In The Spirit...

Easter is the most important Christian holiday of the year



Easter is rabbits and colored eggs and fancy dresses, but to Christians around the world it is much, much more. Easter is the most important Christian holiday of the year.

Easter is the day Jesus rose from the dead. The resurrection, as described in the Bible, means that just as Jesus rose from the grave, Christians also can receive new life after death. The Easter holiday celebrates this belief.

Easter is the center of an entire season of the Christian year. The season begins with Lent, a 40-day period before Easter Sunday. During Lent, Christians prepare for Easter. Lent is considered a time for penance, a time to show sorrow for sins and to seek forgiveness. One way many Christians show their sorrow is by fasting, which limits the kinds and amounts of food that are eaten. While not all Christians fast during Lent, those that do pattern their behavior after Jesus who prayed and fasted in the wilderness before his death on the cross.

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and most churches hold specials services in the evening. At many of those services ashes are placed on the foreheads of worshipers to remind them to have a humble spirit. Lent continues until Holy Week, which is the final week of Lent and recalls the events leading to Jesus' death and resurrection. The Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday, which celebrates the story of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, where people spread palm branches and clothing before him.

Good Friday is the day Jesus died on the cross for the sins of the world. Many churches hold services from noon until 3 p.m. to symbolize the last three hours of darkness while Jesus suffered on the cross. While Jesus died on the cross and was buried, he rose from the dead, and that is what Easter is all about.

On Easter Sunday Jesus' resurrection is celebrated. According to the Bible, Jesus' friends arrived at grave to find the stone moved and an angel standing nearby saying that Jesus' body was no longer in the grave that he had been raised from the dead. In many churches outdoor Easter services take place at sunrise to celebrate Jesus' resurrection. Just as Jesus rose from the dead Christians believe they will rise from the dead into heaven after their death on earth.

Easter is also closely associated with spring. The new plant life that appears in spring symbolizes the new life Christians gain because of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. Easter is also considered a day of "white" because newly baptized church members wore white clothes at Easter observances.

Easter is the time of springtime festivals, a time to welcome back the Tulips, the Crocuses and the Daffodils. Its a time of new suits, new dresses and patent leather shoes. A time for Christians to celebrate the life and resurrection of Christ. And a time of chocolate bunnies, marshmallow chicks, and colored eggs!
Now the link below is here for your entertainment. There are some fun Holiday things for you and your family. They've got Easter stories, animations to watch, and pictures to color! So bring your kids and tell your friends. And please stop by again. Have fun!
Easter will be celebrated on Sunday March 27, 2005. Greek/Orthodox Easter will be celebrated Sunday, May 01st, 2005.

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The person who was to become St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, was born in Wales about AD 385. His given name was Maewyn.

When he was 16, he was sold into slavery to Ireland where he was a shepherd for 6 years. While in captivity he studied and turned to religion. He escaped slavery and later returned to Ireland as a missionary, determined to convert Ireland to Christianity. He used the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity.

Patrick was quite successful at winning converts. And this fact upset the Celtic Druids. Patrick was arrested several times, but escaped each time. He traveled throughout Ireland, establishing monasteries across the country. He also set up schools and churches which would aid him in his conversion of the Irish country to Christianity.

His mission in Ireland lasted for thirty years. After that time, Patrick retired to County Down. He died on March 17 in AD 461. That day has been commemorated as St. Patrick's Day ever since.

Much Irish folklore surrounds St. Patrick's Day. Not much of it is actually substantiated. Some of this lore includes the belief that Patrick raised people from the dead. He also is said to have given a sermon from a hilltop that drove all the snakes from Ireland. Though originally a Catholic holy day, St. Patrick's Day has evolved into more of a secular holiday.

One traditional symbol of the day is the shamrock. And this stems from a more bona fide Irish tale that tells how Patrick used the three-leafed shamrock to explain the Trinity. He used it in his sermons to represent how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit could all exist as separate elements of the same entity. His followers adopted the custom of wearing a shamrock on his feast day.

The holiday, March 17th, is marked by parades in cities across the United States. The largest of these, held since 1762, is in New York City, and draws more than one million spectators each year. In Ireland, it is a religious holiday similar to Christmas and Easter.
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