复活节的相关知识

• 1. Brief introduction(简介):

Easter is the oldest one of the most significant Christian festivals. It celebrates the resurrection of Christ and Christians around the world every year celebrate it. Easter is also a symbol of rebirth and hope.

复活节（主复活日）是最古老最有意义的基督教节日之一。庆祝的是基督的复活，世界各地的基督徒每年都要举行庆祝。复活节还象征重生和希望。

• 2. Origin（起源）:

Jesus was crucified（十字架上钉死） upon a cross, the third day Easter holiday was born. Easter Festival with religious origins to countries in Europe and the United States, Easter is a major holiday after Christmas.

耶稣被钉死在十字架上, 之后的第三天即复活节假期的诞生。复活节在宗教起源的一些欧洲国家和美国,是圣诞节后一个重大的节日。

• 3. The history of Easter（复活节历史）

Since its conception（开始） as a holy（圣洁的，神圣的） celebration in the second century, Easter has had its non-religious side. In fact, Easter was originally a pagan（异教的，异教徒的） festival.

“复活节是神圣的庆典”的概念在公元200年已经形成，自那时起，复活节就站在了非宗教的一方。而事实上，最初的复活节是异教徒的节日。

The ancient Saxons（萨克逊人） celebrated the return of spring with an uproarious（喧嚣的） festival commemorating（纪念） their goddess（女神） of offspring（后代，子孙） and of springtime（春天，春季）, Easter.When the second-century Christian missionaries（传教士） encountered the tribes of the north with their pagan celebrations, they attempted to convert（使改变信仰） them to Christianity（基督教）. They did so, however, in a clandestine（秘密的） manner.

古撒克逊人庆祝春至时非常热闹，因为这也纪念他们祖先和春天的“复活”。在公元200年，基督教的传教士并偶然来到这个拥有异教庆典的北方部落。这些传教士尝试让撒克逊人改信基督教，而他们使用的方法非常隐秘。

It would have been suicide for the very early Christian converts to celebrate their holy days with observances that did not coincide（符合） with celebrations that already existed. To save lives, the missionaries cleverly decided to spread their religious message slowly throughout the populations by allowing them to continue to celebrate pagan feasts, but to do so in a Christian manner.

早期的基督教人为了庆祝他们神圣的节日而在仪式中自杀，然而这些仪式并没有与以前的庆祝仪式相类似。为了拯救生命，传教士略施小计，在人群中慢慢散布神明的信息，谎称神明允许人们继续庆祝异教节日，但是要使用基督教的方式进行庆祝。

As it happened, the pagan festival of Easter occurred at the same time of year as the Christian observance（仪式） of the Resurrection of Christ. It made sense, therefore, to alter （改变，更改）the festival itself, to make it a Christian celebration as converts were slowly won over. The early name, Eastre, was eventually changed to its modern spelling, Easter.

就这样，复活节在同年出现了，而且被当作耶稣复活的基督教仪式。因此，这个节日就慢慢被改变，渐渐转变为基督教的一个节日。于是，人们渐渐皈依基督教。而复活节早期的名字Eastre，最后也被改成流传至今的拼法Easter。

• 4. Bible（圣经）

According to the bible, god's son, Jesus was born in a manger（马槽）. At the age of his 30, he chose twelve students and began with the missionary work. During three and a half years, he healed（治愈）, preached （传道）and casted out the demons （赶鬼）to help people in need and tell people the truth said of the kingdom.

Until his time that god arranged, from the recording of the Bible, Jesus Christ was betrayed by his disciples, Judas and was arrest, which afterwards was brought to the court and was crucified by Roman soldiers on Friday. Finally he predicted before his death that after three days he will revive.

据圣经记载，上帝的儿子耶稣降生在马槽里，当他三十岁的时候，挑选十二个学生，开始传道工作。三年半中，他医病、传道、赶鬼，帮助各样有需要的人，将天国的道理说给人听。一直到上帝所安排的时候到了，原来《圣经》上面记载着，耶稣基督被门徒出卖，继而被带上法庭，并在星期五被人钉死于十字架上。临死前曾预言三日后必复活。

Due to the law of the Jews, Saturday is the Sabbath（安息日）, all activities should be stopped. Therefore, the followers of Christ had to put the body of Christ's hastily （匆忙地）bury within a tomb（坟墓） on Friday before the sunset and then left in a hurry.

