Easter Damian Aja Casey Essentials in Writing 8th Grade Mr. Matthew Stevens May 14, 2020 Outline THESIS: Indubitably, every American should understand and value how Easter originated and why it is such an important holiday in the United States. I. Easter celebrates the belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. A. Easter always falls on a Sunday. B. The earliest recorded Easter celebration was from the 2nd century. C. Easter’s English name was derived from the Latin phrase “in albis”. II. There are many American Easter traditions. A. The Easter Bunny is a symbolic character of folklore in American Easter tradition. B. In many cultures, rabbits and eggs are associated with spring, fertility, and life. C. Many Christians celebrate Easter with special church services and events. III. There are many traditional Easter foods in the United States. A. Lamb is the most traditional Easter food, but ham is the most popular due to its availability. B. Deviled eggs are eaten on Easter as a way to celebrate completing the 40-day fast of Lent. C. Hot cross buns are the most popular Easter dessert eaten in the United States. Every spring, families and friends across the country gather at one another’s houses, public parks, and churches to celebrate one of the most well-loved holidays in America. This traditional Christian holiday, Easter, has long been associated with cheer, joy, and festivity, and is widely viewed among Americans as the greatest feast of the year. Nonetheless, Easter’s great significance and remarkable origins are not commonly known or recognized by most Americans. Indubitably, every American should understand and value how Easter originated and why it is such an important holiday in the United States. Easter has been a principal festival of the Christian faith for many centuries. Easter celebrates the belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his crucifixion. Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first Full Moon during or after the spring equinox. Depending on when the spring equinox occurs, Easter can occur as early as March 22 and as late as April 25. The earliest recorded observance of an Easter celebration comes from a 2nd-century Pagan festival honoring the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring, Eostre. However, the very first commemoration of Jesus Christ’s resurrection probably occurred even earlier. While the exact origin of the English version of Easter’s name is uncertain, many historians believe it was derived from “in albis”, a Latin phrase that is plural for “alba”—or “dawn” in English—which then became “eostarum” in Old High German, a precursor to the English term we all know as “Easter”. On the whole, Easter has a long and engrossing history and is a beloved holiday all throughout the country. There are multifarious Easter customs and traditions in the United States. The mythical character known as the “Easter Bunny” is a marked symbolic figure for many children in the United States. According to folklore, the Easter Bunny brings delicious candies, colorful decorated eggs, and delightful toys on Easter morning and then leaves the goodies hidden for children to later find in what is known as an “Easter Egg Hunt”, another very popular Easter tradition among children. The Easter Bunny tradition was first introduced to America in the 1700s when German immigrants settled in Pennsylvania and brought along with them their Lutheran tradition of the egg-laying “Osterhase”, or “Easter Hare”. According to legend, the goddess of spring, Eostre, consorted with a hare, reputedly inspiring the Osterhase tradition. Another quite popular Easter tradition is decorating and dying eggs, an activity everyone in the family enjoys. In many cultures, rabbits and eggs are associated with spring, fertility, and life. Eggs became a pronounced symbol of Jesus Christ’s resurrection; just as Jesus rose from his tomb, eggs symbolize new life emerging from an eggshell. In some traditions, people paint the eggs red to represent the blood Jesus shed on the cross. Sometimes the more pious of Christians celebrate Easter with special church services, music, flowers, candlelight, and ringing of church bells. From the folkloric Easter Bunny to decorating eggs into lovely spectacles, American culture has a myriad of diverse and fascinating Easter traditions and customs. Maybe the most important and traditional part of any Easter celebration is, of course, the delicious foods that unite families and friends all across the country during their mouthwatering feast at the dinner table. The most traditional and sacred food eaten on Easter is lamb. In Jewish theology, God sent the Angel of Death to kill the firstborn sons of all Egyptian households with a series of plagues. In an attempt to save their families, the Israelites used the blood of a lamb to mark the doors of their houses as a sacrifice to the Angel of Death so that it would “pass over” their homes without punishment, influencing the Jewish holiday of Passover and the tradition of a sacrificial lamb associated with Easter. The concept of a sacrificial lamb also dates back to Pagan times when lamb symbolized spring, the time lambs were ready for slaughter. However, even though lamb is the most sacred Easter food, ham is the most popular. This is due to the fact that ham is much cheaper and more readily available than lamb in the United States. Deviled eggs are another favorite Easter food among Americans. Eggs were commonly eaten on Easter as a celebration for completing the Christian liturgy of Lent, during which eggs were not allowed to be eaten during the 40-day period of fasting of Lent. This popular way of celebration for completing Lent later became a staple tradition for all Americans. The well-liked hot cross buns are yet another traditional Easter food adored by Americans as a delicious and holy dessert. Hot cross buns first originated in England when early Christians began making sweet, spiced bread buns to replace the small wheat cakes that the Anglo-Saxons baked in honor of the goddess of spring, Eostre. These spicy sugary buns later became known as hot cross buns when a 12th-century monk proposed the idea of frosting the buns with crosses to symbolize the cross on which Jesus died. There are many delightful foods Americans love to eat on Easter. While Easter is a spectacular day to get together with friends and family and have immeasurable amounts of fun, it needs to be appreciated and understood for how it came to be such a magnificent holiday, in addition to its manifold of riveting traditions and customs. Easter has been a staple Christian holiday for a great many centuries, and to this day has been a marvelous American treasure that brings families and friends together for cheer, pleasure, and joy. So in conclusion, we should be grateful that this wonderful holiday allows us to reunite with one another and cherish the ones we love. Works Cited Bikos, Konstantin. "Calculating the Easter Date." Timeanddate.com. Time and Date AS. Web. 14 Mar. 2008. <https://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/determining-easter-date.html>. History.com Editors. "Easter 2020." History. A&E Television Networks. Web. 27 Oct. 2009. <https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/history-of-easter>. Hillerbrand, Hans Joachim "Easter." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Web. 05 Mar. 2020. <https://www.britannica.com/topic/Easter-holiday>. Martell, Ashley. "The Traditional Foods of Easter." Foodal. Foodal. Web. 28 Mar. 2015. <https://foodal.com/holidays/easter/the-traditional-foods/>. Sterling, Justine. "The Meanings Behind Easter Eats." Delish. Delish. Web. 22 Apr. 2011. <https://www.delish.com/food/news/a38591/the-meanings-of-easter-foods/>. “Easter Sunday.” Timeanddate.com. Time and Date AS. Web. <www.timeanddate.com/holidays/common/easter-sunday>.
