SUNDAY BEST #321 - EASTER BUNNIES

Welcome to the meme, "My Sunday Best", which is a photographic and creative meme that allows you to showcase your talents in imaging. Every Sunday, you can post here showing an image you have created using your camera, (and/or) image processing software, and/or painting and drawing in the conventional way and have scanned in. The rules are simple: 1) Create your image and post it up on your blog; 2) Put the "My Sunday Best" logo image link somewhere on your post so people can click and come by here; 3) Leave a comment here once you have posted; 4) Visit other posters' blogs and be amazed with their creativity. Please do not use this meme to advertise your goods or services. This is a creative meme and any inappropriate links or comments shall be removed immediately.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Last week, csuhpat1 in USA shared some wonderful snaps from the Samuel P.Taylor State Park Please visit his page for more great photos.

GOOD FRIDAY SUNSET

It is Orthodox Good Friday today and Easter on Sunday. For an explanation of why the Western Church and Eastern Church Easters often fall on different dates, see here.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

SUNDAY BEST #216 - HAPPY EASTER!

Welcome to the meme, "My Sunday Best", which is a photographic and creative meme that allows you to showcase your talents in imaging. Every Sunday, you can post here showing an image you have created using your camera, (and/or) image processing software, and/or painting and drawing in the conventional way and have scanned in.

The rules are simple: 
1) Create your image and post it up on your blog;

2) Put the "My Sunday Best" logo image link somewhere on your post so people can click and come by here;
3) Leave a comment here once you have posted;
4) Visit other posters' blogs and be amazed with their creativity!

Please do not use this meme to advertise your goods or services. This is a creative meme and any inappropriate links or comments shall be removed immediately.

The theme is of your own choosing, so post on any subject you desire.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Last week Klara from Poland posted a beautiful photo of Spring blossom. Please visit her blog for more beautiful photos.

ORANGE SUNRISE

It is Orthodox Good Friday today. Happy Easter to all who celebrate it at this time.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

FIND EASTER (BUNNIES)

The date of Easter Day is usually the first Sunday after the first Full Moon occurring on or after the March equinox. According to the Bible, Jesus’ death and resurrection occurred around the time of the Jewish Passover, which was celebrated on the first full moon following the vernal equinox. This soon led to Christians celebrating Easter on different dates. At the end of the 2nd century, some churches celebrated Easter on the day of the Passover, while others celebrated it on the following Sunday.

In 325CE the Council of Nicaea established that Easter would be held on the first Sunday after the first full moon occurring on or after the vernal equinox. From that point forward, the Easter date depended on the ecclesiastical approximation of March 21 for the vernal equinox. Easter is delayed by 1 week if the full moon is on Sunday, which decreases the chances of it falling on the same day as the Jewish Passover. The council’s ruling is contrary to the Quartodecimans, a group of Christians who celebrated Easter on the day of the full moon, 14 days into the month.

Not all Christian churches observe Easter according the Gregorian calendar. Some churches still observe Easter under the Julian calendar. The Gregorian calendar was created because the Julian calendar was slightly too long. With the Julian calendar, the equinox date moved towards the earlier dates of March and further away from the Easter. Therefore, the introduction of the Gregorian calendar allowed for a realignment with the equinox.

In the Gregorian calendar, Easter falls on a Sunday between March 22 and April 25 from 1753 to 2400. In the Julian calendar, used by some eastern or Orthodox churches, Easter also falls on a Sunday from March 22 to April 25, which in the Gregorian calendar are from April 3 to May 10 from 1753 to 2400.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme,
and also part of the Camera Critters meme.

HAPPY EASTER, WHENEVER YOU CELEBRATE IT!

EASTER EGGS

HAPPY EASTER, KALÓ PÁSCHA, & PEACEFUL PASSOVER!

This post is part of the I Heart Macros meme.

GREEK EASTER IN SHEPPARTON

Many Orthodox Christians in Australia celebrate Easter (Pascha) according to the Easter date in the Julian calendar, usually later than the Western Church Easter, which is calculated according to the Gregorian calendar. Easter is the most important event in the Orthodox church calendar. The Easter Sunday church liturgies are joyous as they celebrate Jesus Christ’s resurrection, according to Christian belief, as well as commemorating a spiritual victory.

Many Orthodox Christians in Australia fast during Lent prior to Easter. Easter Sunday is a time for families and friends to get together for a festive meal, where meat and dairy products can be eaten again. Lamb and tsourekia (or tsoureki), which is a type of Easter bread, are popular Easter dishes in many Greek Orthodox communities in Australia. Many people leave the city and go in the countryside to celebrate Easter and spit roast the lamb over an open bed of charcoal.

Here are some of early (2000) digital photos from my archive, showing some shots of the Easter we celebrated in Shepparton, Victoria, a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River in the north east of Victoria, Australia, approximately 181 kilometres north-east of Melbourne. It is the fifth largest city in Victoria with an estimated population of 48,926. It began as a sheep station and river crossing before undergoing a major transformation as a railway town. Today it is an agricultural and manufacturing centre and the centre of the Goulburn Valley irrigation system, one of the largest centres of irrigation in Australia. It is a major regional service city and is the civic administration centre for the City of Greater Shepparton.

There are quite few Greeks there and the parish church of St George, although small had a wonderful resurrection liturgy on the midnight of Easter Saturday. On Easter Sunday it was wonderful to roast the lamb on the shores of the river.

This post is part of the Scenic Sunday meme,
and also of Psalm Sundayhosted by Louis and Robert.

The following hymn is sung at the resurrection in Orthodox churches at the midnight liturgy. Usually even non-religious Greeks will attend this glorious liturgy and just before midnight, will observe all the lights being put out in the church except for a lone holy flame burning in the holy of holies. From this ever-burning light the priest will light his Paschal candle and go out into the church and call out: “Come take the light!” The faithful light their own Paschal candles from this and soon the whole congregation that spills out into the surrounds of the church carry aloft their lit candles waiting for the priest to chant the resurrection message, while firecrackers and fireworks are let off:

Χριστός Ανέστη εκ νεκρών,

θανάτω θάνατον πατήσας

και τοις εν τοις μνήμασιν,

ζωήν χαρισάμενος
.

Christ is risen from dead,

On death treading victorious,
And to those in the grave
Giving the gift of life.