On Sunday morning, when people came to the tomb of Christ, they failed to find the body of Jesus, at the same time, they knew that Jesus Christ had revived. Since then, Christians commemorate Sunday as the resurrection of Christ and is called "Easter", which is also the origin of Easter. And meanwhile, the Friday before Easter, is classified as "Good Friday" to commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

由于犹太人的法律，星期六是安息日，一切活动都要停止，基督的追随者只好在星期五日落前将基督的遗体草草安葬在一个墓穴内，就匆匆离开。 星期日早上，当人们再次去到基督的墓穴时，就发现不见了耶稣的尸首，同时知道耶稣基督已经复活了。自此，基督徒就将纪念基督复活的星期日称为“复活节”，这就是复活节的起源。而同时，复活节之前的星期五，就定为“受难节”，纪念耶稣基督的受难。

About the death of Jesus Christ, according to Christian teachings, is to redeem the world. The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ is to let believers get eternal life. Therefore, in Christianity, Easter has an extremely great significance.

关于耶稣基督之死，按基督教教义，是为了赎世人的罪；耶稣基督的身体复活，是为了叫信徒得到永生。因此，在基督宗教中，复活节具有极度重要伟大的意义。

• 5. The date of Easter

“Easter, anniversary of the Resurrection of Christ, observed on the first Sunday after a full moon on or after the equinox.” ——Bible

复活节在每年春分月圆之后第一个星期日。

Prior to A.D. 325, Easter was variously celebrated on different days of the week, including Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. In that year, the Council of Nicaea was convened by emperor Constantine. It issued the Easter Rule which states that Easter shall be celebrated on the first Sunday that occurs after the first full moon on or after the vernal equinox. However, a caveat must be introduced here. The "full moon" in the rule is the ecclesiastical full moon, which is defined as the fourteenth day of a tabular lunation, where day 1 corresponds to the ecclesiastical New Moon. It does not always occur on the same date as the astronomical full moon. The ecclesiastical "vernal equinox" (春分)is always on March 21. Therefore, Easter must be celebrated on a Sunday between the dates of March 22 and April 25.

在公元325年之前，复活节的庆祝时间可以是一周中不同的时间，而这些时间包括星期五、星期六和星期天。在那些年里，康斯坦丁大帝组建了尼西亚理事会。这个理事会制定了复活节的标准：复活节应该在第一个满月后或是春分后的第一个星期进行庆祝。在这里，我们要作一下解释。在规定中所指的“满月”是基督教的满月，而“满月”的时间定在阴历月份的第十四天，那么，这个月的1号就是基督教的“新月”。由于天文满月，复活节的日期不会是每年的同一天。另外，基督教的“春分”通常是3月21日。因此，复活节必须在3月22日-4月24日之间的其中一个星期天进行庆祝。

• 6. Good Friday

Christians say Jesus died on Good Friday. On the third day, he rose from the dead. He became alive again. Thus, the Friday before Easter, is classified as "Good Friday"

基督教说耶稣于星期五被钉死，第三天，他从死里复活，他又活过来了。复活节之前的星期五，就定为“受难节”。

• 7. Customs of Easter

• (1) Parade

After church services, everyone went for a walk around the town.

在英国，每年都要举行复活节化装游行，其间有民族风格的风笛乐队(Pipe Band) ，孩子们装扮的维多利亚女皇时代的皇宫卫队(Palace Guard)等。

• (2) Egg Hunting

1) According to the folklore, it was started by a German duchess(公爵夫人) . It was said that the brightly decorated eggs(五彩缤纷的彩蛋)were left by the Easter rabbit for the country children.

据民间传说,是由一位德国公爵夫人兴起(公爵夫人)。据说装饰得熠熠生辉的鸡蛋(五彩缤纷的彩蛋)是复活节兔子留给孩子的。

2) Children hunt for the eggs all around the house. Neighborhoods and organizations hold Easter egg hunts, and the child who finds the most eggs wins a prize.

孩子们在房子周围找彩蛋。社区和组织举行复活节彩蛋狩猎, 发现彩蛋最多的孩子获奖。

• (3) Wearing new clothes

The custom of wearing new clothes on Easter began around 300 A.D., around the time of Constantine, the first Christian emperor. He decreed that members of his court should wear their finest clothes on Easter.

