Take Your Parents to the Playground Day
What could be more important than to have a child’s parents join them at one of the happiest places of their childhood?

Smigus Dyngus / Dyngus Day / Wet Monday / Easter Monday
After Easter events include egg rolling competitions (ex. White House Easter Egg Roll) and, in many Catholic countries, dousing other people with holy water blessed the day before at Easter Sunday Mass.

In the United States, Dyngus Day celebrations are widespread and popular in Buffalo, New York and South Bend, Indiana. In Buffalo’s eastern suburbs, Dyngus Day is celebrated with a level of enthusiasm that rivals St. Patrick’s Day. Common tradition is to buy pussy willow (Salix discolor) to display in the home; this is tied to the “striking” custom from Poland, where goat willow, the European type of pussy willow, was traditionally used for whipping the legs of girls. In South Bend, the day is often used to launch the year’s political campaign season (particularly among Democrats)- often from within the West-Side Democratic Club, the Falcons Club or in local pubs, where buying drinks is favored over handshaking.

Starting in 2004, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana began celebrating Dyngus Day at the request of South Bend students. The event includes free Polish sausage for students as well as a free concert. This year they will celebrate a “Belated Dyngus Day” the following Monday since Easter Monday falls during a vacation week for students. Wet Monday is also celebrated at Jonathan Edwards College, one of the residential colleges at Yale University, when each year the freshman class storms the college with water weapons, where upperclassmen are ready to defend the college and ensure no one goes home dry.

For Easter Monday in Hungary, perfume or perfumed-water is used. The girls would reward the boys who sprinkle with coins or Easter eggs.*

*source: wikipedia - Easter Monday
photo credit: klbndc via flickr

Easter (Christian)
Celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, whose death was observed on Good Friday. One of the most important days of the Christian calendar.

Easter is also the time for chocolate bunnies, marshmallow chicks, and colored eggs!

Join us for our Easter celebration - Easter on the Net

Happy Easter!

A time for both solemn reflection and joyful celebration, Easter is the most significant experience in the Christian belief system.

Join our Easter festivities at Holidays on the Net to learn all about this pinnacle spring-time holiday. Read about how this once pagan fertility festival became the most important Christian holiday, the significance of the Lenten Season and the unique traditions of Eastern Orthodox Christians.

Of course, at Holidays on the Net, we know that Easter wouldn ??t be Easter without that lovable Easter bunny (here, here, and here), the Easter egg (and here), Easter egg hunt, Easter lilies and everybody ??s favorite candy, Peeps. So, we ??ve also got plenty of fun facts about the lighter side of Easter, too!

And if you ??ve got kids, then you ??ll definitely want to check out our craft project suggestions and Easter coloring pictures at our fun Easter crafts page.

Looking for last minute holiday recipes? We’ve got a great selection at our Easter recipe page. And there’s still time to send Easter greeting with our selection of free holiday ecards.

Easter 2008 will be celebrated on Sunday March 23, 2008. Greek and Russian Orthodox Christians will celebrate Easter on Sunday, April 27, 2008.

We look forward to celebrating together!

Happy Holidays,
Holidays on the Net

Easter Even / Holy Saturday / The Great Sabbath (Christian)
The Saturday before Easter and last day of Holy Week.

In Roman Catholic Churches, the altar is either stripped completely bare or coloured in violet, while the administration of the sacraments is severely limited. Holy Communion is given only as Viaticum. All Masses are strictly prohibited. No Mass at all appears in the liturgy for this day, nor for the preceding day, Good Friday. Many of the churches of the Anglican Communion observe most of the same traditions, however their altars are usually stripped or coloured in black.*

* source: wikipedia - Holy Saturday

Good Friday (Christian)
The Friday before Easter, commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Among some sects of Christianity and in many countries today is a day of fasting.

In Dutch the day is called “Goede Vrijdag”, which can literally be translated as “Good Friday”. In Israel, Good Friday is known as “Big Friday.” In Germany it is “Karfreitag”, an Old German word meaning “Friday of lamentation”, although this meaning is not obvious to speakers of modern German. In Malta, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia (and in the Eastern Orthodox Church generally) the day is called Great Friday. In Armenia it is called “High Friday ( ? ? ? )”. In Russia they call it “Passion Friday (Strastnaja Pjatnitsa)”. In Latin America, Spain, France, Italy and Portugal the day is called “Holy Friday”; in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Faroe Islands and Iceland it is “Long Friday”. In Portuguese language it is called “Sexta-Feira Santa” meaning “Holy Friday” while the day is named “Mahal na Araw” or Biyernes Santo”(Holy Friday) in the Philippines.*

* source: wikipedia - Good Friday

Holy Thursday / Maundy Thursday / Great Thursday (Christian)
The Thursday before Easter, commemorates Christ’s Last Supper with the Apostles.

On this day four events are commemorated: the washing of the Disciples’ feet by Jesus Christ, the institution of the Mystery of the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper, the agony of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, and the betrayal of Christ by Judas.*

*source: wikipedia - Maundy Thursday

Palm Sunday (Christian)
As Jesus made his entry into Jerusalem, the crowds lined his path with palm fronds. In churches today, observances include the blessing and distribution of Palm leaves to their congregants.

Today is also the beginning of Holy Week, the countdown to Christ’s crucifixion and his resurrection on Easter Sunday.

Note: This years extra palm leaves will be used for the ashes on Ash Wednesday 2009.

Image used with permission: Jeff Miller / The Curt Jester

Ash Wednesday (Christian)
The first day of the Lent and the period when Christians begin their 40 day* of fasting and penitence leading up to Easter Sunday.

Followers receive a mark of ashes in the sign of the cross on their foreheads signifying the belief that “from dust you came, to dust you shall return.” A version of which is stated by the priest when the ashes are administered to each follower.

The ashes used are from palm leaves left over from the previous years Palm Sunday observances.

*While the Lenten period is actually 46 days, Sundays are not considered part of the period of penance.