By Linda Jones
Easter is a mélange of Christian traditions, eggs, hats, special foods, family, nature themes and celebration of the rebirth of man. Jewish heritage weaves a significant thread into the Easter traditions because Passover is celebrated close to the holy day. (In the Christian Bible, the Jewish Passover is closely connected in time with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. This year the Jewish Passover began at sunset Monday, March 29, and lasts through Monday, April 5). Finally, many of our common modern-day traditions began far back in time when pagan cultures glorified the rebirth of the earth after winter.
An early Anglo Saxon myth tells of Ostara, the goddess of spring, transforming her favorite pet bird into a rabbit to amuse some children. The rabbit then produced brightly colored eggs. Eggs have been associated with fertility and rebirth since the beginning of time and rabbits continue to be recognized as symbols of fertility.
Moses introduced Passover into Jewish traditions when he led the children of Israel out of bondage in Egypt to the Promised Land. Within three days of the celebration of Passover in Jerusalem, Christ rose from the dead according to the Christian Bible, and the church’s celebration of their most holy day – Easter – commemorates his resurrection.
Early Christian customs inadvertently gave birth to the famous Easter Parade. Waves of newly-baptized Christian converts wearing white robes to symbolize their new lives as Christians would walk together on the streets. Later, in the Middle Ages, the custom of taking long walks after Easter Mass to display one’s new clothes began. The actual promenade down Fifth Avenue dates to the Civil War era.
The well-known song of the season – Easter Parade – combines the two main threads of Easter, Jewish and Christian, through its creator. A Russian-born Jew named Israel Baline wrote the song in 1938, after he had changed his name to Irving Berlin. Ten years later, America was captivated by the film of the same title starring Fred Astaire and Judy Garland.
Cherished Easter services will be held at the four churches in Black Hawk and Central City on April 4, Easter Sunday morning. Black Hawk’s Rocky Mountain Free Evangelical Church is in the middle of the town on Gregory Street. The three “Saints” of Central City – St. James United Methodist, St. Mary’s of the Assumption Catholic and St. Paul’s Episcopal, have all been celebrating Easter since before Colorado statehood.
The restaurants of the casinos in Black Hawk and Central City will feature traditional Easter delicacies on April 4, including the buffet at Calypso’s in the Isle of Capri, which plans a scrumptious meal for only $19.99 from 11 a.m. – 11 p.m.
