Amos Stevens
New Member
Here comes Peter Cottontail
Hoppin' down the bunny trail,
Hippity hoppity,
Easter's on its way
Bringin' ev'ry girl and boy
A basketful of Easter joy
Things to make your Easter
Bright and gay
He's got jelly beans for Tommy
Colored eggs for sister Sue
There's an orchid for your mommy
And an Easter bonnet too. Oh!
Here comes Peter Cottontail
Hoppin' down the bunny trail
Hippity hoppity
Happy Easter Day
Here comes Peter Cottontail
Hoppin' down the bunny trail
Look at him hop and listen to him say,
"Try to do the things you should"
Maybe if you're extra good
He'll roll lots of Easter eggs your way
You'll wake up on Easter morning
And you'll know that he was there
When you find those choc'late bunnies
That he's hiding ev’rywhere,
Oh!
Here' comes Peter Cottontail
Hoppin' down the bunny trail
Hippity hoppity
Happy Easter Day.
---------------------------
The Traditions of Easter
As with almost all "Christian" holidays, Easter has
been secularized and commercialized. The dichotomous
nature of Easter and its symbols, however, is not
necessarily a modern fabrication.
Since its conception as a holy celebration in the
second century, Easter has had its non-religious side.
In fact, Easter was originally a pagan festival.
The ancient Saxons celebrated the return of spring
with an uproarious festival commemorating their
goddess of offspring and of springtime, Eastre. When
the second-century Christian missionaries encountered
the tribes of the north with their pagan celebrations,
they attempted to convert them to Christianity. They
did so, however, in a clandestine manner.
It would have been suicide for the very early
Christian converts to celebrate their holy days with
observances that did not coincide with celebrations
that already existed. To save lives, the missionaries
cleverly decided to spread their religious message
slowly throughout the populations by allowing them to
continue to celebrate pagan feasts, but to do so in a
Christian manner.
As it happened, the pagan festival of Eastre occurred
at the same time of year as the Christian observance
of the Resurrection of Christ. It made sense,
therefore, to alter the festival itself, to make it a
Christian celebration as converts were slowly won
over. The early name, Eastre, was eventually changed
to its modern spelling, Easter.
The Date of Easter
Prior to A.D. 325, Easter was variously celebrated on
different days of the week, including Friday,
Saturday, and Sunday. In that year, the Council of
Nicaea was convened by emperor Constantine. It issued
the Easter Rule which states that Easter shall be
celebrated on the first Sunday that occurs after the
first full moon on or after the vernal equinox.
However, a caveat must be introduced here. The "full
moon" in the rule is the ecclesiastical full moon,
which is defined as the fourteenth day of a tabular
lunation, where day 1 corresponds to the
ecclesiastical New Moon. It does not always occur on
the same date as the astronomical full moon. The
ecclesiastical "vernal equinox" is always on March 21.
Therefore, Easter must be celebrated on a Sunday
between the dates of March 22 and April 25.
The Lenten Season
Lent is the forty-six day period just prior to Easter
Sunday. It begins on Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras (French
for "Fat Tuesday") is a celebration, sometimes called
"Carnival," practiced around the world, on the Tuesday
prior to Ash Wednesday. It was designed as a way to
"get it all out" before the sacrifices of Lent began.
New Orleans is the focal point of Mardi Gras
celebrations in the U.S. Read about the religious
meanings of the Lenten Season.
The Cross
The Cross is the symbol of the Crucifixion, as opposed
to the Resurrection. However, at the Council of
Nicaea, in A.D. 325, Constantine decreed that the
Cross was the official symbol of Christianity. The
Cross is not only a symbol of Easter, but it is more
widely used, especially by the Catholic Church, as a
year-round symbol of their faith.
The Easter Bunny
The Easter Bunny is not a modern invention. The symbol
originated with the pagan festival of Eastre. The
goddess, Eastre, was worshipped by the Anglo-Saxons
through her earthly symbol, the rabbit.
The Germans brought the symbol of the Easter rabbit to
America. It was widely ignored by other Christians
until shortly after the Civil War. In fact, Easter
itself was not widely celebrated in America until
after that time.
The Easter Egg
As with the Easter Bunny and the holiday itself, the
Easter Egg predates the Christian holiday of Easter.
The exchange of eggs in the springtime is a custom
that was centuries old when Easter was first
celebrated by Christians.
From the earliest times, the egg was a symbol of
rebirth in most cultures. Eggs were often wrapped in
gold leaf or, if you were a peasant, colored brightly
by boiling them with the leaves or petals of certain
flowers.
Today, children hunt colored eggs and place them in
Easter baskets along with the modern version of real
Easter eggs -- those made of plastic or chocolate
candy.
