# data[].attributes.headline
Aikaterini Avgerou and my e2 class students are asking:

# data[].attributes.subject
Aikaterini Avgerou and my e2 class students are asking:

# data[].attributes.body
Ms Susanna from Armenia: Please tell us what are the children saying?

# data[].attributes.body
Romania
Happy Easter!

# data[].attributes.body
Easter cards made by my 3rd graders.

# data[].attributes.body
Easter cards made by my 3rd graders.

# data[].attributes.body
Happy Easter!
In Serbia it is a tradition for children to go from house to house to congratulate Easter. Then the hosts give them eggs and sweets, and they wish them luck.  Arrival of children to the someones home means joy, health and love.

# data[].attributes.headline
Daniela Maria Musteata, Romania                            Happy Easter!

# data[].attributes.subject
Daniela Maria Musteata, Romania                            Happy Easter!

# data[].attributes.body
Armenia

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Αικατερίνη Αυγέρου

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Αικατερίνη Αυγέρου

# data[].attributes.body
Happy Easter...

Easter bunny has a bag.

In the bag there is an egg.

Bunny goes down the path

To give the children that Easter egg.

He will share it with them

And then he will go back.

Children will be happy

with their Easter egg.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Αικατερίνη Αυγέρου

# data[].attributes.body
Our 4th and 5th grade pupils have prepared four videos presenting four Easter customs which are popular in Greece.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Αικατερίνη Αυγέρου

# data[].attributes.body
Procesija Za Križen (Procession called Following the Cross) is a traditional night procession that has been cherished on Thursday of the Holy week on the island of Hvar for 5 centuries. It is a ceremony of exceptional piety and an expression of religious and cultural identity of  the inhabitants of the central part of the island of Hvar. During 8 hours of walking, 25 km are passed. It starts at 10 pm from 6 parish churches, namely Vrbanj, Vrboska, Jelsa, Pitve, Vrisnik and Svirče. It is led by a man carrying the cross. This role is exceptionally cherished on the island, so the person carrying the cross can be determined 20 years in advance. The 6 processions mustn’t meet.

In 2009 the tradition of the procession Za križen was added to UNESCO’S list of intangible cultural heritage in Europe.

On the island of Brač on Friday morning of the Holy week, processions are traditionally organized in all places (procession goes from Selca to Sumartin and vice versa and they mustn’t meet). A curiosity of Selca and Sumartin is that they are the only places on the island with soldiers (soldati/žudije in Croatian) whose duty is to keep watch over Christ’s Grave and take part in processions and church ceremonies.

# data[].attributes.headline
Easter traditions in Portugal: Folar made by me and my family

# data[].attributes.subject
Easter traditions in Portugal: Folar made by me and my family

# data[].attributes.body
EASTER

# data[].attributes.body
Easter Festival in Lviv.

# data[].attributes.body
Holy Friday-'Epitaphios'-bier of Christ
It is the holiest day of the week,a day of mourning for the death of Christ. Church bells ring all day and night and we do not do any work. The housewives do not deal with housework. They even avoid cooking.
The Epitaph is decorated in church with flowers women have brought and in the evening there is the procession of the Epitaph in the streets.People follow chanting and holding candles in an awe-inspiring atmosphere.
However, we Orthodox Greeks are more concerned with the Resurrection of Christ, rather than His death. Resurrection is the victory of good over evil, hope over despair, light over darkness, joy over sadness, life over death. The opportunity for a fresh start in a new life.

# data[].attributes.body
On Easter Sunday, there is a tradition in northern Portugal for families to open the doors of their home to the "Visita Pascal - Compasso", which announces the Resurrection of Jesus with music and message of joy.

# data[].attributes.body
Tradicional "Via Crucis" through the streets of villages and cities on Good Friday

# data[].attributes.body
Warsaw, Poland

# data[].attributes.body
Happy Easter

# data[].attributes.body
Warsaw, Poland

# data[].attributes.body
EASTER-ROMANIA

# data[].attributes.body
Happy Easter from Romania

# data[].attributes.body
Happy Easter from Italy

# data[].attributes.body
1st grade - Primary school Kobarid

# data[].attributes.body
Happy Easter

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Animoto turns your photos and video clips into professional video slideshows in minutes. Fast, free and shockingly simple - we make awesome easy.

# data[].attributes.headline
And these are my decorations for this year.

# data[].attributes.subject
And these are my decorations for this year.

# data[].attributes.headline
I like celebrating Easter so much. These are decorations I have made last year.

# data[].attributes.subject
I like celebrating Easter so much. These are decorations I have made last year.

# data[].attributes.body
5th-A grade

# data[].attributes.body
Easter Cards to friends abroad from students of Lyman school #4

# data[].attributes.body
Easter Gifts from 3d-A students

# data[].attributes.headline
Easter Sunday, it 's tradition godparents offer a famous portuguese cake to their godchildren: FOLAR.

