IT'S BEGINNING TO FEEL A LOT LIKE ... EASTER

Submitted by Editor on Sun, 11/01/2015 - 15:42

Tesco on Broughton Road is now awash with chocolate eggs and bunnies.

This despite the fact that Easter Sunday is not until 5 April: a good 12 weeks distant.

Tesco would, if we bothered to ask them, doubtless reply that they are only responding to customer demand and some customers like to prepare for major Christian festivals well in advance.

Easter is, in any case, something of a flexible feast.

For the sake of convenience, the Roman Catholic and Protestant Churches celebrate Christ's resurrection on the first Sunday after the first paschal moon after the spring equinox. (The date of the paschal moon is determined by an 84-year cycle established in the 6th century and bearing little similarity to modern-day astronomical definitions.)

The Orthodox Church has sensibly opted for an even easier-to-remember method, celebrating Easter after the spring equinox but on a different first paschal moon (determined using an alternative 19-year cycle) and using the Julian calendar.

The term Easter itself is a pragmatic borrowing derived from the name of the powerful north European goddess of spring.

Ēostre was symbolised by the hare, which famously fast, intelligent and hard-to-catch animals were traditionally released before sporting events in Ireland and Scotland and eventually gave rise to the name of Hibernian Football Club's home ground.

Or possibly not. But it makes as much sense as selling Easter eggs in early January.

[Image above: Wikipedia, Creative Commons.]

-----------------------------

Fergus Smith What's the Easter equivalent of bah humbug?