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Jesus Christ is Risen! Alleluia! |
The preparation
for Easter in Fakenham began with the Easter egg production
line starting at Kinnerton’s chocolate factory in October
last year. Thousands of eggs have been produced for so many
retail outlets, and this not only provides great enjoyment
for people, but also most valued employment in a time of
recession.
Most people like
Easter eggs, and at a recent Easter School assembly at
Fakenham High I was able to distribute a few hundred small
eggs with great ease. No one refused! But where did the
tradition come from?
The tradition of
giving eggs, goes back well before Christianity to the
ancient Egyptians and beyond. Also Hindus believed that the
world began with an enormous egg and so the egg became a
symbol of new life for most cultures and religions.
Christianity just took the idea over!
For Christians
with the Lenten fast, the lack of eggs, the Easter egg
became a sign of celebration, but also of renewal and new
life as they celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Easter falls in
the Spring, the yearly time of renewal, when the earth
renews itself after a long cold winter. The word ‘Easter’
comes to us from the Norseman’s Eostur, Eastar, Ostsarsa and
Ostar and the pagan goddess Eostre, all of which involved
the season of the growing sun and new birth.
For us the
Easter egg is a symbol of Christ rising from the dead. The
empty Easter egg shows that the empty tomb is central to our
faith and the celebration of Easter.
So whether it is
the Easter garden, Easter eggs, Easter flowers or the
Paschal Candle that help you remember this great event, then
choose what you like. For me Easter eggs are important
because I am actually a chocolate addict, but the great
pronouncement of faith at the entrance to the Church on
Easter day always gives me great joy
Alleluia! Christ
is Risen, Alleluia!
He is Risen
indeed. Alleluia!
With that
welcome, the choir, and the organ, will lead the
congregation in singing the Hymn ‘Jesus Christ is risen
today’.
The preparation
of the church, the week of hard work in the Parish and the
Office, the visiting of the sick with home communion,
visiting local schools with assemblies, the Good Friday
Workshop, the large number of charity events to attend, and
the endless telephone calls asking the times of services, is
all worthwhile.
As we break open
our first Easter egg, and raise a glass of wine to celebrate
the day, and then sit down with family and friends for a
meal, we celebrate this special day. From that day the
church began, and it is up to everyone to keep telling this
wonderful story, so that each generation will share in the
news.
Adrian Bell
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