Easter and Passover

katia | 2:26 pm | March 21, 2008 | Easter, Easter Eggs, Easter Bunny, Easter Gifts, Easter Chocolate, Passover, Easter Gift Ideas, Easter Flower, Easter Flowers, Easter Lily, TheGift.com

For Christians, Easter is celebrated as the religious holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the son of God. For Jewish, Passover is celebrated as the religious holiday commemorating the Exodus from

Egypt and the liberation of Israelites from slavery. Traditions associated with each holiday differ a bit from each other. For example, Easter is the end of the Lenten season that started 40 days prior on Ash Wednesday. Passover is celebrated for 8 days and is a time for family gathering and lavish meals called Seders.Unlike Passover, Easter has many symbols such as the rabbit (our beloved Easter bunny), which represents fertility, and many colored eggs that represent the sunlight of spring. Contrary to popular belief that these are symbols created for the commercialization of Easter, they are in fact not modern inventions. Here’s a little bit about them:The Easter Bunny The Easter Bunny is originated with the pagan festival of Eastre. The goddess, Eastre, was worshipped by the Anglo-Saxons through her earthly symbol, the rabbit. German immigrants are accredited for bringing the symbol of the Easter rabbit to

America. The Easter rabbit was not widely adopted by other Christians until shortly after the Civil War. Neither was Easter itself, which gained popularity only after the war. The Easter Egg As with the Easter Bunny, the Easter Egg predates the Christian holiday of Easter. Exchanging eggs in the springtime was a widely-practice custom when Easter was first celebrated by Christians. Eggs were a symbol of rebirth in most cultures at that time, and were often wrapped in golden leaf as to create a more memorable and long-lasting gift. Today, we have modified these symbols and customs to fit our modern times. We exchange chocolate and Easter bunny eggs and children hunt colored eggs to be placed in Easter baskets. But one thing has been consistent over time… we exchange gifts as part of celebrating the holiday and also as part of celebrating our friends and family and the spirit that unites us all. If you haven’t done your chocolate bunny and egg hunt for a delicious gift, here are a few ideas:For those of you who thing that Easter is all about chocolate, think again! Easter Lily has become the traditional flower of Easter because it symbolizes the spiritual values of Easter: purity, life and rebirth. You can find the most beautiful lilies and other flowers for Easter at 1-800-FLOWERS.COM.<!–[if !vml]–><!–[endif]–> How about a super cute Easter bunny gift basket?<!–[if !vml]–><!–[endif]–> And we can never forget the delicious chocolate eggs of the season!Happy Easter!