Easter here in the East is at a different time and is much different in the way it is taught and presented to people. I grew up think that while Easter was about “the resurrection of Jesus,” somehow the Easter Bunny was the king of Easter in the world that I knew in the west…
April 28th, 2018 is Easter in Russia…
That Easter Bunny in the west is the most important thing, even above Jesus and with the Easter Bunny came Easter eggs, candy, candy and more candy! Oh and also some small toys. Easter to me and many families was ruined, because we had to go to church and listen to a guy tell us about how we all sinned and Jesus died for our sins. All the while sitting in church, me and millions of kids were taught that Easter was really just about the wonderful Easter Bunny and the goodies he brings. You just had to endure the sin stuff for an hour and then it was sugar overdose time and lots of good food with a Easter meal. Not too mention the millions of Easter Eggs that were wasted every year…
Actually even the “Easter Bunny” who has ancient ties with a belief that it could reproduce without losing its virginity (a hermaphrodite), has been exploited and commercialized, to compound greed… (Hence bunny and eggs!)
Then I came to the east and discovered that the Easter Bunny was on the dinner plate many times of the year for a meal and not even daring to show his head at Easter time, or any time for that matter. For in the East, Easter is very specific and taught very specifically: Easter is the fundamental and most important festival of the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches:
Greek Orthodox Easter…
This is the Expected and Holy Day,
The One among the Sabbaths,
The Sovereign and Lady of days,
Feast of feasts, Celebration of celebrations,
On which we praise Christ for all eternity!and…
Χριστὸς ἀνέστη ἐκ νεκρῶν,
θανάτῳ θάνατον πατήσας,
καὶ τοῖς ἐν τοῖς μνήμασι
ζωὴν χαρισάμενος.Christ is risen from the dead,
Trampling down death by death,
And upon those in the tombs
Bestowing life!
The Western Easter Bunny …
Well in the East they forgot to spice it all up with an imaginary rabbit and they forgot to give all the kids tons of candy. Why all they get here (Unless it is a western sponsored church or NGO activity!) is a bunch of preaching about how you better get your act together…
Why how dare the East ruin the world of Easter Bunnies and candy overdoses. How dare they even try to make it out that Easter is about Jesus and not the Easter Bunny…
Why can you imagine a world that does not have huge Easter baskets full of green fake grass and enough candy and toys to keep a kid on a sugar overdose for a week? Could you imagine a world without the Easter Bunny?
Could you imagine a world that actually practices the fact that Easter is only about Jesus?
In the Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, Easter eggs are dyed red to represent the blood of Christ, with further symbolism being found in the hard shell of the egg symbolizing the sealed Tomb of Christ — the cracking of which symbolized his resurrection from the dead.
I couldn’t until I came to live in Russia and then discovered that commercialization is not a true part of life in most of the world, except in the west and that is a shame. Though we do have eggs painted here and believe you me, they utilize these eggs as food. A eastern Easter egg has special meaning.. >>>
Tidbit Time: Boil eggs in water that has white onions and vinegar boiling also. The eggs shell turns blood red and or close enough. It is the traditional Russian way to do it…
So I will celebrate Easter in the east and that will fall on: Sunday, April 8th – Orthodox Easter 2018…
Happy Easter in the Western World. No I am not sour on the West, I am just informed and not uninformed and that information has given me the ability to see right from wrong…
Easter is still based on the same things, be it east or west: “The resurrection of Jesus!”
But something happened in the west and that something is what is destroying the whole western society and its moral structure. We did the same to Christmas and many other very important holidays. It is called commercialism and greed. I hope that it never takes over the east as bad as it has in the west…
On the 28th of April, 2019 you need to stop and think about Jesus and what he did for us. For only at that time will it “not” be associated with an Easter Bunny and tons of Candy…
You greet someone on the Easter day with “Khristos voskres” and you should get a reply of “Voistinu voskres,” which literally means that Christ has risen. {The Paschal greeting is a custom among Orthodox Christians, consisting of a greeting and response. Instead of “hello” or its equivalent, one is to greet another person with “Christ is Risen!”. The response is “Truly, He is risen!” (or “Indeed, He is risen!”). }
WtR