Christians know the meaning of Easter is basically Jesus Christ's victory over death. His resurrection symbolizes the eternal life that is granted to all who believe in Him. The meaning of Easter also symbolizes the complete verification of all that Jesus preached and taught during His ministry. It is an important observation in the life of any Christian.
But did you know this? Easter did not always symbolize Christ's resurrection from the dead and the meaning of Easter was quite different than what Christians celebrate today. The feast day of Easter was originally a pagan celebration of renewal and rebirth. Celebrated in the early spring, it honored the pagan Saxon goddess Eastre. When the early missionaries converted the Saxons to Christianity, the holiday, since it fell around the same time as the traditional memorial of Christ's resurrection from the dead, was merged with the pagan celebration, and became know as Easter. The meaning of Easter was also changed to reflect its new Christian orientation.
Christian, or Pagan, Easter represents the celebration of Life. And we parents know all about that!
And, in this time of seeming strife (when isn't there some kind of strife!) here is another interesting tidbit concerning the origin of the international Peace Symbol. Reading in a post from the BBC, I was reminded of how that famous symbol came to be. Of course, I like to know this stuff, because I have the symbol on the back of my car. Apparently the symbol first came into use almost exactly 50 years ago now. It was designed by Mr Gerald Holtom, a designer and former WWII conscientious objector, who persuaded the Direct Action Committee Against Nuclear War that their goal would be greatly improved by having a visual image associated with it. The symbol was born. To interpret the symbol you have to imagine somewhat a person using flag-signaling (or semaphore alphabet). The Person would stand straight and lower both arms so they would resemble an upside down letter V. Then you would superimpose that same person standing with the right arm raised straight up to the sky and the left lowered straight to the ground so they resembled a straight line. In the semaphore alphabet the first gesture would mean the letter N, and the second gesture would mean the letter D. Hence, (N)uclear (D)isarmament. This superimposed symbol would then be encompassed in a circle, which of course was meant tor esemble the planet Earth. Needless to say, the symbol was fairly quickly adopted. Today, it is so frequently used (or abused) that it's almost overlooked.
But, today of all days perhaps it is worth remembering this: the call to Peace should never be taken for granted. We at Nonchalantmom wish you and your family a meaningful day!
