Easter
复活节
Easter or Resurrection Sunday is a festival and holiday celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred three days after his crucifixion by Romans at Calvary. It is the culmination of the Passion of Christ, preceded by Great Lent, a forty-day period of fasting, prayer, and penance. Easter is a movable feast, meaning it is not fixed in relation to the civil calendar. The date of Easter is determined by the lunar calendar. Easter must be celebrated on a Sunday between the dates of March 22 and April 25.
复活节，或者说复活星期日，是庆祝耶稣复活的节假日，据《新约全书》中记载，耶稣在加略受难3天后复活了。这是“耶稣受难记”的高潮，在这之前是大斋节，为期40天的禁食、祈祷和忏悔。复活节是一场每年日期不同的节日盛宴，这意味着按照民用历的话它的日期是不固定的。复活节的日期由阴历决定。它一定是在3月22日到4月25日之间的某个周日。
One of the popular cultural symbols of Easter is Easter egg. Easter eggs are a widely popular symbol of new life in Poland and other Slavic countries' folk traditions. They are specially decorated eggs given out to celebrate the Easter holiday. It is said that this represents the sunlight of spring. The custom of the Easter egg may have existed in the early Christian community of Mesopotamia, who stained eggs red in memory of the blood of Christ, shed at his crucifixion. However, in Germany, it is traditional to paint eggs green. In later traditions the egg is also a symbol of the empty tomb. The oldest tradition is to use dyed chicken eggs, but a modern custom is to substitute eggs made from chocolate or plastic eggs filled with candy such as jellybeans.
复活节的流行文化符号之一是复活节彩蛋。复活节彩蛋在波兰和其他斯拉夫国家的民间传统中是一个广受欢迎的新生活的象征。经过特别装饰后它们会被分发给人们以庆祝复活节。据说彩蛋象征春天温暖柔和的阳光。复活节彩蛋的习俗可能存在于美索不达米亚的早期基督教社团，他们将蛋涂成红色，纪念耶稣受难时流的鲜血。然而，在德国，人们习惯于把蛋涂成绿色。在后来的传统中蛋也是空坟墓的象征。最古老的传统是使用染色鸡蛋，但现代习惯使用巧克力制成的替代蛋或装满软糖之类糖果的塑料鸡蛋。