Hoppin' down the bunny trail,
Hippity hoppity,
Easter's on its way
Bringin' ev'ry girl and boy
A basketful of Easter joy
Things to make your Easter
Bright and gay
He's got jelly beans for Tommy
Colored eggs for sister Sue
There's an orchid for your mommy
And an Easter bonnet too. Oh!
Here comes Peter Cottontail
Hoppin' down the bunny trail
Hippity hoppity
Happy Easter Day
Here comes Peter Cottontail
Hoppin' down the bunny trail
Look at him hop and listen to him say,
"Try to do the things you should"
Maybe if you're extra good
He'll roll lots of Easter eggs your way
You'll wake up on Easter morning
And you'll know that he was there
When you find those choc'late bunnies
That he's hiding ev’rywhere,
Oh!
Here' comes Peter Cottontail
Hoppin' down the bunny trail
Hippity hoppity
Happy Easter Day.
---------------------------
The Traditions of Easter
As with almost all "Christian" holidays, Easter has
been secularized and commercialized. The dichotomous
nature of Easter and its symbols, however, is not
necessarily a modern fabrication.
Since its conception as a holy celebration in the
second century, Easter has had its non-religious side.
In fact, Easter was originally a pagan festival.
The ancient Saxons celebrated the return of spring
with an uproarious festival commemorating their
goddess of offspring and of springtime, Eastre. When
the second-century Christian missionaries encountered
the tribes of the north with their pagan celebrations,
they attempted to convert them to Christianity. They
did so, however, in a clandestine manner.
It would have been suicide for the very early
Christian converts to celebrate their holy days with
observances that did not coincide with celebrations
that already existed. To save lives, the missionaries
cleverly decided to spread their religious message
slowly throughout the populations by allowing them to
continue to celebrate pagan feasts, but to do so in a
Christian manner.
As it happened, the pagan festival of Eastre occurred
at the same time of year as the Christian observance
of the Resurrection of Christ. It made sense,
therefore, to alter the festival itself, to make it a
Christian celebration as converts were slowly won
over. The early name, Eastre, was eventually changed
to its modern spelling, Easter.
The Date of Easter
Prior to A.D. 325, Easter was variously celebrated on
different days of the week, including Friday,
Saturday, and Sunday. In that year, the Council of
Nicaea was convened by emperor Constantine. It issued
the Easter Rule which states that Easter shall be
celebrated on the first Sunday that occurs after the
first full moon on or after the vernal equinox.
However, a caveat must be introduced here. The "full
moon" in the rule is the ecclesiastical full moon,
which is defined as the fourteenth day of a tabular
lunation, where day 1 corresponds to the
ecclesiastical New Moon. It does not always occur on
the same date as the astronomical full moon. The
ecclesiastical "vernal equinox" is always on March 21.
Therefore, Easter must be celebrated on a Sunday
between the dates of March 22 and April 25.
The Lenten Season
Lent is the forty-six day period just prior to Easter
Sunday. It begins on Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras (French
for "Fat Tuesday") is a celebration, sometimes called
"Carnival," practiced around the world, on the Tuesday
prior to Ash Wednesday. It was designed as a way to
"get it all out" before the sacrifices of Lent began.
New Orleans is the focal point of Mardi Gras
celebrations in the U.S. Read about the religious
meanings of the Lenten Season.
The Cross
The Cross is the symbol of the Crucifixion, as opposed
to the Resurrection. However, at the Council of
Nicaea, in A.D. 325, Constantine decreed that the
Cross was the official symbol of Christianity. The
Cross is not only a symbol of Easter, but it is more
widely used, especially by the Catholic Church, as a
year-round symbol of their faith.
The Easter Bunny
The Easter Bunny is not a modern invention. The symbol
originated with the pagan festival of Eastre. The
goddess, Eastre, was worshipped by the Anglo-Saxons
through her earthly symbol, the rabbit.
The Germans brought the symbol of the Easter rabbit to
America. It was widely ignored by other Christians
until shortly after the Civil War. In fact, Easter
itself was not widely celebrated in America until
after that time.
The Easter Egg
As with the Easter Bunny and the holiday itself, the
Easter Egg predates the Christian holiday of Easter.
The exchange of eggs in the springtime is a custom
that was centuries old when Easter was first
celebrated by Christians.
From the earliest times, the egg was a symbol of
rebirth in most cultures. Eggs were often wrapped in
gold leaf or, if you were a peasant, colored brightly
by boiling them with the leaves or petals of certain
flowers.
Today, children hunt colored eggs and place them in
Easter baskets along with the modern version of real
Easter eggs -- those made of plastic or chocolate
candy.
