree, who was buried in the earth, who was resurrected from among the dead, and who raised mankind up out of the grave below to the heights of heaven. This is the lamb that was slain. This is the lamb that was silent. This is the one who was born of Mary, that beautiful ewe-lamb. This is the one who was taken from the flock, and was dragged to sacrifice, and was killed in the evening, and was buried at night; the one who was not broken while on the tree, who did not see dissolution while in the earth, who rose up from the dead, and who raised up mankind from the grave below." (Wikipedia: Easter in the Early Church, and the Homily)

from the Holy Thursday reading of the Twelve Passion Gospels

3. Lent 

The term "lent" is derived from an old English term meaning spring. In Greek speaking countries it is called Μεγάλη Τεσσαρακοστή, which means "Great 40 days," patterned after our Lord's 40 day fast. It is still called "Great Lent" in English. (Wikipedia: Great Lent) Historically, the Lenten fast was a communal fast from meat, dairy, wine and oil to prepare both body and soul for communion with Christ. (Read more about "The True Nature of Fasting" in the Lenten Triodion.)

In the early church, new Christians prepared for their baptism on Easter with a period of fasting and prayer. This gradually developed into a 40 day fasting period and was adopted by the whole community in communion with the catechumens. The liturgical celebration of Lent varies in the East and West, but they all originated as a time of repentance and preparation for baptism. For Catholics, Ash Wednesday is 45 days before Easter, or 40 days if you don't count the Sundays. For Orthodox, Lent starts on Clean Monday, 48 days before Pascha, or 40 days plus Holy Week.  (Wikipedia: Lent)

In our church, Holy Week is an intense week of services, walking us through the final days of Christ's life. One of my favorite parts is on Friday morning when the children prepare the funeral bier with flowers like the myrrh-bearing women. Later that night we carry the funeral bier around the church, and re-enter the church by going under the bier, reminding us of our baptism and symbolizing our union with Christ in death. I also love Holy Saturday morning, when Christ's body is in the tomb: we have a little pre-celebration because even before the resurrection Christ is defeating death, harrowing Hades!

On Holy Saturday, the priest throws basil and rose petals in victory throughout the church
as we celebrate the "Harrowing of Hades" in preparation for Easter.

On Saturday night, around midnight, the church is dark. Slowly, chanting a beautiful invitation to receive Christ's light, the priest brings one candle from the altar, and everyone lights their candle  and carries it outside and around again to the doors of the church, where we re-enter the church now full of light. We shout and sing Christ is risen in many languages! The fast is over and the celebration has begun. After the Liturgy, we have a big feast in the middle of the night, eating all the foods we've been fasting from. I love that all of our serious, hard work ends with full-hearted fun.

at the doors of the church on Great and Holy Pascha!

4. The date

Churches in the East and the West use the same ancient formula to calculate the date of Easter, but the East uses the old Julian Calendar as opposed to the new Gregorian calendar. So Eastern churches celebrate Pascha sometimes several weeks after Western Eastern, although occasionally they still fall on the same date. You can read the specifics of the calculations at the link. (Wikipedia: Easter computations) This year, Orthodox Easter is a week later! So after you celebrate Easter, you still have time to come see how we do Eastern Pascha. ;) 

beautiful Easter baskets at the front of the church during the Paschal Liturgy,
basil and rose petals still on the floor, the icon of the Resurrection

5. Easter Baskets 

Yes, easter baskets really do have a rich Christian history! They didn't start with the Easter Bunny. Early Christians fasted by eating simply and giving up meat, eggs, dairy, wine, and oil. So when Pascha arrived, they brought baskets full of these rich foods to the church to be blessed for the feast! After the Paschal Liturgy they feasted on these foods in a spirit of joy of the resurrection. (Wikipedia: Easter Egg Lenten Tradition and Easter Basket) This is the real meaning of fasting: to prepare ourselves to enter into the Eternal Feast. (Read more about fasting in the Lenten Triodion.)

We still keep this tradition! In our church, we bring our baskets filled with food and decorated with flowers and fancy cloth covers, to the front of the church during the Liturgy. At the very end, the priest blesses the baskets - and then we take them to the hall for the feast. Besides food for the church meal, our family includes foods to take home and enjoy throughout Bright Week as we continue to celebrate at home. In our basket, we included butter (now in the shape of a lamb!), eggs, chocolate for the kids, summer sausages and fancy cheeses.

my red eggs, ready to go to church!

6. Easter Eggs 

Eggs are certainly a sign of new life and spring, and this fits thoroughly with the themes of Passover and Easter, and has long been associated with Christian Easter. The egg reminds us of a stone, but, like Christ's tomb, it breaks open to reveal new life. (Wikipedia: Easter Egg)

Orthodox Christians traditionally dye their eggs deep red like the blood of Christ, which yields this new life. The tradition of red eggs comes from legends about St. Mary Magdalene, my patron saint. (Wikipedia: Easter Eggs Legends) One tells how Mary appeared before the Roman emperor, and, having given away all of her possessions to the poor, brought a humble egg as a gift. Offended by her simple gift, he rudely replied to her witness that Christ was risen from the dead, saying, "He is no more risen than that egg is red!" Immediately the egg turned red in her hand! (From A Children's Paradise of Saints) 

Printable Red Egg Poem

7. The Easter Bunny

Orthodox Christians don't have any bunnies in our traditions, although I might still eat a chocolate one! Wikipedia suggests the Easter Bunny was developed later by German Lutherans to reward good children much like Santa Claus. So, although this is one of the customs people are quick to call pagan, it's just a fun, folk tradition. (Wikipedia: Easter Bunny Association with Eostre) So play Easter Bunny if you want! Either way, its wonderful to treat the kids with baskets of their own on Easter morning, with chocolates, books, and toys.

A beeswax egg candle, Cadbury eggs, homemade donuts for breakfast;
 bunny (!) legos and new bibles were in the kids' Pascha baskets one year.

By Easter Sunday, our prayer corner has accumulated blessed palms from Palm Sunday and red flowers from the funeral Lamentations of Holy Friday; we have flower petals from Holy Saturday's harrowing of Hades, and holy fire from our Easter candles. There are red eggs and a butter lamb next to the children's easter baskets on our breakfast table, and our genuine joy spills out everywhere like kid's confetti eggs. More than just remembering Christ's death and resurrection, we have celebrated at every step how it renews the world and fills it with the light of the kingdom.

So, don't worry. The thoroughly Christian roots of this feast are rich enough that you can easily celebrate with joy. (And with baskets!) Don't miss out on this Feast of feasts for fear of bunnies or pagans. Instead, let's celebrate it with prayer, struggle and beauty, with fun and food, singing and shouting "Christ is risen!" because, truly, He is risen. 

Our prayer corner last year with a palm cross, red carnations from the Lamentations,
Easter tulips, and our paschal candle. I forgot to bring home the flowers and basil!

Our breakfast table last year with creamy coffee and hard-boiled eggs; butter lamb and brioche bread; kids egg decorations from Lazarus Saturday and confetti eggs; our memory verse stone from the Paschal gospel and my beeswax egg candle