The origins of Easter
Since ancient times, there was a pagan tradition to celebrate the renewal of the beautiful days and the arrival of spring. Each year, the equinox (each of the two periods of the year when the day has a duration equal to the duration of the night from one polar circle to the other) of spring was celebrated by paying homage to a goddess of fertility whose name changed according to the regions: Ishtar in Babylonia, Astarte among the Phoenicians, Eostre or Ostara for the Anglo-Saxons which reminds the English name designating Easter. This pagan goddess of fertility is found in all traditions of the world.
For Christians, Easter is a reminder of the death and resurrection of Jesus preceded by the Last Supper, Jesus’ last meal with his apostles before his arrest and crucifixion.
He resurrects three days later, appears alive before his disciples and shows himself to them for 40 days before ascending to heaven. For Christians it is also a strong symbol of a ” passage ” from death to life.
On Easter Day the Jews commemorate the exit of the Israelites from Egypt (around 1500 BC). It is the passage from slavery to freedom since the Hebrew people were under slavery in Egypt. It is also the crossing of the Red Sea by the Hebrew people, led by Moses.
This festival called “Pessa’h” lasts seven days. On the first night of Easter, Jews have a family feast called the Seder during which they eat a traditional meal together consisting of a lamb, unleavened bread also called “matzoth”, bitter herbs and wine.
Easter Day is a day that changes every year since it is chosen according to the spring moon. There is no particular saint for Easter Day.
Until 325, Christians had different methods of calculating the date of Easter, both astronomical and non-astronomical, each giving different dates. The Council of Nicaea in 325 established a method of calculating the date of Easter for all Christians: Easter is the Sunday following the fourteenth day of the Moon reaching that phase on or immediately after March 21.
The Easter meal: a history of traditions
- In the Catholic tradition
The Easter meal is a time of joy. Christians traditionally eat lamb. This refers to the Jewish Passover and the lamb sacrificed before the Jews left Egypt where they were enslaved.
The Easter egg is a symbol of new life as a reminder of the resurrection. In the past, it was forbidden to eat eggs during Lent. Lent is the period when Christians fast, that is to say 40 days before Easter. This corresponds to the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert before his death. We were therefore at Easter with lots of eggs!
In the 18th century, in France, it was decided to empty the fresh eggs and fill them with chocolate. Later, they were made directly from chocolate and hidden in gardens for children to find.
In Catholic countries, it is a tradition that the Easter bells bring the eggs back from Rome. Legend says that the bells go to Rome where the Pope would bless them. On Easter morning, the bells would ring out to announce the resurrection of Christ. In Rome, the bells were loaded with Easter eggs that they scattered in the gardens on their return, allowing children to look for them. The tradition of the silence of the bells began around the 7th century. At that time, the Church forbade the ringing of bells from Good Friday to Easter Sunday to commemorate the time between the death and resurrection of the Christ.
- In the Orthodox
tradition Depending on the country, traditions vary. In France, the kulich, a brioche of Russian origin, and the paskha, a cake with white cheese and candied fruits decorated with the letters “XB”, the Russian initials of the risen Christ, are served. In some monasteries, Easter bread, decorated with a cross, is baked and blessed during the vigil. This bread is eaten every morning of the following week.
- Why do we eat chocolate at Easter?
Every year, on Easter Day, children and adults alike go hunting for eggs, bunnies and other chocolate items dropped by the Easter bells in the gardens.
- The bells
The invention of Easter bells goes back to the Middle Ages. At that time, churches were forbidden to ring bells during Easter. Thus, the adults told the younger ones that the bells traveled to Rome to be blessed by the Pope. On their way back, they were said to lay eggs in the gardens.
- The eggs
The tradition of Easter eggs dates back to ancient times. In ancient times, the Persians gave each other chicken eggs in the spring to mark the end of winter and the rebirth of nature.
In Europe, Easter commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the end of Lent. Formerly highly respected, Lent is a period when Christians voluntarily deprive themselves of certain pleasures, including eating eggs. To celebrate the end of these deprivations, they offered the eggs laid during this period. In the 18th century, German and Alsatian merchants had the idea of covering eggs, then forbidden during Lent, with chocolate! This art was mastered in the 19th century thanks to the appearance of different molds as well as to the evolution of the working methods on the cocoa paste. Indeed, the chocolate makers mixed sugar, butter and chocolate powder and obtained a paste that could be poured into molds. Since then, eggs made entirely of chocolate have become part of our Easter decor for our greatest happiness!
- The rabbit
For some people, especially in eastern France, it is the Easter hare that brings the eggs to the children. This tradition of the Easter Bunny comes from Germany (the Osterhase) and has spread to the United States (the Easter Bunny). The rabbit symbolizes spring, renewal and fertility. According to legend, a lady who was too poor to give her children sweets had the idea of painting eggs and hiding them so that the children could have fun looking for them. When they started to look for the eggs, the children saw a rabbit and thought that it was him who had laid the eggs!
- What about chocolate fishes ?
It is as popular as Easter eggs. The chocolate shaped like fish, crustaceans and shells, refers to two specific episodes in the Bible. These are the miraculous fisheries recounted in the New Testament. Inhabitants of Galilee, after an intervention of Jesus, caught “a great quantity of fish”, so that “the nets were torn apart”. This miracle convinced John, James and Peter to follow Christ and become his apostles. The second miraculous catch was linked to a manifestation of the risen Jesus, allowing Peter to catch one hundred and fifty-three large fish in his nets. Since these two miracles, the animal has become a symbol for all Christians, so much so that it was taken up by chocolate makers in the 19th century to make Easter candy.
Easter is a religious festival with many symbols and it is also the festival of gourmets! Bells, eggs, rabbits, chickens, chocolate fishes or a chocolate chicken, milk, white or dark, delight young and old every year.
This year, Easter will take place on the 17th of April 2022!
Our favorite chocolate makers compete with each other to create fabulous Easter subjects! You can discover the universe of these exceptional craftsmen during our gourmet walk on the theme of the best chocolate and pastry makers in Paris.
Discover their latest creations!
Patrick Roger : https://www.patrickroger.com/
Arnaud Lahrer : https://www.arnaudlarher.com/
Chocolaterie Chapon : https://www.chocolat-chapon.com/
Jacques Génin : https://jacquesgenin.fr/
See you soon for new gastronomic adventures on the Route des Gourmets and Happy Easter!