All visitor comments about Easter in Canada
What games do you play at Easter? How do you celebrate? What do you eat? Send in your Easter-related comments below:
Why is it that individuals who profess to be knowledgeable are determined to all but eliminate certain individuals beliefs in a power greater than themselves who is vested with forgiveness and compassion for thier fellow human being.Would we not be a better society if more people were less influenced by critical opinions and self appointed experts.
Josephus on Jesus
The extant manuscripts of the book Antiquities of the Jews, written by the first-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus around AD 93–94, contain two references to Jesus of Nazareth and one reference to John the Baptist. The first and most extensive reference to Jesus in the Antiquities, found in Book 18, states that Jesus was the Messiah and a wise teacher who was crucified by Pontius Pilate. It is commonly called the Testimonium Flavianum. Nearly all modern scholars reject the authenticity of this passage in its present form, though most nevertheless hold that it contains an authentic nucleus referencing the life and execution of Jesus by Pilate, which was then subjected to Christian interpolation and alteration. However, the exact nature and extent of the original statement, if it even existed, remains unclear.
In the entire first Christian century Jesus is not mentioned by a single Greek or Roman historian, religion scholar, politician, philosopher or poet. His name never occurs in a single inscription, and it is never found in a single piece of private correspondence. Zero!
Zip references.
Dr. Bart Ehrman
Professor of Religious Studies
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Easter is a pagan holiday instituted by Emperor Constantine in the early 300s AD. Good Friday is not the day of Christ's crucifixion, Jesus was crucified on Nissan 14, which according to the Gregorian calendar was a Wednesday, not a Friday.
Easter is only called Easter in English and German, and is more of an alias in those languages than a name of the Feast, The Feast is Pascha, the Passover, and the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, of which the Passover was an Old Testament 'type'. Latin, French, Spanish all use versions of the Greek "Pascha",(Latin-Pascha, French Pâques, Spanish-Pascua) all of which refer to the
the Liturgical celebration of the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ, which is what Easter is. The use of eggs and bunnies does not change the meaning or origin of Pascha, (Easter in English and German only). All Christians celebrated the same liturgy, which is rooted in the Passion and Resurrection of Christ.
It is an odd anachronism to attribute to Constantine a name that was only used in German and English. These languages used "Easter", because Pascha took place in the month ?ostre, which was named after the goddess "ISHTAR".
It does not follow that the feast of Easter was named after the goddess ishtar any more than it follows that all Wednesday Church services are named after the Germanic god of war 'Odin' or "Woden", for which Wednesday is named.
i much prefer "Resurrection Sunday" to Easter, clearly separating the non-Christian observance from the Christian one.
Garnett, how ironic that you pray for poor ignorant people. Religion and prayer have been used for centuries as tools for suppression and false hope. "Sheeple" should be your first clue that you are the one being led down the proverbial rabbit hole. And on Easter, how fitting.
“Good Friday marks the death of Jesus Christ according to the Christian religion” there isn’t any discrepancy between when Christians think Jesus died and when historical evidence says he died. Even 1st century scholars like Dr. Bart ermand who is very critical of Christian traditions and Christianity in general doesn’t dispute when Jesus died. Therefore I conclude this article was written by an uneducated non Christian and frankly it’s offensive.
Easter, a wonderful holiday to celebrate the love of God and his son Christ, who died for us to give eternal life to all who believe in him.
Easter is about Jesus dying on the cross to redeem man and resurrecting on the 3rd day, not chocolate eggs and treasure hunts...
I agree with Marsha. Easter Sunday should be a holiday. It is the most important day for those of Catholic faith and yet my family will not be together to prepare the celebratory meal because my daughter, a groomer, will be working. What has happened to religion, to tradition, to family?
I pray for the poor ignorant people who are being mislead regarding this "pandemic". Fear and division are useful tools for tyrants and sociopaths. Sheeple are too quick to relinquish their freedoms and liberties.
Don't understand why government employee's get the Thanksgiving Monday off. Should be for everyone not just them
Little more separation of church and state please.
I thank God that I am still alive and appreciate what little I have. People have lost jobs and their lives because of this pandemic. We had better realize that the world is changing. It does not matter which holiday comes up. Nothing is the same anymore and it never will. We need to evolve with whatever happens. We have no choice.
Why is Easter (Sunday) not a statutory holiday as well? A lot of people also have to work on the weekends now including Sundays. So why is Good Friday, and in the case of government employees Easter Monday, considered statutory holidays but not the actual day itself?
Freedom of speech and freedom of cult seem to be dead in Canada.
Cant wait to see the family. Should be good times.
I'm preparing Easter bags for all of the homeless on Rue St Catherine in the Gay Village of Montréal this year. I'm not sure how to prepare myself with the Coronavirus at this time but everything will be okay.
