Why Is Easter Sunday April Fool’s Day And Daylight Savings Time Falling On The Same Day This Year

11The origin of Easter

While the biggest reason for Easter Sunday is the Christian spiritual celebration to mark the resurrection of Jesus Christ as per the teachings of Christianity. The other factors of the day such as Easter eggs can be linked to pagan festivals around the world celebrating fertility. 

Image Source: www.theholidayspot.com

12The link with spring as a season of fertility

Spring itself as a season is linked to fertility in some parts of the world to celebrate the harvest. The celebration of the equinoxes also dates back to prehistoric times and one theory has it that Easter started out as a pagan festival in the Northern hemisphere before Christianity. It celebrated returning from darkness into light. 

Image Source: www.bambaexperience.com

13What the experts say

According to University of Sydney professor Carole Cusack, In Europe, Easter takes its name from a pagan goddess worshipped in Anglo Saxon England called Eaostre who was the goddess of spring and renewal and whose feast coincided with the vernal equinox. In Germany, the goddess was called Ostar which means “Dawn”. Rabbits and hares were also linked to Eoaster as symbols of fertility which is why the reason for the Easter bunny.

Image Source: deviantart.net

14Why Easter eggs

In the Middle Ages people usually fasted before Easter and began eating eggs as a treat after the Easter mass. Soon the eggs were linked to celebration and joy and to make them more significant, they used hardboiled eggs and started coloring them. The evolution of this concept filtered down to various flavors such as the chocolate and marzipan Easter eggs we have today. In Poland, people still celebrate Easter with hardboiled eggs. 

Image Source: AllEvents.in

15A season for many festivals of fertility

Be it in Europe or Asia, many cultures link the spring equinox as a time for celebration to mark the symbol of new life and fertility. In India, Holi in India, the festival of colors is celebrated to mark the harvest. Christianity celebrates the risen Christ as a symbol of renewal of faith. Pagans and Wiccans in Europe celebrate the Ostara holiday where Stonehenge in England is a hub of activity during the spring equinox.

Image Source: ibtimes.co.uk