Why do we celebrate Easter?
With Easter eggs and hot cross buns being the central idea of Easter for many, Mason Dain explores the meaning behind Easter celebrations.
Your idea of Easter may be this: chocolate, hot cross buns and Easter egg hunts. However, are you aware of Easter’s meaning and the traditional reasons for celebrating it?
Easter is a special time of year, especially for Christians who celebrate Jesus Christ rising from the dead on Easter Sunday. The week leading to Easter is named the ‘Holy Week’ and the first day of Holy Week is named ‘Palm Sunday’ (the Sunday before Easter) - also known as ‘Passion Sunday’, which is when Jesus entered Jerusalem on a Donkey to tell the city that their King was coming to see them; crowds of people came out of the city to greet him, throwing down palm branches on the road.“Maundy Thursday’ is three days before Easter Sunday - this is when Jesus Christ had the ‘last supper’ in which bread and wine was shared to his disciples. The night of ‘Maundy Thursday’ Jesus, whilst praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, was betrayed by one of his disciples, Judas; this is when he was arrested by Temple guards of the Sanhedrin.
Good Friday is the Friday before Easter Sunday when Jesus was executed by crucifixion. Because of this event, we eat hot cross buns.
Easter Sunday marks Jesus' resurrection. After Jesus was crucified on Good Friday, his body was taken down from the cross and buried in a cave tomb. The tomb was guarded by Roman soldiers and the entrance was blocked by an enormous stone. On Easter Sunday, Mary and some of Jesus’s disciples visited the tomb and found that the stone had been moved and his body had disappeared. He was seen later that day by Mary and by other people, including his disciples, for a further forty days.
Mason Dain, Year 7
Your idea of Easter may be this: chocolate, hot cross buns and Easter egg hunts. However, are you aware of Easter’s meaning and the traditional reasons for celebrating it?
Easter is a special time of year, especially for Christians who celebrate Jesus Christ rising from the dead on Easter Sunday. The week leading to Easter is named the ‘Holy Week’ and the first day of Holy Week is named ‘Palm Sunday’ (the Sunday before Easter) - also known as ‘Passion Sunday’, which is when Jesus entered Jerusalem on a Donkey to tell the city that their King was coming to see them; crowds of people came out of the city to greet him, throwing down palm branches on the road.“Maundy Thursday’ is three days before Easter Sunday - this is when Jesus Christ had the ‘last supper’ in which bread and wine was shared to his disciples. The night of ‘Maundy Thursday’ Jesus, whilst praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, was betrayed by one of his disciples, Judas; this is when he was arrested by Temple guards of the Sanhedrin.
Good Friday is the Friday before Easter Sunday when Jesus was executed by crucifixion. Because of this event, we eat hot cross buns.
Easter Sunday marks Jesus' resurrection. After Jesus was crucified on Good Friday, his body was taken down from the cross and buried in a cave tomb. The tomb was guarded by Roman soldiers and the entrance was blocked by an enormous stone. On Easter Sunday, Mary and some of Jesus’s disciples visited the tomb and found that the stone had been moved and his body had disappeared. He was seen later that day by Mary and by other people, including his disciples, for a further forty days.
Mason Dain, Year 7