Is Good Friday a Statutory Holiday in Quebec? I've found conflicting information on different websites, so I'm trying to determine which site I should use for reference
It is not only Roman Catholics who observe Lent (the period from Ash Wednesday Good Friday). Other Christian denominations such as Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, etc. also observe it. .
I favor we celebrate Dec 25 as Jesus' birthday, as I agree with Gandhi:
Even if Jesus never existed, what is offered to us in his name is so great that justifies us to celebrate him.
But I do not support easter, as it is the day when Jesus, the man died. And diety of Jesus will come down sooner that that of God. But Jesus as per Gandhi definition, shoul stay for wver.
Forget the huge numbers of Christians. It can change quickly. And the tendency is the number of atheists rises, believers plummets.
Still, I am in favor to let people celebrate whoever they want as their diety,
Germans are well known for their inventions that include the Easter bunny for the Holy Week as well as Santa Claus for Christmas; it reflects their need to extend their influence to the most important, and religious events celebrated by humans
The headline is "Share your holiday story, idea or comments...What games do you play at Easter? How do you celebrate? What do you eat?
Interesting how the comments have so quickly turned from stories reflecting on joy and happiness on this celebrated occasion to the bashing of government, gov't employees, religious beliefs, children and their ipads, lazy parents, etc.
Says volumes on the state of humanity in the world today...or better said, lack of humanity.
RAJ. S-Canada is a country based on Christianity- not sure how this can offend anyone with their own beliefs, many if not all countries in the world have a base of religion (or a large population there of) and I don't think when a secular day is celebrated anyone should be offend in any faith, when the Jewish Faith celebrates Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, or the Islamic faith celebrate Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha. Eid Al-Fitr, of Christianity celebrates Christmas or Easter.
People need to be understanding and tolerant, a country should not have to remove its traditions or history for fear of offending. No one is forced to live here nor participate in the celebrations, so Raj you have a choice, enjoy your day, join in or leave, I'm sure there is a place in the world that will accept you with your views and beliefs with out having to change.
I wish you peace & happiness, I hope you will find understanding and tolerance for all.
Response to Raj S.
According to the survey from 2011, 64% are Cristians, 24% are non-religigious and the rest 12% are some of those to whom you belong. So, one could say that the country in which you live is predominantly Cristian. Inspite of that you are free, even as a religious minority, to practice your faith, which apparently you would like to take away from others that do not share your faith and beliefs. Well, if you do not like it, feel free to go back where you came from and enjoy your own relegion all you want.
The tenants, laws and traditions of Canada are based on Judeo-Christian principles (primarily Christian), fortunately for people of other faiths, or no faith at all... there are few cultures/faiths that are as tolerant to others - contrast the rights of non-Jews in Israel to those granted in other countries within the ME...
Rather than complaining about what this country was founded on or trying to change it, perhaps another country may be more suitable to people who don’t appreciate what we have...
Canada with a secular Constitution should not have statutory holidays that are partial to any particular faith. Sends the message that Canada is officially "Christian", when it is not. This is disrespectful to others who do not share such beliefs.
Who writes this historical revisionism? Easter is nothing less than the primary religious celebration of all Christians (Catholic and Protestant) worldwide, commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We number upwards of 2 billion people!
This is in response to Blob Smith. No one has to prove anything to you, just like you don't have to prove to anyone why you have no religion or belief in anything beyond what you can see around you. Just focus on what you believe in and leave others to their faith and we should all be alright. Live and let live!
I am not, nor is my family and relations, religious in any shape or form but I do respect others beliefs as long they don't attempt to convert others by force. Easter was celebrated by my family and cousins because it's spring and we used the time to be with and celebrate family. Easter egg hunts and family suppers. I and others in my family have worked Sundays and we make sure we celebrate twice or three times if we have to in order to include everyone. By the way in June we are celebrating Christmas because our greater family was not able to get together in 2018. peace to all
Food food for thought: Muslims celebrate Sabbath on Friday, Jews on Saturday, Christians on Sunday.
They can not all be right. They most certainly can all be wrong.
I will wait until any one of them can prove they are correct.
When my daughter was young, we decorated eggs with other family members who had children. We also hid chocolate eggs for them to find on Easter Sunday. These were traditions for my siblings and me that we looked forward to when we were young. For us Easter was an important remembrance of Jesus 40 days of fasting, his crucifixion and resurrection. To me it did not matter the actual date of this event as much as the remembrance. There were reflections on the words of Jesus from the Bible. There is much wisdom there.
So, Niye, you are happy to get the time off of work, but you resent an explanation (which you are not required to read)of why you are given the day off with pay? If it weren't for the reason behind this explanation, you wouldn't be getting the day off. Think of it as a First World Problem, and be thankful for your running water and flush toilets.
There are far more Christians then not! More so have migrated back to Christianity as I did as i saw how deplorable society has become . With that said and done , I pray God slaps you upside the head as he did to me and give the rest of you a wake up call!
Saying most people don't believe in christianity doesn't mean the country has no Culture and beliefs.
