Easter

Easter is the time for holidays, festivals and a time for giving chocolate Easter eggs. But Easter means much more. It is the oldest and the most important Christian Festival , the celebration of the death and coming to life again of Jesus Christ. For Christians, the dawn of Easter Sunday with its message of new life is the high point of the year.

Holy Week is the week leading up to Easter, commemorating events in the last days of Christ's life. The first day of Holy Week is Palm Sunday .
Easter is the story of Jesus' last days in Jerusalem before his death. The Easter story includes Maundy Thursday (the Last supper leading to the Eucharist), Good Friday (the day on which Jesus was crucified) and Easter Sunday (the day on which Jesus came back to life).

When is Easter?
Easter usually comes in the month of April. It is what is called a 'moveable feast' because the date of it is fixed according to the moon. Easter Sunday has to be the first Sunday following the full moon, after the Spring equinox (March 21) - the Paschal Full Moon . This means that Easter can fall as early as March 22 or as late as April 25.

The different names for Easter
In many European languages the name Easter comes from the word Passover.

Pascha in Greek and Latin,
Pasqua in Italian,
Pacques in French,
Pascua in Spanish

Every year in December we celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ. That is why we call this time 'Christmas' - we celebrate the ' Mass ', or church service, for Christ .

The word Christmas (or Christ's Mass) comes from the Old English name Cristes Maesse - Christ's Mass - and is the celebration of the birth of Jesus . The first recorded observance occurred in Rome in AD360, but it wasn't until AD440 that the Christian Church fixed a celebration date of December 25.

Christmas is a truly magical season, bringing families and friends together to share the much loved customs and traditions which have been around for centuries. Most people are on holiday in England and stay at home with their family on Christmas day.

The Twelve Days of Christmas are the last six days of the old year (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31 December ) and the first six days of the New Year (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 January). The Twelve Days of Christmas did not start on Christmas Day because Christmas Day was seen as a holy day and not one for 'partying' on.

What traditionally happened during the Twelve Days of Christmas?
The twelve days of Christmas would have been a most welcome break for the workers on the land, which in Tudor times would have been the majority of the people. All work, except for looking after the animals, would stop, restarting again on Plough Monday , the first Monday after Twelfth Night.

During the Twelve Days, people would visit their neighbours sharing and enjoying the traditional minced pie.

The Origin of the Twelve Days of Christmas Song
There is great debate as to the meaning of the carol, The Twelve Days of Christmas. One theory why we sing the song dates back to the time when Roman Catholics were not permitted to practice their faith openly (1558 until 1829). The song was written as a way of teaching young catholics and had two levels of meanings: a surface meaning and a hidden meaning known only to their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality, which the children could remember.

The "true love" of the song refers to God .
The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.
Two Turtle Doves were the Old and New Testaments.
Three French Hens stood for Faith, Hope and love.
The four Calling Birds were the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, luke and John.
The five Golden Rings recalled the Torah or law, the first five books of the Old Testament.
The six Geese A-laying stood for the six days of creation.
Seven Swans A-swimming represented the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: Prophecy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership and Mercy.
The eight Maids A-milking were the eight beatitudes.
Nine Ladies Dancing were the nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self Control.
The ten Lords A-leaping were the ten commandments.
The eleven Pipers Piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.
The twelve Drummers Drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in The Apostle's Creed.

Wassailling
Wassail ceremonies took place during the 12 days of Christmas in attempts to counter the power of evil spirits.

In the year 835 AD the Roman Catholic Church made November 1st a church holiday to honor all the saints. This day is called All Saint's Day. It used to be also known as Hallowmas or All Hallows. Gradually, over the years, October 31st became known as All Hallow Even, eventually All Hallow's Eve, Halloween, and then Halloween as we know it today.

Jack-o-lanterns - Jack-O'-Lanterns are hollowed-out pumpkins with a face cut into one side. People once carved out beets, potatoes and turnips to use as lanterns on Halloween. Now-a-days we carve out pumpkins.
According to an Irish legend, jack-o-lanterns were named for a man named Jack, who could not enter heaven because he was a miser. He could not enter hell either, because he had played jokes on the devil. So instead, he had to walk the earth with his lantern until Judgment Day.

Fire - Fire has always played an important part in Halloween. Fire was very important to the Celts as it was to all early people. In the old days people lit bonfires to ward away evil spirits and in some places they used to jump over the fire to bring good luck. Today, we light candles in pumpkin lanterns and then put them outside our homes to ward of evil spirits.

Apple Bobbing - The Roman festival for remembering the dead was also in October. During this time, the Romans remembered their goddess, Pomona. She was the goddess of the trees and fruits, and when the Romans came to Britain, they began to hold these two festivals on the same day as Samhain. Apples probably became associated with Halloween because of this festival.

Dressing up - The tradition of dressing in costume for Halloween has both European and Celtic roots. Hundreds of years ago, winter was an uncertain and frightening time. Food supplies often ran low and, for the many people afraid of the dark, the short days of winter were full of constant worry. On Halloween, when it was believed that ghosts came back to the earthly world, people thought that they would encounter ghosts if they left their homes. To avoid being recognized by these ghosts, people would wear masks when they left their homes after dark so that the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits. On Halloween, to keep ghosts away from their houses, people would place bowls of food outside their homes to appease the ghosts and prevent them from attempting to enter.

Trick or Treat - "Trick or Treat" was first known as Mischief Night. Halloween was a time for making mischief - many parts of England still recognise this date as Mischief Night - when children would knock on doors demanding a treat (Trick or Treat) and people would disguise themselves as witches, ghosts, kelpies and spunkies, in order to obtain food and money from nervous householders.

November 5th marks the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot, a conspiracy to blow up the English Parliament and King James Ist on November 5, 1605, the day set for the king to open Parliament. The men were angry because the king had treated them badly and they didn't like it.

Every year on 5th November, the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot, Guy Fawkes is remembered. Throughout England, towns and villages light huge bonfires, let off magnificent fireworks, burn an effigy of Guy Fawkes and celebrate the fact the Parliament and James I were not blown sky high by Guy Fawkes.

As well as burning effigy of Guy Fawkes , the bonfires are used to cook potatoes wrapped in foil and heat up soup for the crowds that come to watch the fireworks.

In main town and cities, torch-lit processions are also popular on this night too.

During the days before Bonfire Night, children used to take their
home-made guys out on the street and ask for "a penny for the Guy" for fireworks. 

Also children, in some areas, blacken their faces as Guy Fawkes might have done when he plotted to blow up parliament.

Flaming Barrels
In Ottery St Mary , teams of stalwart men carry flaming tar barrels on their shoulders down the length of the town's High Street. When one man's 50-pound barrel gets too hot to handle, another man takes over - then another, and then another, until the flames die out and the barrel crumbles into ashes.

Food
Jacket potatoes are baked in the bonfire and eaten with a mug of hot soup.
Parkin Cake, a sticky cake, is traditionally eaten on this day.