在复活节穿新衣服的习俗是在公元后300年左右开始的，大约在第一个基督徒皇帝康斯坦丁的时代。他下令在复活节那天朝臣们都得穿最好的衣服。

• (4) Egg Rolling

It is a game which has been connected to the rolling away of the rock from Jesus Christ‘s tomb (坟墓) when he was resurrected (复活).

It is the only day of the year when tourists are allowed to wander over the White House lawn. The wife of the President sponsors(发起) it for the children of the entire country. It is open to children twelve years old and under.

8. About “Easter egg”

As with the Easter Bunny and the holiday itself, the Easter Egg predates the Christian holiday of Easter. The exchange of eggs in the springtime is a custom that was centuries old when Easter was first celebrated by Christians.

与复活兔和复活节一样，复活蛋预示着复活节即将到来。当基督教徒庆祝第一个复活节后，人们开始春天互相交换复活蛋，而这已成为了人们好几百年的习俗。

From the earliest times, the egg was a symbol of rebirth in most cultures. Eggs were often wrapped in gold leaf or, if you were a peasant, colored brightly by boiling them with the leaves or petals of certain flowers.

在早期，复活蛋在许多文明中象征着“再生”。人们常常用金色的叶子包裹复活蛋，或是农民的做法：将复活蛋画得色彩斑斓，并把它和叶子或是真花瓣一起煮沸。

Today, children hunt colored eggs and place them in Easter baskets along with the modern version of real Easter eggs -- those made of plastic or chocolate candy.

在今天，孩子们到处搜刮复活蛋，并将这些蛋放到复活节篮子中。为什么呢？因为现代的复活蛋是用软糖或巧克力做的

When Easter is approaching, the candy shop windows will be filled with even more than these eggs in order to attract a wide variety of kids. At Easter Eve, children dress up some eggs to be colored. Some of these eggs cook very old, some only empty shells. At Easter morning, children will happily find that the Easter basket is filled with chocolate Easter eggs.

• 9. The symbolism of Easter eggs

In ancient times, the egg is a symbol of spring and the beginning of a new life. Later, Christians also give the egg a new meaning, a layer of religious meaning that is a symbol of resurrection of Jesus out of the Tomb.

Nowadays, Easter eggs are in order to bring happiness to people. These beautiful and decorative eggs represent the people's good wishes and share the joy of the season change.

• 10. Red eggs

During the holiday season, in accordance with traditional customs cooked eggs will be painted red, on behalf of Swan Tears of Blood, and also express happiness after the birth of the goddess of life.

• 11. Easter Bunny

The Easter Bunny is not a modern invention. The symbol originated with the pagan festival of Eastre. The goddess, Eastre, was worshipped by the Anglo-Saxons through her earthly symbol, the rabbit.

复活兔并不是现代产物。复活兔起源于异教的复活节。当时，耶稣的世俗象征是一个兔子，并被盎格鲁撒克逊人供奉着。

The Germans brought the symbol of the Easter rabbit to America. It was widely ignored by other Christians until shortly after the Civil War. In fact, Easter itself was not widely celebrated in America until after that time.

而德国人将复活兔带到了美国。直至美国南北战争后，复活兔才被大多数基督教人士所重视。事实上，在这次内战结束后，复活节也未在美国被人们广泛地庆祝。

Based on the ancient legend of the European, hare does not close its eyes all day and night. They can watch other animals so rabbits stand for the bright moon. Besides, the calculation of Easter is based on the spring full moon days, so hare is regarded as a symbol of Easter for reproducing prolifically in spring.

As messengers to send eggs, rabbits are popular with children. On Easter Day, children will receive presents like rabbits. It is Americans who give it the cute name, that is, Easter Bunny.

• 12. Easter's traditional food

Traditional food is meat, mainly lamb and ham. They all have a certain meaning. Lamb is a symbol of devotion to Christ. Bread makes Christians think that Jesus is the eternal life of live food. In many European countries, Easter is usually painted the words of Jesus Christ, crosses, or lamb pattern, in order to commemorate Christ.

• Typical Presents

Typical presents are related to spring and rebirth: eggs, chicken, bunny, flowers especially lilies.

Alpine girls send red eggs to express their love .on the Easter Day, if a girl send three red eggs to a boy, it means that she ask love from him.

• Easter Day Baskets

On the morning of the Easter Day, children will find that the baskets are full of chocolate eggs, Easter Bunny, chicken toys and so on.