What Are The Common Symbolic Representations Of Easter?
by admin on Nov.08, 2009, under Self Help and Motivational
Easter is full of Easter symbols that remind us what the holiday, and the whole season, are all about. Passover, spring, Lent, and Palm Sunday are some of the other holidays and times of the year that contribute to or have common symbols with Easter.
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Before a discussion of Easter symbols it’s important to understand how other holidays and seasons relate to Easter. Easter for a long time was placed on the calendar according to when Jewish scholars placed Passover based on lunar and solar cycles. The Last Supper was either just before or on Passover. Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus entry into Jerusalem and the way the people received him like a celebrity. Lent, of course, is a period of fasting that takes place before Easter so believers can prepare for the remembrance of Jesus death.
Now let’s examine some Easter symbols.
Some symbols of new life associated with Easter symbols are chicks and eggs. Back to ancient times spring was associated with eggs. Jesus’ tomb is also associated with eggs, something from which he had to escape into new life. Eggs are like tombs from which the chicks emerge into life.
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For thousands of years rabbits and hares have stood for new life, so it’s natural for them to be included in the list of Easter symbols.
Lilies are Easter symbols because their color, white, is connected with Jesus’ purity. Lilies are reborn each spring, just as Jesus was reborn after his death.
Jesus was known as the lamb of God, so lambs are obvious Easter symbols.
Jesus was killed on the cross but triumphed over death, so crosses are important Easter symbols.
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When people came to Jerusalem just before his ordeal people welcomed him with palms which have become strong Easter symbols.
Even clothes and hats are Easter symbols, worn to denote the new life represented by the holiday
The cross is one of the Easter symbols, and it appears on hot cross buns, again to denote the crucifixion and Jesus’ defeating death.
Candles are Easter symbols for light of the world, one of the names given to Jesus.
Pretzels, a food eaten during lent and thus associated with Easter symbols, are shaped like arms folded in prayer.
Jesus’s whole life is represented by Easter symbols that are butterflies. (They begin as caterpillars, symbolizing Jesus’ time on Earth|As caterpillars they stand for Christ’s earthly life|They crawl around as caterpillars just as Jesus walked the Earth[/spin]. Then they become butterflies after spending time in a cocoon, which is parallel to Jesus time in the tomb before eventually emerging to return to heaven.
Search engines like Google can tell you a lot more about Easter symbols.