LAURA DANIELA RUBIANO MORALES Easter Thesis statement: 1.

Easter Sunday is one of the most festive events among Catholic worldwide. It commemorates Jesus resurrection written in the Bible. On the other hand the roots of the Easter Holidays traditions and activities were from the pagan celebrations. Body: 1. 2. Catholic beliefs: Catholics celebrate the Easter Sunday because of the resurrection of Jesus. Catholic churches make special services, music, flowers and ringing of church bells. Catholic symbols of the cross, candles, palm branches and the lamb. Pagan beliefs: The word Easter is derived from Eostre, the god of rebirth. Pagans made festivals to celebrate the arrival of spring. Easter Pagan date depends on the ecclesiastical approximation of the March equinox. Pagan symbols like Easter Bunny, Easter eggs, candles and lilies. 3. The Mixture of pagan traditions with Catholic beliefs. The roots of Easter Sunday can be traced to Pagan celebrations. The resurrection of Jesus coincides with the ascendance of the pagan un god. The use of symbols like the candles in the ceremonies. Conclusion: 1. Easter is the celebration of Jesus resurrection from the dead; it is Catholics most important holiday in which catholic churches in the west celebrate Easter on the first Sunday following the full moon after the spring equinox. Also, various folk customs and pagan traditions, including Easter bunny and Easter eggs have become a standard part of this holy holiday. Bibliography:
http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/easter-sunday retrieved on Tuesday, march 19 http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/common/easter-sunday retrieved on Monday, march 18 http://www.history.com/topics/history-of-easter retrieved on Tuesday, march 19

http://christianity.about.com/od/holidaytips/qt/whatiseaster.htm retrieved on Thursday, march 21 http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05224d.htm; http://www.topmarks.co.uk/easter/ retrieved on Friday, march 22 http://www.religioustolerance.org/easter1.htm retrieved on Thursday, march 21 http://suite101.com/article/easter-symbols-with-pagan-origins-a205338 retrieved on Thursday, march 21

LAURA DANIELA RUBIANO MORALES. Easter, Catholic and Pagan tradition Easter is the catholic celebration of the resurrection of Jesus that is preceded by Lent. Lent is the period of fasting and penitence in preparation for Easter, which begins on Ash Wednesday an last forty days. On the other hand, the week before Easter is kwon a Holy Week, in the Catholic tradition this is the most important week. Another important aspect of Easter is that is a movable holiday in which the preparation is carefully calculated. In Western churches it falls on a Sunday between March 22 and April 25, depending on the date of the first full moon after equinox. Easter Sunday is one of the mot festive events among Catholic worldwide. It commemorates Jesus resurrection written in the Bible. On the other hand, the roots of Easter holiday traditions and activities can be traced back to pagan celebrations. Catholics celebrate Easter Sunday because of the resurrection of Jesus, the celebration include especial services in the churches and the use of symbol that represents Jesus victory from the dead. Catholics believe on the resurrection according to the Scripture that Jesus came back to life three day after his death on the cross. It is typically the most-well-attended Sunday service of the year for Christian churches. Catholics

believe, according to Scripture, that Jesus came back to life, or was raised from the dead, three days after his death on the cross. As part of the Easter season, the death of Jesus Christ by crucifixion is commemorated on Good Friday, always the Friday just before Easter. Through his death, burial, and resurrection, Jesus paid the penalty for sin, thus purchasing for all who believe in him, eternal life in Jesus. This commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus is according to catholic religion in which catholic churches made special services with music, flowers and ringing of church bells. The symbols used by the Catholics are; first of all, the cross that represent Jesus' victory over death. The second are the candles used to Symbolize Jesus, the light of the world". The third one are the palm branches which Represents when Jesus arrived in Jerusalem on the first Palm Sunday and people waved palm branches, welcoming him. Another, the last one is the lamb which

represents Jesus, "the Lamb of God". To conclude the Catholics use Easter Sunday to commemorate the sacrifice that Jesus made to save the people from the original sin. Easter for the Pagans is a celebration of the life; it is represented by the God Eostre and The God of the sun. On Easter Sunday, Eostre return the life to the earth and the sun God ascend. The word Easter is derived from Eostre, the God of rebirth; she was the great Mother God of the axon people in Northern Europe. The pagans also celebrate the arrival of spring. On the other hand, in times of the Pagans, they use to give happiness with the renewal of the life; it was celebrated as a birthday. The common form to celebrate this birthday was giving offerings to the god to will be able to the benefit of the new life. In the same way, Easter Pagan date depends on the ecclesiastical approximation of the March equinox. This coincides with the ascendance of the Sun God. Both Gods helps to the arrival of the spring. The symbols used in the celebration of Easter Sunday are Easter bunny and the Easter eggs as fertility symbols; Easter eggs symbolizes new life or re-birth.and the Easter bunny was a symbol of abundant new life in ancient times, and reminds us of spring and new life. The candles are used by the pagans because of the light they use it to drive away the darkness and welcome the new life. The last symbol is the Lillie nevertheless in pagan ceremonies are used more than one. The lilies are spring flowers and symbolize purity. Lilies hold a special place as they are considered the most sacred of all spring flowers. To summarize the pagan celebration is to commemorate the renewal of the life on the earth and the ascendance of the sun god, it is a time of happiness. The paganism and the Catholic religion have symbols and traditions in common. The most representative are the celebration of the arrival spring. They use the Easter Sunday to commemorate their God. In this case, catholic venerate Jesus resurrection and Pagans commemorate the ascendance of the Sun God. Another important aspect is the celebration of the life in different ways, but with the same significance. First, on the Catholic significance, they celebrate the resurrection of the Lord; second, in the Pagan believe the re-birth of the life. According to these, is said that the celebration of Catholic Easter have its roots on the Paganism. Also, some symbols in common like the candles used in the ceremonies with different but similar significance. The candles used by the Catholics are to

show the light and purity in the life, in contrast with the Pagans that use candles to drive away bad things. As a result the traditional holiday of Easter is a mixture of Pagan and Catholic believes that come from many years ago. Easter is the celebration of Jesus resurrection from the dead; it is Catholics most important holiday in which catholic churches in the west celebrate Easter on the first Sunday following the full moon after the spring equinox. Also, various folk customs and pagan traditions, including Easter bunny and Easter eggs have become a standard part of this holy holiday. This holy holiday is the most important in the life of Catholic people. The customs from Pagans are adapted to the religion history to be accepted by all religious in a good way. The renewal of the life is an unconscious celebration on Easter it is still present.

Bibliography:
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