Top 10 interesting facts about the Great Easter holiday

In 2014 we celebrate Easter on the 20th of April. This ancient ecclesiastical celebration changed its appearance, traditions and time for its history.

Celebration is accompanied by such familiar childhood rituals as dyeing eggs, baking cakes, christening. However, the meaning and history of these symbols are not familiar to everyone. Therefore today we publish Top-10 interesting facts about the Great Easter holiday.

10. History of the name of the Easter

The word "Easter" comes from the Jewish "Pesach" - "passingpast ".The tradition of celebrating Pesach came from the Jewish people. The Jews celebrated the exodus from Egypt for 7 days a year. The English name of the holiday "easter" comes from the altered name of the ancient goddess of the dawn Ishtar.

9. Why we celebrate Easter

Christians, beginning in the 1st century AD, celebrate Easter in honor of the bright resurrection of Jesus Christ. In a number of countries Easter is a state holiday. Orthodox and Catholic Easter rarely coincide by date.

8. Why Easter every year changes the date

The holiday is always on a Sunday, but the date is calculated according to the lunisolar calendar. Easter can "fall out" on any Sunday between April 4 and May 8.

7. What is the Easter egg of the

Pisanka is a hand-painted Easter egg. Traditional pysanka is prepared this way. Hot wax with a steel pen on the egg pattern is applied, then the egg dipped in the first paint. After they make a new pattern with wax and are already dipped in a different color. At the end of the work, the wax sticks over the candle or burner. For safety, the contents of the pysanka are blown out and fill the shell with wax. By the way, an egg, colored in one color, is called a krashenka.

6. How the Passover Service

passes The Easter service begins in the temples at midnight from Saturday to Sunday and continues until the morning. Believers bring to the temples to illuminate eggs and cakes that will be served on the table on Sunday.

5. What it means to "be christened"

To be Christed means to greet each other with a threefold kiss and the words: "Christ is risen!" - "Truly is risen!".The custom comes from the apostolic times and is described in the New Testament.

4. What for Easter bake cakes

Easter cake is a symbol of artos, church bread, intended for Christ. The word "cake" has come to our language from Greek, where it means "pretzel".In the South-Russian and Ukrainian cuisine the Easter cake is called Pasca.

3. What is the Easter Bunny

? In the culture of the countries of Western Europe and the United States, the image of the Easter hare, a symbol of spring and fertility, is popular. So, children in Germany believe that only obedient babies on Easter the hare will bring a gift and a basket with colored chocolate eggs. In Europe and America 60 million chocolate bunnies eat at Easter.

2. Than the western Easter drifts away from the eastern

In the Orthodox tradition, among the rituals performed on the Easter holiday are dyeing eggs, consecrating eggs, Easter cakes, greeting kisses. In Catholicism and Protestantism, gifts are given at Easter, chocolate eggs are hidden in the house, children are looking for, they decorate houses with images of the Easter hare.

1. Why do we paint eggs

The egg is a symbol of regeneration and fertility. Ancient Christians painted Easter eggs exclusively in red color in memory of the spilled blood of the crucified Christ. Today, dyed chicken eggs are present on the Easter table mainly among the Slavs. And in Western Europe and the USA Easter eggs are given to chocolate eggs.