Easter Matters

Today, April 9th is Easter Sunday.
Easter is a Christian festival and cultural holiday to celebrate Jesus resin’s resurrection from the dead. In a worldwide Christianity community, Jesus’ (Son of God) supernatural resurrection from the dead was one of the prevalent beliefs of the entire faith.

In many parts of the world where Christianity was practiced, Easter is often a public holiday that falls on a Sunday if the region uses the Gregorian calendar, such as in northern America and many parts of the European continent.

In Christianity, Easter eggs are the symbol of new life. Additionally, the egg carries a “trinitarian” significance, with shell, yolk, and albumen being three parts of one egg. Thus, traditional customs and events often host activities associated with the eggs.

For example, in the eastern Orthodox church, Easter eggs are blessed by a priest and distributed in church and elsewhere.
Easter has become a more culturally relevant event in modern western society and is associated less with its original religious intent. Many Easter events host outdoors. The egg hunt and easter egg rolling are the most popular Easter events. The egg hunt is a holiday game. During that activity, decorated eggs are hidden for children to find.

Egg rolling performed more like a sports game. In the United States, the egg-rolling event is hosted on a lawn where children push an egg through the grass with a long-handled spoon. In the United Kingdom, eggs were wrapped with onion skin, and children competed to see who could roll the farthest.

After reading Easter’s fascinating history and cultural story, it reminded us of a WELL feature:

“Outdoor spaces can also be used to promote calm and encourage restorative activities. Both indoor and outdoor spaces can also be used for individuals with a wide variety of beliefs, religions, and traditions, including prayer and meditation.” — -WELL, M07, Restorative Spaces.

On this momentous day, we place this card by the window. Whether we share the same beliefs or ages, we realized that watching Easter’s outdoor activities is also calming and therapeutic. May the WELL standard be our go-to guide when we help program outdoor activities next time.