This weekend is celebrated widely within Christianity as Easter, which sets out to commemorate the passing of the Son of God and the events of the following days that established the religion upon which roughly a third of the global population has established its society and beliefs.
A brief description of Easter is that it sets out to mirror the final days of the saviour, Jesus Christ, with the observance of ‘Lent’ the forty days prior to Easter, as reflective of his self-imposed desert exile, where he fought the temptations of evil, only to return to civilisation to dine on Maundy Thursday, partaking in what was a traditional Passover meal, taking bread and wine with his disciples, before being betrayed to the Romans. The next day, observed as Easter, or ‘Good’ Friday, marks Jesus’ crucifixion, his death on the wooden cross and his burial in a cave.
Fear of recriminations kept many away on the Saturday, while today, Easter Saturday is observed as a family, community and reflective day by those with religious obligations. The following day, Easter Sunday, several of Jesus’ disciples visited the burial tomb to find it empty, with people saying he was alive, not dead, but was preaching nearby, having been resurrected. In recent times, the giving of Easter Eggs celebrates the renewal of life, as written in either history, legend, or romance, depending upon one’s level of belief.
Personally, the thought of basing one’s entire life, way of life, way of thinking, upon romanticism is a pleasantry that is difficult to justify. However, if my neighbour, my colleague, even my foe, have the strength and resilience to sustain their existence, both now and later, upon such unlikely tenets, then more power to them and may they be rewarded for their strength of disposition and probity. I, on the other hand, must trust that my good intentions and sense of purpose will eventually surpass my callow requirement for pragmatism over faith.
Easter Monday is very much a day without celebration in the Catholic Church, according to its definitive document, the ‘Pascales Solemnetatis,’ which encourages prayers and devotion. It is generally observed as a National Holiday, in England, Wales, New Zealand, Australia, Canada and South Africa, where it is labelled as a ‘Family Day.’ In a more religious sense, it is observed in significance as ‘Tweede Paasdag’ or a ‘Second Easter Day,’ in the Netherlands; Dygnus Day, or Wet Monday, by the Polish and Czech communities globally; in an Emausgang ‘walk’ in Austria; as a refreshing ‘Sham Ennesim’ in Egypt; in Ireland by many as commemorating the Easter Rising of 1916; in Italy as ‘Pasquetta’ or ‘Monday of the Angel; in much of America and Australia long-standing sports events take place; while in Spain, the ‘Easter Mona’ sweet is a traditional favourite.
And what about Easter Eggs? Who doesn’t like Easter Eggs? What kid has never made themselves sick from eating too many Easter Eggs? None and googling ‘Easter Eggs,’ and gets 8 million hits! Easter Eggs go back... 60,000 years, to when Ostrich eggs were decorated in Mesopotamia, to mark the death and rebirth of prominent individuals. Gold and silver eggs were uncovered in the tombs of Ancient Sumerians recently and academically, there are those who see the three parts of the egg, the shell, yolk and albumen as representative of the Catholic Trinity.
Less exotically though, eggs were not allowed to be consumed during the feast of Passover, so they were boiled, painted and given to children as toys and decorations, then, based on the Latin “Omne vivum ex ovo,” or ‘all life comes from an egg,’ the humble egg was appropriated as an entrepreneurial master stroke, 200 years ago in Europeك and just like that and like everything, Easter became commercialised. Oh well, I guess I’ll just have another one of those decadent little crème eggs then... everyone else is.
Ray Petersen
The writer is a media consultant
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