复活节历史（英文版）

Easter Day celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and is the most important and oldest festival of Christians. Easter Day is also known as Easter Sunday or the Resurrection Day. Being the central feast in the Christian liturgical year, Easter is celebrated with great enthusiasm and joy by Christians of throughout the world. Since on this very day Jesus Christ rose from the dead and ascended into the heaven, Easter marks the transition from death to life and night to day, and prominently known and recognized as the festival of rejuvenation of living and life. Moreover, Easter symbolizes the beginning of new optimistic and promising things, and joys of the spring season.

Easter Day or Easter Sunday is a movable festival, and is not celebrated on the same date every year. Easter Day celebration varies in between March 22 and April 25. Western Churches following the Gregorian calendar, celebrate Easter Sunday on observance of full moon after the vernal equinox on March 21. While the Orthodox Christians who follow the Julian calendar to calculate the Easter date, celebrate this festival generally after one week or two.

复活节是现今基督教徒的重要节日之一，定在每年春分月圆之后第一个星期日。基督徒认为，复活节象征重生与希望，乃纪念耶稣基督于公元33年被钉死后第三天复活的事迹。不过在现今，许多与复活节相关的民间风俗，都不是起源于基督教的。

According to the history, Easter Day commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ after his crucifixionand death. Easter Day is followed by the Eastertide, a fifty-day long period comprising of Mardi Gras and Lent. Lent is a forty-day period of fasting, prayers, reflection, and penance, and ends with the Easter Sunday. The last week of Lent is the Holy Week, and contains the Good Friday. Lent represents the 40-days Jesus spent in the wilderness wandering, surviving various evil and beguiling temptations by the devil. Good Friday commemorates the day of crucifixion and death of Jesus. The Holy Saturday represents the transition period between the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Mardi Gras is the last feast of food and fun before the start of Lent, and Maundy Thursday marks the last supper of Jesus with his disciples.

复活节来源于“浩然遇难节”一词在英语和德语原指古代宗教的“春节”，即庆祝春回大地的节日。该节日源于古巴比伦的爱情、生育与战争女神伊丝塔(Ishtar，美索不达米亚女神)，后来伊丝塔成了西欧的黎明和春天女神“依丝翠”(Eastre)。证据之一是两个名字有相似的读音;另一证据是“Eastre”的涵义为东方(East)，因为太阳是从东方升起的。希斯录著的《两个巴比伦》说“Easter”(即复活节的英文)是个名字，源自迦勒底，跟基督教没有关系。[1]其实就是“阿斯塔特”(Ashtart)，即天后“贝尔斯特”的头衔之一。考古学家莱亚德在亚述找到的碑铭上发现，“贝尔特斯”就是古巴比伦女神伊丝塔。

根据《牛津词典》和其他一些文章，(比如Francis X. Weiser的“Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs”)，英文Easter这个字与犹太人的逾越节这个字有关，这不仅因为耶稣就是逾越节的羔羊，而且在时间上耶稣基督的复活和逾越节也吻合。在很多欧洲的语言里，不仅逾越节的宴席曾称为Easter，而且早期英文圣经译本中用Easter来翻译逾越节。

Christians of all around the world make comprehensive and elaborate preparations to celebrate Easter Sunday with great fervor, optimism, and joy. Though Easter customs slightly vary across the Christian world, decorating beautiful Easter eggs and gift-giving have been the common motifs everywhere.

There are a number of symbols inherently associated with Easter celebrations such as decorated eggs, chicks, white lilies, rabbits, sunrise service, and new outfits. Easter eggs are believed to represent the bright beginning of optimism and life, while the rabbits (a symbol of fertility) and chicks are considered to represent rebirth of the earth. Also, the white Lily, sometimes also known as the Easter lily, is said to be the symbol of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

However, the concept about Easter Gifts has changed more or less over the years, in all around the world. In the past years, Easter gifts generally used to be candies and chocolates in the form of Easter eggs, bells, fish, and bunnies. But today, most of the people want and prefer to give and take gifts which can be of some use, and therefore, Easter baskets, Easter fresh fruit cakes, and easy Easter crafts have become very popular, for Easter celebrations all around the world.

在西方，与复活节相关的物品有复活节兔和复活节彩蛋。传说复活节彩蛋都是兔子的蛋(但事实上，兔子其实是不下蛋的，所以复活节彩蛋其实都是鸡蛋)，有些人喜欢在蛋上画各种各样的鬼脸或花纹。而这些民间风俗都不是起源于基督教的。

《天主教百科全书》指出“复活节吸纳了许多庆祝春回大地的异教习俗。”蛋象征初春一切恢复生机，兔子象征多产和生命力。如今依然流行的复活节庆祝活动，充分证明了复活节含有浓厚的巴比伦色彩。今天人们在耶稣受难日吃十字包和在复活节吃彩蛋，这些宗教习俗可见于迦勒底的宗教仪式中。