Canada accepting you in their country doesn't mean it gave up all it's cultural beliefs.
That's why it has Catholic schools as part of them.
Don't ask for too much
You might irritate them
According to what I have read, Easter is based on the pagan practice of celebrating the first full moon after the March equinox. So Easter as we have it actually is not about Christ and the resurrection, somehow the two got mixed together. Therefore there is no need to get upset about Easter being a religious holiday. Furthermore, if it was about the crucifixion and resurrection, it would not be at a different time each year. We just use the Friday and Sunday of that weekend to honor the crucifixion and resurrection. So Easter with its bouncing around from year to year, March one year and April the next, is about the first full moon after the March solstice.
For those that work every Sunday- so what good is having Friday or Monday off- we still can't celebrate Easter with family!
No.I do not mind that Christian holidays that are deemed as stat holidays be listed, what I do mind is the mini monologue explaining the Christian story. Many of us in Canada are not faith based and deplore that our culture in this day and age is still marred by ideologies
Elaine, if we decided to include stat holidays for EVERY religion there wouldnt be any work days left! The other option is to change the names of the current stats that are “religion based” like easter and christmas. But change the names all you want, just like the national anthem, people will still celebrate christmas, easter and sing the anthem the way they want to!
Jesus' crucifixion is a historical fact, not just a religion story. One may find about it dated back from HIS time. When you have God in your heart, you have no enemy. God tells us to love our enemies. It's sad that most of us claims to be Christians but don't apply it. Really, if there is no God and everyone would be fine and get along then why can't someone who doesn't believe in God have trouble accepting people from a different belief? If 1/2 believers (one atheist, the other Muslim) have trouble getting along then how do you expect 2/2 (both atheists) to get along?
What's awesome is that God loves both the Muslim and the atheist because He sacrificed His only Son, Jesus Christ for everyone so He can have an eternal relationship with everyone. We all desire an eternal relationship with the ones we love because we are created in God's image and therefore we are like HIm.
I love hearing the origins or stories that come with celebrations! All of them are interesting and have a history! I am Catholic and I celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. I see in the comments that JJR asked about Jesus and how if he died and was resurrected (though it was on Easter, not Palm Sunday), did he die again. The story of the resurrection is told in the New Testament of the Bible by the apostles...Matthew (chapter 28), Luke (chapter 24), and John (chapter 20). You won't need a bible, it can be found online. The short version...Jesus was crucified on Good Friday, was laid in a tomb and was resurrected on Easter Sunday. The stone was moved from the entrance of the tomb and no one was inside (simply unheard of!) Jesus appeared to the women and apostles, he spent time with them in his resurrected form and he did not die again, but ascended into heaven which ends the Easter season (read about it in the book of Acts chapter 1 -- New Testament). There's obviously lots more to read and understand about all that Christians celebrate and there are many who spend their lives studying it. Happy reading!! And Happy Easter!!
There is no god. There never was. It's all make-believe. Religions are simply stories, entertainment and way to control people. Also a way to divide people. It is the #1 reason for conflicts and wars around the world. If everyone stopped believing in their 'god' and dropped religion, the world would be a better place. Treat people as you would like to be treated. People who once may have been your enemies simply because of religion could become your friend. People would no longer fight over religion or different beliefs. As for integrating other religions into holidays - I really don't see the point. For the most part, Canada is a Christian country. Go back a 100 years and that's what you got. Islam was never part of the Canadian history. Why should Canada adapt to that? I doubt Islam countries would adapt to Christian holidays.
Please note that Jesus did his 40-day fast at the beginning of his ministry, not at the end. The fast of Lent, from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday, was instituted by church leaders centuries after Jesus' resurrection. And, "No, he did not die again; Jesus showed himself alive for 40 days and then ascended to heaven, where he welcomes believers and prays for us and does much more."
jjr. According to the Bible, the Ascension of Jesus is the departure of Christ from Earth into the presence of God.[1] The narrative in Acts 1 takes place 40 days after the Resurrection:
If Jesus died on Good Friday and resurrected on Palms Sunday, what happened after this, did he die again and are there any records?
JJR
i believe we should get Good Friday and Easter Monday
The comments are starting to get a bit too heated -- many aren't posted due to inappropriate content. Please keep the discussion respectful. Your comments will be posted as long as you don't include all caps words and offensive language or racist remarks.
Regardless of the religion that celebrates specific holidays ...we are Canadian. We celebrate everyone. Easter can be special to everyone as a holiday that Christians created....but we celebrate because no one is absent from sin and everyone is in need of renewal. Every religion has their own way to lead people towards freedom but perhaps we will all get there with more consistency and power if we observed as much truth as we can. Easter is a beautiful holiday and a long weekend to start our spring cleaning projects... starting out fresh is wonderful!! Look for reasons to enjoy your life, make everything work for you and your path. They are all good and they can all compliment one another to support everyone towards a path of Freedom.
why did one leave their own Islamic country and come to Canada. Is it to spread their religion or live in peace which is not available to them back home.
