Easter Traditions

The Easter Lily

The Easter Lily Industry is an American success story. Before 1941, most Easter Lily bulbs were exported from Japan. However, after World War II, commercial bulb production shifted to the United States. Today, over 95% of all Easter Lily bulbs are produced by ten farms in a narrow region on the California-Oregon border. The Easter Lily is the fourth largest crop in wholesale value in the United States pat plant market behind poinsettias, mums, and azaleas.

One of the most cherished Easter traditions is the Easter Lily. The beautiful white flowers, shaped like trumpets, symbolize purity, virtue, innocence, hope, and life-the spiritual essence of Easter. The lily is mentioned several times in the Bible. The most famous reference is in the Sermon on the Mount when Jesus said “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they toil not, neither do they spin; and yet…Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”

Lilies were found growing in the Garden of Gethsemane after Christ’s agony, and there is a legend that white lilies grew where drops of Jesus’ sweat fell to the ground in his final hours. Christians everywhere decorate with white lilies to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ and hope of life eternal.

The lily is said to have come from the milk of Hera, the mythological Queen of Heaven. The pure white lily is associated with the Virgin Mary. It is said that when the Virgin Mary’s tomb was visited three days after her burial, the tomb was empty except for a bunch of white lilies. Another story says that when Adam and Eve were driven from the Garden of Eden, Eve shed real tears of repentance, and from her tears grew white lilies. The regal while lily has become the mark of purity and grace throughout the ages, and it is a fitting symbol of the true meaning of Easter.

How to make your lilies last

Look for high quality plants that are aesthetically pleasing in both form and fragrance. Select plants that are not too tall and not too short. Choose plants that have several blooms open and several buds in various stages of opening. Remove the yellow anthers before the pollen starts to shed. This prevents the white flowers from becoming discolored. When a bloom begins to wither, cut it off to make the plant more attractive while the other blooms open.

Check out the foliage. Dark green leaves are a sign of good health. The foliage should be dense and plentiful all the way down to the soil line.

Easter Lilies should not be displayed in sleeves. The protective sleeves are for shipping, and they should be removed as soon as they reach the store. The quality of the plants will deteriorate if they are left in the sleeves too long. Also beware of wilted and waterlogged plants. This could be a sign of root rot.

When you bring your lilies home, place them in a cool location away from drafts. They like windows in bright, indirect natural daylight, but keep them out of direct, glaring sun.

Your lilies also want to live in moist, well-drained soil. Water when the soil feels dry to the touch, but avoid over watering. Be careful not to let the plant sit in trapped, standing water.

After the lily has stopped blooming, place the potted plant in a sunny location, continue to water as needed, and add one teaspoon of slow-release Osmocote fertilizer every 6 weeks. If you prefer, you can plant your lily outside in a well-drained garden bed. Choose a sunny location that is rich with organic matter. Use a planting mix of one part soil, one part peat moss, and one part perlite. Good drainage is the key to success.

When the original plant dies, cut it back to the level of the soil. New growth will appear soon. Easter Lilies bloom naturally in the summer. To get them to bloom for Easter, they must be forced in a greenhouse. Protect your lilies from the cold by a thick layer of mulch. Just remember to remove it in the spring to allow new shoots to come up.

Easter Observance

By the fourth century, Easter had been recognized as a distinctively Christian celebration of the Resurrection, with Good Friday commemorating Jesus’ crucifixion and death. The date of Easter is not fixed. It is determined by a system based on a lunar calendar adopted by the Council of Nicaea in AD 325. According to this system, Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the Spring equinox. The Spring equinox is the day when the sun’s ecliptic or apparent path in the sky crosses the equator. This usually occurs on March 21, thus causing Easter to fall somewhere between March 22 and April 25.

Colors

Color is used to symbolize various religious events. During Lent, the church is decorated in black. The sanctuary colors for Easter Sunday and Ascension Day are white and gold. White symbolizes the hope of the resurrection, and the gold symbolizes the light of the world brought by the risen Lord.

The Cross

The cross symbolizes the new life that emerges from the death of Good Friday. The cross is usually made of very rough-cut wood, often cedar, and it can be of various sizes. The most impressive is the full-sized cross six to seven feet high erected at the front of the sanctuary. Sometimes three metal spikes are driven into the wood at the arms and feet; sometimes it is draped with a purple cloth and a crown of thorns. On Good Friday, the cross is draped in black, the color of mourning for the death of Jesus. For the Easter morning service, the spikes and black drapes are removed, and the cross is draped in white and covered with fresh flowers.

Other Symbols

Many symbols of Easter have been adapted from other cultures, but this is true with all Christian celebrations. These symbols can celebrate the love and life of Jesus Christ even if they do have pagan origins. Easter should be the happiest time in the life of the church, and we shouldn’t get bogged down worrying how we got certain traditions.

Easter week begins with Palm Sunday, the day Jesus made his triumphant entry into Jerusalem. He was surrounded by worshipers carrying palm fronds and laying them on the road in front of him.

The Legend of the Easter Bunny

Throughout North America parents decorate Easter eggs. The eggs are hard boiled and dyed various colors, and they are hidden on Easter Sunday for the children to find. Most children believe that the Easter bunny brings the eggs and hides them the night before.

No one knows that exact origin of the Easter bunny, but one story says that one day this big beautiful white rabbit came out of his burrow and saw a group of young children in the valley. The children appeared to be sad, and that disturbed the rabbit so much that he decided to find a way to cheer them. So he went to see his friend, the chicken, who lived nearby. She picked out a basket-full of her most perfect eggs. “Take these,” she said, “and give these to the children.”

“Thank you. I will,” said the bunny, and off he went to the village. On the way, however, some very strange happened. A large crowd of people were coming up the path toward him. They were shouting in angry voices and waving sticks and branches. The bunny was frightened and hid in some tall grass until they had passed by. In the midst of the crowd was a man bent over from the load he was carrying. As he passed the bunny, he paused and looked at him. At that moment the man’s tears dropped on the little basket of eggs. When the crowd had gone and everything was quiet again, the bunny came out of hiding to fetch his basket. When he saw the eggs, he stood in shock! For all the eggs were now the most beautiful colors he had ever seen. He grabbed them up and headed toward the valley. It was dark when he arrived, so he left a few of the eggs on each child’s doorstep. That is the origin of the Easter Bunny.

The Legend of the Dogwood Tree

Long ago the dogwood tree was a tall and stately tree, and very strong. Legend says that this tree was chosen for the cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified. The tree was so hurt by this that it begged Jesus to forgive it. Christ responded by making the tree small and weak. The Lord said that no one else would ever use the dogwood tree for such a cruel act. To this day, the dogwood tree is small and slender. It never grows large enough to hold the weight of a man. Also, if you look at the blossoms of the dogwood, you can see the shape of the cross and the imprint of a nail in the tip of each petal. In the center of the blossom is the crown of thorns.

Christians are not the only ones to celebrate Easter, and this is true with most Christian events. Since the beginning, Easter has been a time of celebration and feasting. Now, like many other religious events, it has become commercialized. We see large sales of greeting cards, stuffed toys (especially bunnies), chocolate Easter eggs, marshmallow bunnies, peeps, and jelly bean. We give our children fancy Easter baskets filled with eggs, toys, and candies, and we teach them that the Easter Bunny is coming with gifts.