The word Easter comes from the word “east” which, in addition to being a direction, means to face the rising sun. Christ is expected to appear in the east at his second coming.
Easter is described as that event or season that commemorates the Christ’s resurrection. Easter is observed on different dates due to different calendars and the fact that it falls on the first Sunday after the paschal full moon.
A paschal full moon is said to be the 14th day of the lunar month occurring on or after the Vernal Equinox, the first day of spring. Some calendars may show March 20 as the first day of spring.
The annual date of Easter corresponds roughly with the Jewish Passover. The only appearance of the word Easter in the King James Version of the Holy Bible is in Acts 12:4 where Herod has imprisoned Peter “intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.” Other versions of the Bible translate the word Easter as “Pascha” or “Passover”.
Some other days and events associated with Easter are:
* Shrove Tuesday: The day on which rich foods are to be used up in preparation for the upcoming season of Lent. Lent comes from the Anglo-Saxon word “Lencten” which means “spring”.
* Ash Wednesday: The first day of Lent. Ash Wednesday means “Day of Ashes.” In ancient times, people marked times of fasting, prayer and repentance by placing ashes on their foreheads.
* Lent: The 40 days (not counting Sundays) from Ash Wednesday to Easter observed as a time of penitence and fasting.
* Palm Sunday: During Christ’s lifetime, it was the custom for the common people to greet royalty by waving palm branches and strewing them in their path. The palm was symbolic of victory. So it was when Jesus entered Jerusalem on what we now call Palm Sunday.
* Maundy Thursday: A commemoration of the day Jesus gathered his disciples in the upper room to eat the Feast of the Passover. A derivation of the word Maundy is a foot-washing ceremony. As you recall, Christ washed the feet of his disciples.
* Good Friday: The name Good Friday may actually have been called God’s Friday. It commemorates the day Christ died on the cross. The day is without doubt a most solemn day for Christians. In earlier times, because of the deep, solemn nature of the day, women would not wash clothes on Good Friday because of the connection of Christ’s body being wrapped in linen on that day. Miners would not go underground to work because they felt that the earth was cursed the day Jesus was laid in the tomb. No one would drive nails on that day, because nails were used to crucify Christ.
Marshall McClung is a columnist for The Graham Star.