# data[].attributes.subject
Easter Sunday, it 's tradition godparents offer a famous portuguese cake to their godchildren: FOLAR.

# data[].attributes.body
In Ukraine Easter is the most important holidays of the year. All people like it and have a lot of affairs before

# data[].attributes.body
Happy Easter!

# data[].attributes.body
Ester eggs

# data[].attributes.body
Wesołego Alleluja !!!

# data[].attributes.body
After 40 days of Lent comes Easter holiday. It begins with Palm Sunday, which is the beginning of Holy Week. On Good Friday people are supposed not to eat meat. On Easter Saturday we go to church to bless eggs and other food, which are earlier prepared and put in a colourful basket. Eggs are painted and decorated with different patterns. These colourful eggs are called "pisanki" or "kraszonki". To the basket we put also some bread, ham or sausages, some sweets and salt. Easter eggs are a symbol of the new life.

On Easter Sunday morning the Christians take part in the procession around the church and in the holy mess called Resurrection. We also gather to have the Easter breakfast. We eat the blessed food from the baskets. On Easter Monday boys splash girls with water, it is an old tradition. This funny tradition is called " Śmigus dyngus". Easter is the oldest and the most important Christian holiday.
Anita Koruba
Justyna Markiewicz

# data[].attributes.body
Easter is a spring holiday. Everybody is busy before Easter
in Ukraine. We bake
paskas before
Easter, buy food at the
supermarket, clean the flat
before Easter, paint Easter eggs and make an Easter
basket. Most importantly, we  attend the Divine service and  glorify Christ!

# data[].attributes.body
EASTER DECORATIONS

# data[].attributes.body
Easter Symbols

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Easter is a Christian holiday that celebrates the belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the New Testament of the Bible, the event is said to have occurred three days after Jesus was crucified by the Romans and died in roughly 30 A.D. The holiday concludes the "Passion of Christ," a series of events and holidays that begins with Lent-a 40-day period of fasting, prayer and sacrifice-and ends with Holy Week, which includes Holy Thursday (the celebration of Jesus' Last Supper with his 12 Apostles), Good Friday (on which Jesus' crucifixion is observed), and Easter Sunday. Although a holiday of high religious significance in the Christian faith, many traditions associated with Easter date back to pre-Christian, pagan times.

When Is Easter?

Easter 2019 occurs on Sunday, April 21. However, Easter falls on a different date each year.

Easter Sunday and related celebrations, such as Ash Wednesday and Palm Sunday, are considered "moveable feasts," although, in western Christianity, which follows the Gregorian calendar, Easter always falls on a Sunday between March 22nd and April 25th.

In Eastern Orthodox Christianity, which adheres to the Julian calendar, Easter falls on a Sunday between April 4th and May 8th each year.

In some denominations of Protestant Christianity, Easter Sunday marks the beginning of Eastertide, or the Easter Season. Eastertide ends on the 50th day after Easter, which is known as Pentecost Sunday.

In Eastern Orthodox branches of Christianity, Easter Sunday serves as the start of the season of Pascha (Greek for "Easter"), which ends 40 days later with the holiday known as the Feast of the Ascension.

Despite its significance as a Christian holy day, many of the traditions and symbols that play a key role in Easter observances actually have roots in pagan celebrations-particularly the pagan goddess Eostre (or Ostara), the ancient Germanic goddess of spring-and in the Jewish holiday of Passover.

Religious Tradition of Easter

The resurrection of Jesus, as described in the New Testament of the Bible, is essentially the foundation upon which the Christian religions are built. Hence, Easter is a very significant date on the Christian calendar.

According to the New Testament, Jesus was arrested by the Roman authorities, essentially because he claimed to be the "Son of God," although historians question this motive, with some saying that the Romans may have viewed him as a threat to the empire.

He was sentenced to death by Pontius Pilate, the Roman prefect in the province of Judea from 26 to 36 A.D. Jesus' death by crucifixion, marked by the Christian holiday Good Friday (the Friday before Easter), and subsequent resurrection three days later is said, by the authors of the gospels, to prove that he was the living son of God.

In varying ways, all four of the gospels in the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) state that those who believe in Jesus' death and resurrection are given "the gift of eternal life," meaning that those of faith will be welcomed into the "Kingdom of Heaven" upon their earthly death.

Passover and Easter

Notably, Easter is also associated with the Jewish holiday of Passover, as well as the exodus of the Jews from Egypt, as described in the Old Testament. These links are clearly seen in the Last Supper, which occurred the night before Jesus' arrest and the sufferings Jesus endured following his arrest.

