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When is Easter Sunday?
Easter Sunday is the most important date in the Christian church.
In the bible, it is the day when Mary Magdalene found that an empty tomb in the cave in which Jesus had been placed following his death by crucifixion on the previous Friday.
It signifies the end of the 40 days of Lent, meaning Christians who gave up something during lent to signify Jesus’ time in the wilderness, can indulge themselves again.
Easter Sunday is also when church bells will be rung again, having been silent during Lent.
Why is it called Easter?
According to some scholars such as Venerable Bede, the name Easter is derived from ‘Ostara’ or ‘Eostre’, a pagan goddess of fertility, whose feast was celebrated on the Vernal Equinox. The word East is also derived from her names, as is Oestrogen, the female hormone. In Saxon culture, the Hare was sacred to Ostara and the modern tradition of the Easter Bunny is a distant echo of that.
However, In most languages other than English and German, the holiday’s name is derived from Pesach, the Hebrew name of Passover, a Jewish holiday to which the Christian Easter is intimately linked.
Easter depends on Passover not only for much of its symbolic meaning but also for its position in the calendar. Read more about the date of Easter.
Easter traditions
White lilies are the traditional flowers of Easter and are held or worn by many in churches all over the world as symbols of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Easter Bunny
The Easter Bunny is now an established part of the Easter traditions. In Europe and America, the Easter Bunny visits the garden of children leaving chocolate eggs and treats for the children to find on Easter Egg hunts.
Rabbits and hares don’t have any direct connection to any Christian tradition and it is interesting to note that the pagan goddess, Ostara was always traditionally accompanied by a hare. The modern tradition derives from a German custom that was first recorded in the 16th century. It may seem strange for a rabbit to be laying eggs, but as eggs were part of the foods banned during Lent, then the reintroduction of eggs would have been a welcome treat, no matter how they arrived in the garden.
It was once thought that hares could give birth without conceiving, which may have made them a way of explaining the birth of Jesus to the Virgin Mary. It is also said that the sight of Rabbits appearing from their underground burrows is a reminder of Jesus appearing from the tomb after his resurrection on Easter morning.
Lamb
On Easter Sunday, the traditional meat for dinner is lamb. The lamb was a sacrifice during the Jewish Passover, and it became a symbol for Jesus. It is also seasonal as Spring lamb is particularly tender and noted for its subtle flavour.
Nursery is closed.
Early Nursery closure for parents evening. Children can only be booked in advance to attend between these times one to two weeks in advance or late charges will apply.
Come along and meet the team, tour the nursery rooms and garden and catch up with nursery practitioners about your child’s care and education.
Arguably, the tradition of a day to celebrate mothers can be traced back to the times of the ancient Greeks, who held festivities to honour Rhea, the mother of the gods.
Early Christians celebrated the fourth Sunday of Lent as a Mother’s festival to honour Mary, the mother of Christ.
In the UK, the tradition of Mother’s Day is now very similar to its American counterpart, but its origins are different, as the day commemorates returning to your mother church on the fourth Sunday in Lent.
The English colonists who settled in America discontinued the tradition of Mothering Sunday, as presumably, it would have been a bit of a trip to return to their mother church for the day.
Nursery is closed.
On Father’s Day, many people make a special effort to visit their father. They often take or send cards and gifts. Common Father’s Day gifts are ties, socks, underwear, sweaters, slippers and other items of clothing. Other people give tools for household maintenance or garden work, luxury food items or drinks.
Many Father’s Day gifts have slogans such as “The World’s Best Dad”, “For My Father” or just a simple “Dad” on them. The increase in print-on-demand services offered by photo processing companies has made personalized gifts even more popular for Father’s Day. Photographs of children can be printed on desk calendars, mugs, T-shirts, mouse mats, bags and even ties. Many fathers are expected to take these to the office to remind them of their families while they are working.
In the days and weeks before Father’s Day, many schools, Sunday schools and children’s organizations help their pupils to prepare a handmade card or gift for their father. Mothers and other family members may help children to make personalized gifts, such as calendars with drawings made by the children.
Some families celebrate Father’s Day by planning an outing or weekend trip, perhaps just for the male members of the family. This may be a simple walk in the countryside or a whole planned “experience”. Popular Father’s Day experiences include driving a fire engine, rally car, tank or even airplane or taking a golf, football or cricket lesson with a celebrity coach. Other families organize a special meal at home or in a pub or restaurant. A common Father’s Day meal is a traditional roast dinner with meat, stuffing, potatoes and vegetables, which can be eaten in a pub and accompanied by pints of ale or lager.