Keisha Shakespeare-Blackmore, Staff Reporter
Left: It is a beautiful trumpet-shaped white flower that symbolises purity, virtue, innocence, hope and life - the spiritual essence of Easter. - FILE
Right: The physic nut tree (like this one adjacent to the Spaldings Police Station in Clarendon), is rumoured to bleed if you chop or cut it at noon on Good Friday. It is also said that this is the tree on which Jesus was crucified. - GEORGE HENRY/FREELANCE REPORTER
Easter is a time for reflection, recognition of Jesus' sacrifice and the renewed celebration of His resurrection. At this time of year, many people get more religious and regard certain unhealthy practices. But, have you ever wondered about some of the common Easter traditions? Lifestyle now explains their origin for you.
THE HISTORY OF EASTER
Easter lily
Like the rest of the world, Jamaicans decorate their home, with Easter lilies. It is a beautiful trumpet-shaped white flower symbolising purity, virtue, innocence, hope and life -; the spiritual essence of Easter. History, mythology, literature, poetry and the world of art are rife with stories and images that speak of the beauty and majesty of the elegant white flower. Often called the "white-robed apostles of hope," lilies were found growing in the Garden of Gethsemane after Christ's agony.
Tradition has it that the beautiful white lilies sprung up where drops of Christ's sweat fell to the ground in his final hours of sorrow and deep distress. Churches continue this tradition at Easter time by banking their altars and surrounding their crosses with masses of Easter lilies to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ and hope of life everlasting.
THOUGH EASTER is a Christian celebration of the death and resurrection of Christ, it originally began as a pagan festival. The ancient Saxons celebrated the return of spring with an uproarious festival commemorating their goddess of springtime, Eastre. Ironically, 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.
Also, prior to 325 A.D., Easter was variously celebrated on different days of the week, including Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. In that year, emperor Constantine convened the Council of Nicaea. It issued the Easter rule that states that Easter shall be celebrated on the first Sunday that occurs after the first full moon on or after the vernal equinox, which is always on March 21. However, the full moon does not always occur on the same date as it does on the calendar. Therefore, Easter must be celebrated on a Sunday between the dates of March 22 and April 25.
Easter egg
One of Jamaica's myths is setting an egg to predict one's future. It is said if you place an egg white in a container of water on Holy Thursday night by Good Friday you will see your future. If the shape formed in the container is a ship or aircraft, it means travel. If it's a casket, it means death and so forth. Aaron Williams, 34, from Milk River in Clarendon said he has tried it, and it worked.
"In 1994 on Holy Thursday night I set the egg and on Good Friday morning when I looked at it I saw a ship." Mr. Williams did not travel right away and when he did in March 2000 it was by air, but he still believes in the myth. "The ship also means prosperity and I saw prosperity after that flight," he recalls. That flight took him to London in England where he spent three years working and even found a wife and fathered a child.
Eggs are associated with the Easter celebration in other countries, but for other reasons. Throughout history, eggs have been associated with Easter celebrations. In ancient times, the egg was a symbol of fertility and new beginnings. Eggs are symbolic of life because in all living creatures life begins in the egg. Christians adopted this to represent their Saviour's resurrection.
Easter eggs are usually painted in vibrant colours. The practice started in Persia in 3,000 B.C. to celebrate the first day of spring. In Germany it is traditional to paint eggs green and eat them on Maundy Thursday, while in Greek and Slavic cultures eggs are dyed red as a symbol of the blood of Christ. With time, egg decoration has become more elaborate with colourful patterns and images. Famous among them are the ornate, jewelled and enamelled eggs that Fabergé was commissioned to make for the Russian Tsars.
Easter bun
As with all season, there are many myths and practices. In Jamaica, this is the time of year when people tend to eat bun and cheese in abundance. Though it is not clear how the cheese aspect of the tradition started, bun eating has been around for centuries.
In earlier times the Greeks and Egyptians ate small cakes or buns in honour of the 'queen of heaven', the goddesses Eastre as early as the days of Cecrops, the founder of Athens, 1,500 years before Christ. Hot cross buns were first baked by the Saxons in honour of Eastre. The word 'bun' itself derives from boun, Saxon for 'sacred ox', which was sacrificed at the Eastre festival, and the image of its horns was carved into the cakes. To Christians, the cross symbolises the crucifixion.
Early church fathers, to compete with the pagan custom of baking ox-marked cakes, baked their own version, using the same dough as bun made for Eastre. But they had to be discreet in their conversion methods. So they reinterpreted the ox-horn symbol as a crucifix, and gave the buns out to new converts attending mass. And again, they did a good job of disguising their motives. They successfully Christianised a pagan cake and gave people a treat they were used to. Also they subtly marked the buns with an image that, though obviously Catholic, at a distance wouldn't label the bearer as a Christian.
Physic nut tree
Another Jamaican Easter myth is the bleeding physic nut tree on Good Friday at noon. This is an often repeated story in rutral Jamaica. It was said that on Good Friday, if you chopped the tree the sap that oozes out would be a red substance that signifies the blood of Jesus. Also, it is said that Jesus was crucified on a similar type of tree.
Though many older folk have maintained that the myth is true, Mr. George Henry 40, says otherwise. "When I was 12 years old, I chopped the tree to see if it would bleed, but I am yet to see if it will," said Mr. Henry. Though he admitted that he might have jumped the gun by chopping the tree before noon on Good Friday.