Hey to all those people trying to state that we Christians should forego our stat holidays because you of alternate religions don't approve, you cannot get a job at Burger King and demand to wear a McDonalds uniform, you adjust to where you choose to work.... Well if you come to Canada, you don't have to celebrate our stats for religious reasons but respect those of us who do.. I am a white male, I have rights too!!!!!!!!!
Amir, I agree with you. In order to truly become a multi-cultural/multi-religious country then Canada needs to recognise that not everyone is Christian. I have personally witnessed on 3 different occasions my co-worker not being able to take Eid al-Fitr off. So, of the Stats how many are religion based. Easter and Christmas. So change the Stat law to allow every Canadian 4 stat days to use as they see fit. There are details to this that would obviously have to be addressed but this a comment on a website not a formal proposal. Happy Easter to those who celebrate.
I'm not religious but I enjoy these holidays and celebrate them how I see fit. If you get the day off then great, enjoy it no matter what your religion is or isn't. Yes I lose pay if I'm off but I gain time with my family.
Holidays should be non denominational and have nothing to do with one's religion when it is a government holiday. It needs to be changed to so many days a year and you can celebrate whatever you want.
Amir
Just think what if a Christian living in your home country asking a similar question about holidays -calling Islamic holidays hypocritical and asking to have all Christian holidays observed there? I bet he won't live too long, lol.
If you immigrate to a country following a different religion, respect the tradition while keeping yours. Most Canadian are kind and it's the very thoughts like yours that have been creating tensions within the welcoming and diverse culture. Why can't local Canadian keep having their traditional statutory holidays just because new muslim residents don't like them? While claiming your muslim rights have you thought about other religions? I guess we might as well have no tradition related holidays because there are definitely some people who don't like that tradition! Sorry guys just Saturday and Sundays, not other holidays or statutory long weekends thanking to our muslim friends. Maybe all holidays should be readjusted to cater the needs of muslims, everyone's happy?
Elaine, businesses and the economy are affected when employers are required to pay employees to sit at home. You may think you have an understanding on the diversity of religions, however do you think it wise to have for parents to explain to there kids why we are "celebrating" say, January 7th St. Winebald Day where satanists like to sacrifice and dismember people, or January 17th the Satanic revels where they like to rape young girls, or January 20th-27th the week to abduct a child, perform ceremonies with them and then sacrifice them. This is the problem with religious tolerance, is you need to allow all religions. If these comments regarding satanism offend you, please remember Sharia Law, or Islamic law itself teaches followers that murder and rape are acceptable, and preached. (If shes older than 9).
Amir, The majority of people celebrate Easter because they get a day off work and give chocolate to their kids and say it's from a bunny. Just like most people celebrate Christmas because they get time off work to spend with family and give there kids presents. Although religion may have been a factor in creating these holidays, it's not what people celebrate about them. It's part of our history and culture and we make the best of it by spending it happily with our families. No one is trying to push any religious ideals onto anyone by enjoying these holidays. Don't worry, westerners don't have Kitman or Taqiyya, they don't believe in lying to others to further their religion or murdering non believers.
In response to Amir: Canada as a nation was built or converted to a Christian tradition just as many countries were built or converted to a Muslim tradition. If I went to Iraq or Pakistan I would politiely observe the Islamic customs and try to be respectful. So there is a point where cultural history and religion combine to become one. I think every country has customs such as these. In Islamic Nations I would expect that prayer and worship are part of the typical school day no?
Yes Easter is a Christian holiday and no it is not hypocritical to celebrate nationwide. Canada is a Christian country and while Canadians welcome all religions and cultures, Christianity is an important piece of the nation's history.
I agree with Amir, if we are going to celebrate Christian Holidays then why not all the rest? Exclusion does not make sense to me. Canada is a diverse Country, with People from all over the World. The whole conform and assimilate stuff is nonsense in my opinion.
Being a Muslim, i don't have anything against this. It a holiday - Great. I do see this as being a hypocrite though. So there are these religious holiday and government is off on these days, so are schools, but people praying at school is an issue of mixing religion with government....reality check that has already happened if there is Easter Holiday, Christmas and other Christianity based holidays. Again not saying that there is anything wrong with these holidays, i am very happy to see them and happy for my dear friends who celebrate it. Being in Canada for a long while i see people as people not religion and that everyone is free to celebrate and pray how they like, but aren't we getting a bit hypocritical. If its Islam or anything to do with Islam its wrong, and mixing government with religion, but for any other religion (Christianity mainly that is fine)
My official weekend is Monday and Tuesday so I rarely get a three day weekend I would like to Easter Sunday considered the stat. For one!! I think it would be fairer if I got paid a minimum 4 hrs on all the Monday stats that way I could afford to take a day off every 2 accumulated stat days!
man why we no eat chocolate every dayyy
The reason why some get more days off (holidays) is because they belong to unions who negotiate these extra stats. The rest of us work in union free shops and get whatever our bosses want to give us - usually just the legal stat holidays.
