Easter traditions unite community
Perhaps not as universally recognized as a manger or the three wise men, Easter symbols — the cross, the lilies, the eggs — nevertheless have special significance for Christians.
Many of these symbols will be incorporated into the worship services and observances in the Holy Week leading up to Easter and on the holiday itself.
For the Rev. Steve Franklin, pastor of Meridian Presbyterian Church, 4150 Highland Drive, one of the focal points is the cross.
“Well, it's the cross and then we have a bunch of different flowers that we use, lilies and orchids, that we decorate the chancel with,” Franklin said. “The flowers are a symbol of new life.”
Franklin continued, “The cross that we depict as Protestants is empty because Jesus triumphed over it. That's why we have the empty cross.”
The Rev. James Neal, interim pastor at St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church, 201 W. Jefferson St., agreed.
Neal said, “The basic symbol of focus is the empty cross symbolizing the Resurrection of our Lord.”
“And then there are the colors. It is symbolic. They go from purple (Lent) to black (Maundy Thursday and Good Friday) and then in our sunrise service, we strip out the black and put on the white as a symbol of new life at the start of the sunrise service,” said Franklin.
“At the end of the 7 p.m. Maundy Thursday service our elders strip down the chancel and take away the gold cross. Everything is draped in black,” Franklin said.
Replacing the black with white on Easter, he said, “is a symbol of new life and being made clean by the blood of Christ,” said Franklin.
Neal said, “White is the symbol of pureness and is festooned all over the church each Easter along with flowers of every type.”
Franklin said that for his congregation of 300, Maundy Thursday looms larger than Good Friday.
He said, “For us, on that day Jesus' worshippers gathered in the upper room with his disciples,” he said. “That's where the story of the Crucifixion begins. After, he goes from there to the garden and he is arrested.”
“Maundy Thursday means a new commandment tradition,” said Neal. “It ties in with the celebration of Passover with the Angel of Death passing over Jewish homes.”
“It commemorates the Blood of the Lamb that saves the world,” said Neal.
For the congregation at St. Mark's the Easter vigil is important, said Neal.Beginning at 6 p.m. Saturday, he said, the 90-minute service features the lighting of the Christ candle symbolizing the new life of Christ.Neal said, “There is a procession of the candle down the aisle. People light their candles from it and listen to the proclamation that 'He is arisen.' Thus, Easter begins.”The Roman Catholic Church considers the three days from the evening of Holy Thursday (or Maundy Thursday) through the evening of Easter Sunday the summit of the liturgical year, said the Rev. Philip Farrell, episcopal vicar for region four of the Pittsburgh Diocese.Called the Triduum, Farrell said, “It is a complete event in our understanding with the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Christ.It starts on the evening of Holy Thursday and runs to the evening of Easter Sunday, according to Farrell.Farrell said the Triduum marks the end of the Lenten season and leads to the Mass of the Resurrection of the Lord at the Easter Vigil.“The Easter Vigil Saturday night is the highest liturgical event of the entire year,” said Farrell. “It is a celebration of Jesus rising, a key point of our faith.”
“It starts in the darkness because it symbolizes Jesus rising to overcome the darkness of sin and death,” he said.Sometimes the symbolism of the Son rising can't be confined to a church sanctuary, which is why members of Saint Andrews Presbyterian Church, 201 E. Jefferson St., have been conducting sunrise Easter services on the shores of Lake Arthur for the past 12 years.Saint Andrews pastor, the Rev. Merry Meloy, said 25 to 40 worshippers make the 20-minute drive to the Pleasant Valley boat launch area in Moraine State Park to watch the sun rise over the south shore of the lake.“The sunrise service is open to the public,” said Meloy. “It's a great time to have folks from other traditions worship together.”“It's a beautiful location, and you are out in the midst of God's creation,” said Meloy, whose service at the lake including Communion, prayer and a brief message will be joined this year for the first time by members of Hill United Presbyterian Church, 501 Second St.“Of course, there are other symbols connected to Easter that don't come from the story of the Crucifixion, Franklin said, such as rabbits and eggs.According to Franklin, the Easter Bunny and his colorful dyed eggs are a holdover from pagan days.
“Eggs are an adaptation of a pagan symbol of spring,” said Franklin. “It's a symbol of new life. The church adopted these pagan symbols to symbolize the new life we have in the Resurrection of Christ.”Neal agreed with eggs symbolizing new life but added, “The Easter Bunny, I don't know where that came from.”According to the University of Florida's Center for Children's Literature and Culture, the origin of the Easter Bunny can be traced back to 13th-century, pre-Christian Germany, when people worshipped several gods and goddesses.The Teutonic deity Eostra was the goddess of spring and fertility, and feasts were held in her honor on the Vernal Equinox. Her symbol was the rabbit because of the animal's high reproduction rate.According to the center, legends about a rabbit laying eggs and hiding them were brought to the United States in the 1700s, when German immigrants settled in Pennsylvania Dutch country.
