Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday

Key words: Easter bunny, Easter eggs, secular, Christianity, Crucifixion, Resurrection

Easter weekend is primarily a Christian holiday to commemorate the death of Jesus. The weekend begins with Good Friday, a somber day for reflection, to mark the torture and crucifixion of Jesus by the Roman empire. After his death, Jesus was placed in a cave and his tomb was sealed with a large stone. It was said that on the third day his followers came to the tomb to discover the heavy stone had moved and the body had disappeared. They took this as a sign that Jesus had resurrected form the dead and joined God in heaven. Friday and Saturday are supposed to be a quiet time of fasting and praying, followed by Easter Sunday, which is a family feast in celebration of resurrection.

The secular(non-religious) celebration of Easter is usually a celebration of Springtime. Two symbols of Springtime, the bunny and eggs or baby birds, play an important role in the holiday. The Easter Bunny (similar to Santa) is said to bring children a basket filled with candy and toys. Also colorful plastic eggs are filled with candies or money and hidden around the house and yard. Children then go on an "Easter egg hunt".

The picture I have shared are cultural tradition in Ukraine pysanka. Layer of beeswax are carefully applied to real eggs to seal in place each color dye. Each pattern and symbol has a cultural meaning. It requires great patience, but at the end when the wax is polished away and the egg is revealed the reward is a great sense of accomplishment.