I too agree that people should be able to believe in whatever religion and lifestyle, they choose (as long as its legal and they keep it to themselves. I do not believe anyone has the right to tell others how to worship, who to marry, or what holidays to celebrate. Therefore, I agree with the posters here who suggest that immigrants to our country either go along to get along or go back where they came from. Please do not come here, take advantage of the sanctuary we offer you, take advantage of all we do to help you assimilate into our culture and way of life and then later tell us to start changing our school curriculums, holiday observances, religious beliefs, in order that they more closely resemble yours. You asked us to come here (not the other way around)and while we are happy to give you sanctum, and a safe place to lay hour head we are not prepared to change our country to suite you.
Man, I'm all for people having a holiday break and whatnot, both retailing and government employees alike. But why is there such an emphasis on this and not something like Family Day, where it's relevant in our multi-cultural country?
This whole Easter BS is outdated, and should be renamed to "Best Time to Buy Chocolate Day". Which oddly sounds close to The Day After Valentine's, but I won't get into that.
Government employees do get 2 days around Easter, but they don't get Family day.
I had to work Easter because I'm not a government employee I also worked civic day and rememberance day
I dont follow organized religion, to me its no better than a cult, however i do celebrate some traditional holidays for the kids, Easter use to be one of them now not so much, as far as offending anyone...screw that, when do we get to complain about what other cultures do that is offensive to us ??? - some want the Canadian anthem changed because it mentions god and glowing hearts...SERIOUSLY, if you don't like the country you chose to escape to go back home to where you tried to escape from - if you dont like the traditions dont celebrate them pretty simple,but dont stop others from doing what they believe-- HAPPY EASTER, MERRY CHRISTMAS and that is final, im not changing how i say things - easter eggs is just that ....dates right back to the 1600's so the Muslims can kiss my bunny butt
why is it we only get 1 day and government gets 2, are they employees of the government more important then everyone else.
You already have a break. Easter is Easter eggs and all. We are Canadian and that is our tradition. Any one that tries to take that away will be in trouble. Happy Easter egg hunting.
Easter to me is just another day...I used to do things at Easter when I was a kid,but not anymore...Easter is for kids...Just like Christmas is for kids..
I'm working 6 days a week with only wednesdays off. I'll be working good friday, easter sunday and easter monday. I should get paid for working 2 statutory holidays. It doesn't seem right.
Happy Easter Everyone!
Not allowed to call them Easter eggs or else we offend the Muslims
Give me a break
The statement: "....more important holiday than Christmas since it is the ultimate proof that Jesus is the son of God because he came back from death" is offensive. There can be no such "proof"; whoever wrote this reveals their Christian paternalism. To be accurate it should read: ".....is celebrated by many Christians as the day Jesus rose from the dead."
Our Easter celebrations consists of baking cakes, cookies, pastries and of course colouring cooked eggs wrapped with dough. Also an elabrative feast of lamb, veal, pork and fish and vegetables. But most important is to reunite with family and friends in peace and harmony!
that's illegal - he has to pay you for not working on Good Friday, otherwise its double time!
I certainly respect Easter, but having hardly any family (2), it's a bit of a chore. Somehow most people seem to have about 12 - 14. Not for me.
Lol my boss says we all have to work on Good Friday otherwise we don't get pay
Perhaps I am old fastioned but I place my wife and children above all else. I am a non denominational christian but In too respect all persons right to have their own religious beliefs.
Does anyone still paint/dye eggs anymore? Real eggs? Or is it all plastic eggs from the dollarstore? It's the paint/dye on fingers, cracked eggshells, smell of cooked ham, horseradish and fresh flowers that I want my kids to remember not cheap toys (by cheap i mean bad quality).
Lol ultimate proof, too funny. You Might want to look up the word proof.
we have a family gathering, which is now very small, and getting smaller, 9 at max. For the children we have a easter egg hunt, chocolates usually, and then an easter basket, filled with easter goodies and something non edible like t'shirt, small toy...coloring book..socks, something silly. Adults might give each other cards, or one of my sisters prepares a basket for the adults with adult stuff, t towels, a few chocolates, nail clippers. just a little something. For those of us that are practicing Christians we do the church service each Sunday of the year and Easter Sunday included, some churches have an easter breakfast, fellowship time. Family will gather for a meal, and hot cross buns are always part of it. We will say a grace at each meal but that is our daily practice too. Each person there has their own spiritual belief, we grew up with some teaching and some non belief..some of us are stay at home mom's, others work in eating establishments, nurses, government and non government. so there is a mix in the small group of family. In the end its appreciated time together. One year I brought rabbits for the children to see; another I brought goose eggs, chicken eggs to boil, paint, and blow out the yokes. we laughed, had a good time. Over the years things have changed a little bit. Extended family gone from 60 -40, to 9 of us, as people die, become grandparents, and all created their own tradition. I myself respect all walks or life. I respect the Christian Bible NIV and its teachings. I have gone from Lutheran Mennonite, non denominational, Baptist, Evangelical Mennonite now. In the end, make your tradition yours, respect the ones your with, at work or home. Happy Easter to all.
