During Good Friday services, they reflect on the meaning of the crucifixion and the central message of Christianity. This message is that through his death on the cross, Jesus atoned for the sin of mankind which came into the world when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, and through Jesus' sacrifice mankind is reconciled with God. The main service on Good Friday takes place between midday and 3 pm. In many churches it takes the form of a meditation based on seven sayings, or last words, of Jesus on the cross, with hymns , prayers , and short sermons.
Roman Catholics start their service at 3 pm, the time that Jesus is thought to have died. Easter Sunday marks Jesus' resurrection. The gospels record that after Jesus was crucified, his body was taken down from the cross, and placed in a cave. The cave was guarded by Roman soldiers and an enormous stone was put over the entrance, so that no one could steal the body.
On Sunday, three days after the crucfixion, Mary Magdalene followed by some of Jesus' disciples visited the tomb to find that the stone had been moved and Jesus' body had gone. According to the Gospels, Jesus was seen that day by Mary Magdalene, and was seen for 40 days afterwards by the disciples.
During this holiday, people spend 55 days fasting from meat and animal products. The night before Easter, Christians have a vigil that begins somber; but when morning comes, dancing and music breaks out.
Families and communities spend Easter Sunday at church services and in homes, eating and celebrating. Today the holiday gives families the chance to spend time together. Asia is the largest continent on Earth, and contains a vast number of people groups, cultures and traditions. Easter is a major religious holiday in the Philippines , which is home to more than 7, islands!
The two groups meet at the church as a symbol of Jesus comforting Mary after he was raised from the dead. Not all countries throughout Asia celebrate Easter, a traditionally Christian holiday. In Orthodox countries throughout Eastern Europe like Romania , Serbia , Greece and more, Easter is celebrated about weeks after other countries because the Orthodox churches in these countries follow the Julian Calendar.
People in Germany love decorating for Easter! They even decorate tree branches for Easter with painted eggs in the same way that people decorate tree branches in December for Christmas.
In addition to celebrating the holiday itself, Easter marks the kickoff of spring! Many people wear colorful traditional dress to celebrate the occasion. In Poland , families get together to celebrate the holiday and eat a filling Easter Sunday breakfast. But the most famous part of a Polish Easter is the babka , a bread that traditionally has raisins and a thin glaze on top of it.
On Easter Monday in France , something unique happens. Those differences reminded me of an Easter egg hunt of many years ago. My roommate was a secretary and I was teaching at the forestry camp for delinquent boys just a few miles away on Little Shepherd Trail, a gravel road that followed the crest of the mountain about 20 miles to an underdeveloped state park. The camp was quite accessible.
The area was wooded, and walking away, while it would have been possible, was not something they even considered. One of the boys had been in some of my classes when I taught in a local school. We asked and were granted permission to take the boys on an Easter egg hunt. Just three or four miles farther out the trail was an area called a park which was distinguished from its surroundings only by a couple of picnic tables — no water, no restrooms — just a dirt road circling the area.
Some of my family had come to spend the weekend with us. Together, we loaded up the boys who wanted to participate and took them out there. But considering their lack of activity because of being incarcerated, the boys enjoyed the freedom we granted them. I imagine all of those kids, now young men, remember that Easter egg hunt.
Staying isolated from other people by being in the car, we went for a drive on Easter afternoon, going nowhere in particular, just getting out of the house. Very few houses had more than the usual two or three cars in the driveway.
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