The liturgical year is also progressing, and we are now preparing for the observances of Palm Sunday through Holy Week, followed by the joy of Easter Sunday.  While our worship services will be almost exclusively virtual, we look forward to sharing these services with our parish community..  

Dear Grace Church Family and Friends,

 

I was once told that "Easter is a time of solemn joy."  The idea, I think was that we are supposed to be joyful, while still keeping our composure...somehow. It may be my musician/stage play background at work in me, but I have a difficult time maintaining composure when it comes to joy.  I like to "enjoy the joy" when it happens in life.  And I can't imagine a more joyful reason for enjoying the joy than Easter.  So, to help us all with "enjoying the joy" this Easter, here are some of what I call Easter Fun Facts: answers to questions about Easter that you've probably asked yourself at some time or other. And, at least one that you've maybe never considered asking.

 

So, read on and enjoy!

Fr. Rick

Answer: It's because the ancient church calendar, like the Jewish one, was based on the phases of the moon. The formula for finding Easter Sunday was finally settled as: The first Sunday, after the first full moon, after the Vernal Equinox.  Since the first full moon moves around, so does Easter Sunday.  Arriving at this formula was actually no small accomplishment.  For the first six hundred years or so, there was a roiling debate about whether Easter should be dated from the nearest full moon to the Equinox, (which could be just before the Equinox in some years,) or be always the first after the Equinox. Constantinople wanted the "nearest" formula, while Rome wanted the "first" formula. Curiously, our ancestors in Britain, the Celtic Church, also went by the "nearest" formula. When St. Augustan of Canterbury arrived and informed the Briton Church that it had to conform to Rome's view, there was a small rebellion.  The King of the Angles, however, went with Augustan, and, eventually, grudgingly, so did the Briton Church.  Soon after, all Anglo-Saxon Kings would bear the title of "Vicar of Christ in England" because of their loyalty to Rome.  Some historians have noted this, though, and suggested that this is where the seeds of the Anglican Church Reformation were first sown.  (Note that the decision of the Church was to follow the decision of the King, their "Vicar," more than it was to follow the directive of the Pope; A policy that would have great consequences in about 800 years when King Henry VIII would revive a version of that Papal title.)

Answer: Short answer, The Pagans!  Easter is a corruption of Oestra, an ancient Celtic goddess of sex and fertility.  (Those pesky Celtic ancestors of ours!)  Oestra was comparable to the Roman Venus, or Greek Aphrodite. Her festival was celebrated in the spring. Oestra stemmed from the Middle Eastern fertility goddess Ishtar or Ashtoreth.  As Judaism arose, it replaced this pagan spring festival of Ashtoreth with the celebration of the Passover.  When Christianity came to Britain, following the Jewish example, the Paschal feast replaced the worship of Oestra, but the name remained and eventually evolved into "Easter."

Answer: Nothing!  Absolutely nothing!  The rabbit is an ancient symbol of Oestra, Ishtar, and Ashtoreth. Considering the rabbit's fertility, it is an appropriate emblem of these goddesses of fertility.  This pagan symbol seems to have hung on for all these centuries, even though the goddesses it represents are long forgotten. The "bunny" has become a deeply embedded symbol of secular Easter celebrations, but has yet to be "redeemed" as a Christian symbol.  Still, rabbits are cute, so maybe there is a place for them somewhere in the celebration.

Answer: Well, yes and no! Here is some good news.  The egg was an emblem of Oestra, but it also had distinctly Christian symbolism as well.  It is a very ancient pagan symbol of spring, representing the re-birth of the earth from a seemingly dead "stone." But, to Christians, the chick emerging from the egg has always been seen as symbolic of Christ emerging from the tomb.  Early Christians would often punch a hole into an egg and remove its contents, leaving the empty shell as a symbol of the empty tomb.  Since it was such a joyous symbol of Resurrection and life, people soon began decorating them with festive designs and colors. In the Middle Ages, Easter egg decoration rose to become a fine art form in many Mediterranean regions.  By the time Fabergé wrought his magnificent jeweled eggs, however, the religious significance of them had been all but forgotten (although, Tsar Nicholas gave a Fabergé egg to the Tsarina Alexandra every year at Easter).  One note: the idea of the "Easter Bunny" laying colored Easter eggs is pure American invention.  (Even though the Brits try to claim that the chocolate ones are really the work of the Cadbury Bunny.)

Answer: The Sunday after Easter is more widely known as Quasimodo Sunday.  Yes, that Quasimodo! Are you KIDDING?? How have we not always known this?  We just figured that it was called Low Sunday because attendance in church was so low. Now that we know it's Quasimodo Sunday, just think how much more fun the whole service could be!

Here's how it got to be known for Quasimodo.  The first Sunday after Easter is traditionally known, primarily in France and other parts of Europe, as "Quasimodo Sunday" because of the beginning words of the Introit which come from 1 Peter 2:2,3:

Latin: Quasi modo geniti infantes, rationabile, sine dolo lac concupiscite ut in eo crescatis in salutem si gustastis quoniam dulcis Dominus.

English: As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be, ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

And of course, Victor Hugo's character was so named because he was found, as an infant, in the vestibule of Notre Dame on the morning of Quasimodo, 1467.

This Easter, rejoice! It is THE season for celebration and good cheer.  Death has been conquered by Life!  So, go ahead, and draw some joyful inspiration from these "Fun" questions, and let yourself laugh and have fun . And, praise our Lord for the greatest reason of all to rejoice:

Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

 

Fr. Rick