re: @Shawn It's because most men care more about cars, hockey, beer and sex than they do about their families. I'm a man and to me my family is priority #1 by a long shot, but sadly, I know too many guys who go great lengths to get away from chores - even their own children. I don't have a good solution:( ...and a page about Easter is not a good place to discuss it either.
Why is it up to mother grandmother to get up at the crack of dawn to whip up enough food to feed an army tell me please
To me it does not matter what name you call it by Easter or something else what matters is how you celebrate it. Each of us whether we have been given extra time off or not, or work in an industry that gets no time off can take a moment and observe the day for what it means to us personally. So enjoy your treats or solitude, do what ever feeds your soul and is right for you.
I find myself utterly annoyed every Easter Monday when I have to slug my butt out of bed at 5am and lumber into work to find all government employees enjoying a joyous day off. At that point in the year we haven't even hit "tax freedom day". What an affront to the taxpaying citizens of this country. If I were one of those government employees I'd feel like a louse. Not the emoloyees' fault of course. Annoying.
Did anybody think to realize that the root of the word "Easter"(when you get right down to it) would mean "new life", which is exactly what Christ gives us through his Resurrection. If you look at it from that point of view, than there is no harm in calling the day of his Resurrection "Easter". Also, it is possible that this word was used to help the pagans understand the concept of Christ's Resurrection and the "new life" that comes from it by taking something they already believed in and turning it into something they could more readily relate to. If you go with that theory, than it just so happened that the name stuck, and made it's way into common English, as for we still use the word today.
In the Northamerican culture every holiday is a money making tool and they have made a mockery of very important celebrations and Resurrection Sunday is not exception.
I don't understand why goverment employees and banks have the monday after Resurrection Sunday as a holiday??? It is not explain in this page. I wish it was.
MCW
I do not feel that there was intention in the article to offend. "The name “Easter” has its roots in ancient polytheistic religions (paganism). On this, all scholars agree. This name is never used in the original Scriptures, nor is it ever associated biblically with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. For these reasons, we prefer to use the term “Resurrection Sunday” rather than “Easter” when referring to the annual Christian remembrance of Christ’s resurrection." ~christiananswers.net
i always go to church then i go to the park, eat lots of choclate and icecream.
I agree with Brian. Easter is called Easter only in anglo-saxon world. Smart way to utilize the paegan holiday of that region. Easter in Hungarian is called Husvet, in French Paques, in my language the direct translation would mean 'Great Night'. Nothing to do with goddess Eastre. Everything with resurection of Christ.
Funny how folks are always quick to "bash" someone else for getting something they aren't. As someone who has worked both gov't and private - to those who think its cushy and undeserved at gov't, I have found equally or more entitlement and waste in industry. And come on folks, this is about Easter, and the comments aren't very Christian. Happy Easter to all.
Your facts on Easter are absolutely false. Easter is celebrated solely because of Christians believing Christ rose from the Dead. There was a festival for the Goddess Eastre that was held around the time we now celebrate Easter. But the origin of the Easter we now celebrate is due to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ who died at Passover (a Jewish festival that has predetermined dates). Emperor Constantine's edict was simply to ensure the entire empire recognized the Death of Christ rather than celebrate a pagan festival. But to say that may Christians, in place of Easter, celebrate Resurrection Sunday is insulting, wrong, and insensitive. The holiday only exists because of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus.
In fact, the name "Easter" is derived from the German oster, & auferstehung meaning 'resurrection'. The timing of Easter - the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ - is determined by the date of Passover, as His crucifixion co-incided with Passover, and His resurrection was "early in the morning on the first day of the week" on the third day after His death.
Easter is a grand time for us, as we, our whole family gather together, there are approximately 60 of us and we do have an outdoor easter egg hunt at my Aunt and Uncles farm and then we break bread together and have fun. And Tammy I am a government employee and though I get paid for 37.25 hours a week(no overtime) I average 60 hours/week because of work load and cut backs. Do I complain? No because I choose to do this job as I think it is important and feel lucky do have it. I have worked hard to get this job by paying my own way through school and working very diligently at what I do. I do appreciate the extra day holiday I wish all of us could enjoy and take the extra time to spend with family and friends. Happy Easter!
Fertility symbols first mentioned in the 1600s? The word Easter comes from the name of a pre-Christian goddess and the symbols of fertility go along with that. Her celebration was during the spring equinox, which the date for Easter is based off of. It is common and accepted knowledge that Christian Holidays were superimposed over older holidays.
