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When the Sun Dances: The Origins of Easter
By Lisa-Anne Sanderson

'The sun's dancing day and the earths' holy day' - this is Jacobean poet Nicolas Breton's description of Easter Day. The British believed in ancient times that the sun danced for joy as it rose at Easter to commemorate Christ's resurrection. In many parts of Wales crowds still climb just before the dawn to the highest point in the area to watch the sun 'dance' as it rises on Easter Day. In the Vale of Clwyd villagers used to dance three somersaults on the top of Dinas Bran, thereby greeting the sun rise.

After the long, bleak, fast of Lent, Easter, traditionally the most important event in the Christian calendar, was historically celebrated with joy and festivity. People wore new clothes to honor the day; feasting began; and sports, banned during Lent, and fairs were now permitted.. Other festivities included Morris dancing, and dancing around the may pole if spring was early, pace-egging and egg-rolling.
Many of these customs originated from pagan rites to celebrate the coming of spring. Spring festivals, often combined with religious events, are celebrated in many areas of the world. These include the Jewish Passover; Chinese 'Ching-Ming' Day, a festival of ancestors and spring times; Japanese 'Setsuhin' and many Latin American carnivals.

According to the Venerable Bede, an English saint and historian, the word Easter is derived from Eoster or Eastre, the name of a Teutonic goddess of the Dawn and spring. Worship of this Goddess originated in Germany and was brought to England by the Saxons. Another theory of historians is that Easter comes from the Anglo-Saxon word 'oster' meaning to rise.

Although Easter was regarded as a feature of the Jewish Passover, still celebrated by the early Christians, by the 2nd century AD it was a Christian festival in its own right. In the West Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon on or following the spring equinox.

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Written by: Lisa-Anne Sanderson
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