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| Duane A. Lienemann UNL Extension Educator |
I absolutely love this time of year! New born calves with their tails up in the air, running after each other or chasing a windblown object; the fresh smell after a long awaited rain; farmers in mass fertilizing, spraying or even planting – some chomping at the bit to get going; nice days with cool nights for great sleeping; the trees budding and even leafing out; crocus and other early flowers poking out of the ground; baby spears of grass starting to emerge – greening the pastures; all in the promise of a renewed agricultural year. Let us not forget another renewal – the renewal provided by this Holy season.
As I write this column it is Good Friday. Let’s take pause from the activities of early spring to reflect a while. The Friday before Easter, is recognized and mourned as the anniversary of Christ’s death on the cross. It has been set apart as a holy day as long ago as the 300s. In some countries in Europe, bells are tied on this day so that they cannot ring. This is considered a solemn day, and is approached with a spirit of humility and reverence. Many Christians spend this day in fasting, prayer, repentance, and meditation on the agony and suffering of their savior, who gave his life for the salvation of mankind. While it concerns suffering, crucifixion, cruelty and death, I always wondered why this day was called “Good” Friday.
I, of course, did some research and found some ministerial explanations. The most common for many Christians is that Good Friday is considered a day of sorrow but mingled with joy. It is considered a time to grieve over the sin of man but to also meditate and rejoice upon God's love in giving His only Son for the redemption of sin. Good Friday is “good” because as terrible as that day was, it had to happen for us to receive the joy of Easter! Interesting enough I also found more academic explanations. I learned that there are two possible origins for the name "Good Friday". The first may have come from the Gallican Church in Gaul (modern-day France and Germany). The name "Gute Freitag" is Germanic in origin and literally means "good" or "holy" Friday. The second possibility is a variation on the name "God's Friday," where the word "good" was used to replace the word "God," which was often viewed as too holy to be spoken aloud.
Then on the third day after Christ’s crucifixion on the cross, we celebrate Easter which honors his resurrection, or rising from the dead, which coincides with spring, the time when flowers, warm sun and green grass are beginning to push aside the dreary cold of winter and nature has its own resurrection. We have a resurrection – a renewal of nature and life.
Have you heard of the Passion Flower? It is actually the “Maypop”, a weed found growing in fields with an edible fruit, is commonly called the passion flower because the flower parts of its beautiful, unique lavender bloom seem to represent Christ’s Passion. The fringes in the center of the five petals are symbolic of Christ’s crown of thorns and the five pollen-bearing antlers are like the marks of his wounds. The division of the pistil where the seed develops represents the nails of the cross. The leaf is a symbol of the spear, which pierced his side while the tendrils of the plant represent the whips and cords used to beat and bound him, with the column of the ovary representing the pillar of the cross.
Another beautiful flower which has come to be a sign of Easter, is the Easter lily, a tall plant with large waxy white fragrant blooms, a symbol of purity and light shaped like a trumpet as if to announce the risen Christ. It is primarily representative of a renewal. Just as the earth is dressed in a new cloak of greenery, people also wear new clothes for Easter.
We cannot forget what a lot of young kids associate with Easter – the colored eggs hidden for them to find. The idea of Easter eggs actually came to us from ancient Egypt and Persia and the eggs are another sign of new life. The Easter bunny, which is now traditional at Easter, is actually another legend that originated in ancient times and is a novelty that young children eagerly look forward to. How, though, did the tradition of the bunny rabbit and eggs come about?
Being the educator, that I try to be, I can without reservation tell you that rabbits do not lay eggs. They instead give birth to live young. The modern method of celebration with both eggs and bunny during the Easter holiday has a history not only through Christianity but through paganism as well. Long ago in pre-Christian Germany, people worshipped the goddess Eostra during this same time of year. Eostra is the goddess of renewal and fertility. One of her symbols is the hare (or rabbit) due to the creature’s high rate of reproduction. Additionally, both eggs and the full moon are symbols of Eostre as both are indicative of renewal and fertility. Pay special attention to the name of this Goddess.
You may by now have seen a connection. Eostre supposedly gave her name to the Christian festival which became known as Easter. Feasts once held in worship of the goddess became part of the celebration of the day in which Christians believe Jesus Christ rose from the dead. Eggs, rabbits, the beginning of spring, and fertility were still honored even as Catholicism took hold and people began worshipping the life and death of Jesus Christ. As often happens, old traditions merged with the new beliefs, and so the pagan beliefs regarding rabbits and eggs became merged with the resurrection of Jesus. The day of the Easter celebration is symbolic of new beginnings.
No matter if you believe in Good Friday and Easter, or think that this is just another day – one cannot dismiss the signs of new life, a new beginning, a resurrection in reality of the things we love in Nature. One cannot help but marvel at all the things around us and especially the care and the work that goes into the providing for food and fiber for our world. God has a hand in it, but so do our farmers and ranchers. They work hand in hand with nature to provide the environment conducive to growth of new seeds that they place in soil that has been generated from past growing seasons, rich not only in nutrients but in hope and anticipation for a new crop – which springs from the remnants of the departed. Happy Easter everyone!
The preceding information comes from the research and personal observations of the writer which may or may not reflect the views of UNL or UNL Extension. For more further information on these or other topics contact D. A. Lienemann, UNL Extension Educator for Webster County in Red Cloud, (402) 746-3417 or email to: dlienemann2@unl.edu or go to the website at: http://www.webster.unl.edu/home
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