Lol@the assumption government employees don't *work*. I am a government employee we all don't sit at desks ect and I will be working Easter Monday like I have years prior. I will be elbow deep in all sorts of matter ensuring animals are slaughtered humanely and fit for human consumption. Very few are willing to spend a day in my government job.
As a secular family we traditionally hunt for eggs and such - all that good commercialized excess that goes with living in western world. Ultimately I take time and 'wishfully think' for a day without hate, religion or greed.
yes if government employees get an extra day off with pay no biggy, its just like any other day at their job,,,the laziest, entitled, over privalaged bunch in this country,,,and to the nurse, no one held a gun to your head to become a nurse,,,while we appreciate the work that you do, many folks work shifts 24/7//365 you are payed much better than most of us,,,above the average person,,,just sayin'
My favorite when I was young was the easter egg hunt! We colored hard boiled eggs and decorated the house.
Government employees get an extra day with pay wah wah wah
Who cares? Good for them.
It's not a race to the bottom - who can work the most for the least pay.
We are still a Christian country so get over yourselves.
We used to live in a small village, everyone went to church on Easter Sunday, I used to get up earlier and deliver Easter eggs to the infirm and anyone who was in a bit of distress, sound commercial? Well it wasn't actually made people laugh and wonder who the real Easter bunny was. To all of the employees who do get off Easeter Friday, Sunday and Monday make good Christian use of it an help someone out if you can.
Me coptic orthodox, from Egyptian church. WE fast 55 days before the Resurrection Feast,not eating meat,fish,eggs,poultry,or any milk products.We celebrate the feast on it's eve in churches by prolonged prayers and praise hymns till after midnight then we start to eat food composed of meat,eggs, cheese etc...WE visit friends and relatives. Our feast usually falls a week after Easter.On Easter Monday we eat colored eggs. A story related to this: One non-christian governor called a patriarch and asked him how Christ is risen from the dead,and the patriarch answered the same as the chick comes out of an egg.
I am a nurse and I love my job, but we have to work everyday 24/7 365 days a year, holidays and weekends. If the government gets paid the holiday Monday we all should, it's a complete waste of tax money.
These posts started off by people sharing Easter traditions, tips, memories, etc. and it has turned into government-bashing. All (appropriate) comments are welcome but please post your comments about the government on the forums page and here on the Easter page only post messages about celebration, food, games, ideas, the long weekend, etc. Thank you!
Canadian Government employees should not get an extra paid day for Easter Monday when the rest of the country has to work.! This is just more ridiculous entitlement thinking that is so prevalent in the Canadian government and it makes me sick.! Tax everyone to the balls while their lazy asses are home collecting free pay. Their overly cheerful answering machines practically say screw you, I'm going home.
I don't understand why, in this age of instantaneous worldwide banking, do we have to put up with having the banks closed for four consecutive days. There is no processing of transactions or financial instruments done during this time, which means that regular transactions that occur monthly and that happen to be after the full moon have to wait four days to be processed, what's next, checking the entrails of a chicken to determine loan eligibility?
Contradiction: rabbits and eggs are symbol of fertility and are mentioned in German literature as early as the 1600's. Later on the page: rabbits are symbols of the Anglo-Saxon fertility goddess Eastre. Anglo-Saxons and Eastre precede the 1600's by centuries.
Ultimate proof? That's a bit of a stretch, but I'm OK with the holiday.
When we was young we would dress up like rabbits and Nannabushki would throw eggs at the wagons passing by and if it didn't break we could boil them in a pot with coins to make them very rubbery. Then we would tie them to the bottom of our shoes and bounce around like the rabbits in our costumes. Other kids would dress like chicken and make cluck cluck sounds but they had no fun shoes. iPads are bad an no fun memories to make from this.
So post office clerks, bank employees and all other government workers have a four day long Easter weekend with Friday and Monday being paid holidays? Do I get this right? I think so. Why such discrimination? Sure, let's make it a four day long weekend...for everyone!
"Sorry, Kids" If your children or the children of anyone you know spend their entire Easter day on their iPads then you are to blame, or that childrens parents, not the child. For example, we are adults, I would sure love to spend Easter all day alone with my girlfriend drinking and doing unspeakable things, but I know my responsibility to my family to spend these days with them, I have a concept in my mind of how fast time goes by and how quickly the loved ones we have can dissapear. But guess what, CHILDREN DON'T, just like YOU didn't when YOUR parents forced you to hang out with your family when you were a kid. They are KIDS, they want to spend their time having fun, not hanging out with us boring old people, that's how things will always be, video games are just MORE accessible now than when we were kids so all that means is you gotta get up off your arse and be a parent a little more often than our parents did.