The Last Supper was essentially a Passover feast. However, the New Testament describes it as being given new significance by Jesus: He identified the matzah (or bread) he shared with his 12 apostles as his "body" and the cup of wine they drank as his "blood."

These rituals would come to symbolize the sacrifice he was about to make in death, and became the basis for the Christian ritual of Holy Communion, which remains a fundamental part of Christian religious services.

As Jesus' arrest and execution were said to have occurred during the Jewish observance of Passover, the Easter holiday is often close to the former celebration on the Judeo-Christian calendar.

Easter Traditions

In western Christianity, including Roman Catholicism and Protestant denominations, the period prior to Easter holds special significance.

This period of fasting and penitence is called Lent. It begins on Ash Wednesday, and lasts for 40 days (not including Sundays).

The Sunday immediately prior to Easter is called Palm Sunday, and it commemorates Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem, when followers laid palm leaves across the road to greet him.

Many churches begin the Easter observance in the late hours of the day before (Holy Saturday) in a religious service called the Easter Vigil.

In Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Easter rituals start with the Great Lent, which begins on Clean Monday (40 days prior to Easter, not including Sundays). The last week of Great Lent is referred to as Palm Week, and it ends with Lazarus Saturday, the day before Palm Sunday.

Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week, which ends on Easter.

Easter Eggs

Irrespective of denomination, there are many Easter-time traditions with roots that can be traced to non-Christian and even pagan or non-religious celebrations. Many non-Christians choose to observe these traditions while essentially ignoring the religious aspects of the celebration.

Examples of non-religious Easter traditions include Easter eggs, and related games such as egg rolling and egg decorating.

It's believed that eggs represented fertility and birth in certain pagan traditions that pre-date Christianity. Egg decorating may have become part of the Easter celebration in a nod to the religious significance of Easter, i.e., Jesus' resurrection or re-birth.

Many people-mostly children-also participate in Easter egg "hunts," in which decorated eggs are hidden.

Easter Bunny

In some households, a character known as the Easter Bunny delivers candy and chocolate eggs to children on Easter Sunday morning. These candies often arrive in an Easter basket.

The exact origins of the Easter Bunny tradition are unknown, although some historians believe it arrived in America with German immigrants in the 1700s. Rabbits are, in many cultures, known as enthusiastic procreators, so the arrival of baby bunnies in springtime meadows became associated with birth and renewal.

Notably, several Protestant Christian denominations, including Lutherans and Quakers, have opted to formally abandon many Easter traditions, deeming them too pagan. However, many religious observers of Easter also include them in their celebrations.

An Easter dinner of lamb also has historical roots, since a lamb was often used as a sacrificial animal in Jewish traditions, and lamb is frequently served during Passover. The phrase "lamb of God" is sometimes used to refer to Jesus and the sacrificial nature of his death.

Today, Easter is a commercial event as well as a religious holiday, marked by high sales for greeting cards, candies (such as Peeps, chocolate eggs and chocolate Easter bunnies) and other gifts.

Sources

McDougall, H. (2010). "The pagan roots of Easter." TheGuardian.com.
Sifferlin, A. (2015). "What's the origin of the Easter bunny?" Time.com.
Barooah, J. (2012). "Easter eggs: History, Origin, Symbolism and tradition." Huffington Post.
Chapman, E. and Schreiber, S. (2018). "The history behind your favorite Easter traditions." Goodhousekeeping.com.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Easter is a Christian holiday that celebrates the belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Although a holiday of high religious significance in the Christian faith, many traditions associated with Easter date back to pre-Christian, pagan times. Learn how Easter eggs and the Easter Bunny fall into the holiday.

# data[].attributes.headline
Easter, which celebrates Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead, is Christianity’s most important holiday. It has been called a moveable feast because it doesn’t fall on a set date every year, as most holidays do. Instead, Christian churches in the West celebrate Easter on the first Sunday following the full moon after the vernal equinox on March 21. Therefore, Easter is observed anywhere between March 22 and April 25 every year. Orthodox Christians use the Julian calendar to calculate when Easter will occur and typically celebrate the holiday a week or two after the Western churches, which follow the Gregorian calendar.

# data[].attributes.subject
Easter, which celebrates Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead, is Christianity’s most important holiday. It has been called a moveable feast because it doesn’t fall on a set date every year, as most holidays do. Instead, Christian churches in the West celebrate Easter on the first Sunday following the full moon after the vernal equinox on March 21. Therefore, Easter is observed anywhere between March 22 and April 25 every year. Orthodox Christians use the Julian calendar to calculate when Easter will occur and typically celebrate the holiday a week or two after the Western churches, which follow the Gregorian calendar.

# data[].attributes.body
Skrypnyk Olga