“Easter is the only time of year when it is safe to put all your eggs in one basket.”
Unknown
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- KEEP IT ALIVE
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- THIS THAT AND THE OTHER THING
IT’S EASY TO PLAY ALONG WITH #WQW
This weekly writing challenge runs from Wednesday through Tuesday. The only rule is to use a quote. If you want to participate, create a pingback to link your post. Not sure how to do that? See how to create pingbacks here. Be sure to link to the most recent post, not my page. I don’t see links to my page.
For More Ideas about Easter, Passover (Pesach), or other April Religious Observations
- CATH’S CAMERA
- JUSTBLUEDUTCH
- LADY LEE MANILA
- LADY SIGHS
- LOVING LIFE
- MY FOREVER
- NEW2WRITING (WRITE PHOTO)
- POETRY IF NOTHING ELSE
- RAMBLES OF A RARING WRITER
- SECOND WIND LEISURE (SUNDAY STILLS)
- YOUR BLOG LINK GOES HERE.
Check out these early-bird participants. This challenge runs until next Tuesday, and these bloggers have some awesome quotes, stories, and pictures.
Definition of Easter
Easter is “the most important and oldest festival of the Christian Church, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ and held (in the Western Church) between March 21 and April 25, on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the northern spring equinox.” Oxford Dictionary
“Our old history ends with the cross; our new history begins with our resurrection.”
Watchman Nee
“That terrible Friday has been called Good Friday because it led to the Resurrection of Jesus and his victory over death and sin and the celebration of Easter, the very pinnacle of Christian celebrations,” the Huffington Post reported.”
Atlanta Journal Constitution
“a feast that commemorates Christ’s resurrection and is observed with variations of date due to different calendars on the first Sunday after the paschal full moon” – Mirriam Webster
Days of Worship Preceding Easter
- Shrovetide (the 3 days before Lent)
- the Liturgical Season of Lent – “Liturgical is the Greek word for public work.” Mirriam Webster
- Palm Sunday starts Holy Week
- Maundy Thursday
- Good Friday – the day Jesus was crucified
- Holy or Silent Saturday
- Passover in the Jewish faith takes place during this time
Jewish Passover Feast or Seder
Biblical Symbolism
“It’s not about the bunny; it’s about the lamb.”
Unknown
The cries of Hosanna were shouted by the crowd as Jesus rode to Jerusalem on a colt. The people were oppressed and looked to a Savior to lead them out of bondage much like the people of Ukraine need today. Jesus tried to show them that he was not a political conqueror by riding into Jerusalem on a donkey rather than a chariot pulled by beautiful horses like the Romans did. He knew he was riding to his death in Jerusalem to usher in a new kingdom, the Kingdom of Heaven.
“…The Resurrection changes everything: It’s a reminder not just that Jesus rose from the dead but that love is stronger than hatred, that hope is stronger than despair, and that life is stronger than death.”
Facts and Details
Secular Naming of the Holiday
“According to the 7th century English historian Venerable Bede, Easter is named after Easter, a goddess worshiped by the Anglo-Saxons that may have been honored in a festival that took place around the same time as Easter.”
Facts and Details
This is the most sacred of seasons for Christians whether they display rabbits rather than paintings of the Last Supper or pictures of Jesus hanging on a cross, or pictures of an empty tomb.
Secular Symbols of Easter
- Easter Basket
- Easter Lily
- Easter Bunny
- Easter Egg
Chocolate Easter Bunnies are ubiquitous for about four weeks before Easter, during a time when my sister-in-law typically gives up eating chocolate for Lent. I admit I did not know where or when all of these widely recognized Easter motifs began. Do you?
“According to legend, Simon of Cyrne, who helped Christ carry the cross, was an egg merchant. Many historians also link rabbits and eggs to pagan symbols of new life. Lilies are also associated with Easter. They too are linked with the resurrection.”
Facts and Details
One-Eyed Jack in Sedona
“When Jesus is called the Lamb of God in John 1:29 and John 1:36, it is referring to Him as the perfect and ultimate sacrifice for sin.”
Got Questions
Nonetheless, the artist John Randall Nelson of Phoenix created One-Eyed Jack Rabbit in 2018 at a cost to Scottsdale of $115,000. OE Jack stands as a symbol in the historic Marshall Way Arts District of Scottsdale. (This is not to be confused with martial arts districts of any city.)
“Like so many public art projects, this 26-foot-tall white rabbit (painted steel) had to jump through several hoops of mini-controversy before taking up residence as a selfie magnet. Artist’s statement: “One-Eyed Jack is a symbol of fecundity, rebirth, and like Lewis Carroll’s fictional White Rabbit, it beckons us to make the leap down the rabbit hole into Wonderland.”
James Turrell Scottsdale Public Art
I’ve been reading a book recommended by Yvette Prior to me to help with Story Chat called How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas Foster. In one chapter Foster raves about Shakespeare as having a great influence over writers across the centuries. Since so many of our WQW quotes come from modern authors, I wanted to find out what Shakespeare had to say about the subject of Easter and the Resurrection of Christ. So I Googled it – of course.
Shakespeare remained silent on the subject. Yet one article in the Shakespeare Blog reported that the resurrection and hope and renewal permeate his plays. It surprised me that the closest quote I could find from Shakespeare on the topic was, “April hath put a spirit of youth in everything.”
I couldn’t find a picture of a lily in my photos, but I did find many pictures of white flowers with which to decorate this post as churches are decorated with Easter lilies.
In my childhood, we have always celebrated Easter in a typically American fashion – new dress, going to church, then home to a big dinner, which was usually turkey at one of my Grandparent’s homes.
As an adult, it seems that I seldom cooked but shared a meal with friends, my husband and I becoming part of their family. Now that we are in Prescott, we plan to go to church and then meet our neighbors and Cindy for a buffet at the Prescott Lakes Clubhouse. Last week for Palm Sunday, Cindy hosted us at her home for dinner.
Our meals have been much less worshipful and more casual than the beautiful Seders that I had the privilege to attend at Elane’s house with her family and several of her non-Jewish friends. This possibly was because the guest lists at all of those meals were made up exclusively of family members (other than us with our adult friends). More likely is that no one of us, including adult me, took charge to make the meal more than a pleasant time to eat together.
With that TMI glimpse into my past, I wish you all the most wonderful Holy Week and Easter Sunday, Passover, or whatever you are planning for this weekend.
Now it’s your turn.
Talk about your past, your present, the holidays, and their significance. I look forward to reading your posts and the amazing quotes you find.
Marsha Ingrao - Always Write 
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