At the end of the day, I'm pretty sick of people blaming their childrens problems on technology and society. BE A PARENT, that's why YOU are there. Happy belated Easter 2014 everyone. :)
I am from Hungary. Easter sprinkling is a huge deal for kids. Boys would dress up in their best outfits in black pants and white shirts, girls would wake up early and wait for the boys all decked out. The streets would be full of guys and the smell of cologne. We always painted the eggs the day before so they would be ready. The red ones were the most special. Boys would try to collect as many eggs as they could. The girls would try to get up early so they wouldn't be caught in pajamas. Brothers dads and uncles are expected to be the first sprinklers of the women in the family before friends start to arrive. The more girls smelled the better it was LOL. But all the different scents can be overwhelming and nauseating at times. The number of eggs and the nauseating smells were almost like a status symbol for school kids.
When I was 12 my dad woke me and my sister with a glass of cold water. He ripped the warm blankets off and threw the cold water at us and yelled Happy Easter. The worst wake up call we ever got. My mom laughed. I was mad at him for it for a long time. He never woke us like that again and used cologne instead. There were chocolates in egg shaped cardboard boxes that were given as presents to only close friends and family. Otherwise there wasn't so much chocolate as here in the west, and certainly no chocolate egg hunt. We got quite tired of boiled eggs in a couple of days but the preparation and the visits made it very special. I miss it and hate egg hunts where eggs are just thrown on the grass and kids run for them like crazy. What's the fun in an egg hunt where you don't have to work to get them?
I hide the eggs in the garden for my kids to find them since I have boys and we don't know any Hungarian girls to sprinkle. We tell them how many eggs there are and they are happy with just a few when they find them. They enjoy this more than picking up plastic eggs from a small patch of grass. There is no need for a half bag of candy and chocolates in the name of Easter.
When I was young, we started Easter a week early I guess. My parents would by a chocolate chicken and cut a whole in the bottom of it. My task was to create a nice comfortable nest for it and clean out one of my dresser drawers so she had a home. At night, while I was sleeping, my mom or dad would place chocolate egg(s) where the whole was. I would wake up all excited every morning to see if my chicken layed an egg during the night. Easter morning was when she layed her last eggs and they were very beautiful larger ones. After Easter Sunday she was became a grandmother chicken so I understood she could no longer lay any more eggs. This memory holds a very special place in a my heart.
When I was a kid, we'd visit my grandparents. With my my siblings, my 'mum and dad' will take us to our hometown to visit our 'paternal and maternal' grandparents. One of the games we love to play is having fun plucking fruits from the trees high above 15ft from natural ground level (NGL) in our farm. We throw hard objects to make the plucks... sometimes for ease of collecting more fruits, we bring with us long bamboos. Look forward to more 'games and ideas' this 2014 Easter with my family ones again.
From my husbands family we have continued to decorate hard boiled eggs the day before Easter. Overnight the Easter Bunny hides them and in the morning the children will hunt and collect them. Now my children will come home for the weekend with their kids and we will all decorate around the dinning room table for a few hours. There will be a couple dozen eggs this year! It is so much fun and while the little ones learn their skills, the older ones love to make more and more elaborate decorations. There will be lots of chocolate eggs hidden also by the bunny. In the morning each little one will get a basket to put their collections in. Of course grandma will have to make egg salad sandwiches after that for the long trips home by car.
Many of the stories involve grandparents. They knew/know to play. What will kids remember of Easter, what stories will they have to tell their children? "When I was a kid I played on my iPad all day on Easter Monday."
When I was a kid we'd visit my grandparents. With my grandfather we would "roll eggs". He'd set up his checkerboard as a ramp, give us each a few eggs and we'd roll them down the ramp. Due to their shape they would curve as they go down. If you rolled and hit someone else's egg, it was yours. I had as much anticipation for this as I did for Christmas morning. Wish my grandfather was here to roll eggs with my grandkids.
My husbands Italian Family celebrated with throwing coins at the hard boiled decorated eggs. The kids loved it sometimes we were out in the snow others times in short sleeves. Fond memories of their beloved Nonno.
No holidays for two months between Family Day and Easter, which is kind of late this year:( The second half of the year sure is better for holidays.
One year we got a bunch of baby chicks for Easter and kept them in our kitchen for a while. Another year a bunny. Then after a few days we gave them to our relatives who lived on a farm so the animals can grow up there. Not sure if chicks and bunnies like living in kitchens, though, not even for a few days. I loved it as a kid but wouldn't do it now for my kids.
We always eat cooked ham with horseradish, radish, green onions and have tea for breakfast on Easter monday. Of course with hard eggs that we painted the day before!
A game we always played at our grandparents house went like this: we put a hard boiled, painted egg on the floor and from 10-15 feet way we would throw coins at it. If your coin hit the egg and got stuck in it you got to keep it. As kids this provided hours of fun and we got to keep some coins if we were lucky. Not something I would expect to see at this year Easter parties - this tradition goes way back in Eastern Europe before TV and video games were invented.