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Spiritism for Kids - Célia Xavier Camargo - Portuguese  Spanish
Year 5 - N° 206 - April 24, 2011

  Translation
Johnny Silveira - silveirajohnny@yahoo.com

 

Easter

  

This Sunday we celebrate Easter.

My dear friend, do you know what Easter represents? 

Usually, we only think about bunnies and chocolate eggs, isn't it? 

But this date, which is so important to Christians around the world, has nothing to do with bunnies and chocolate eggs. Have you ever heard of a bunny who lays eggs? Especially chocolate ones? ... 

Originally, Easter is an annual feast of the Hebrews, who celebrate their departure from their captivity in Egypt. Later on, it became an annual festival of Christians, in remembrance of the resurrection of Christ. 

Two thousand years ago, at the time when Jesus of Nazareth was preaching His gospel of love to all the people who would listen, He entered Jerusalem with His disciples, and was hailed by the population the week that preceded the Jewish Easter celebration.

Betrayed by one of his companions, Judas Iscariot, Jesus was arrested, tried and sentenced to die on a cross

between two thieves. It was Friday.   

That same day, in the afternoon, Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy man, asked Pilate, Roman governor in Judea, to hand over Jesus' body for burial. Pilate agreed. They took Jesus' body and, after having been prepared as usual among the Jews, it was buried. 

On Sunday, Mary Magdalene and two other women, after buying spices to embalm the body of the Master, went to the tomb and found it empty. 

Mary Magdalene, being left alone crying at the entrance of the tomb, saw a man standing, who asked: 

- Woman, why are you weeping? 

At first, Mary assumed that he was the gardener. Then - oh wonder!- she realized that it was her beloved master who had come back to life. Jesus talked to her and even sent a message to His disciples. 

Full of joy, Mary Magdalene ran to tell the big news to the apostles, who

were inconsolable: Jesus did not die! He was alive and had spoken to her! ... 

But they did not believe her. However, after that, Jesus also appeared to two of them who were heading to a village called Emmaus, a few miles from Jerusalem. 

And one afternoon, the disciples were locked in the house where they were hiding, lest they be arrested by the priests, when Jesus stood among them and said to them:  

- Peace be with you! 

At first they could not believe such happiness. But Jesus proved to them that it was Him when He showed them His wounds and He sat among them and ate grilled fish. He spoken to them for a long time, consoling them and guiding them on how they should act. 

Many times Jesus was with His

disciples, strengthening their faith and encouraging them to disseminate the Good News.  

The return of Jesus, in spirit and truth, after His death, which coincides with the Jewish festival, is what Christians celebrate on Easter as the most important and decisive fact, as it represents proof of the immortality of the soul, about which the Master had preached so many times. 

As for the custom of giving chocolate eggs, this comes from ancient times, when pagans celebrated the return of spring by offering each other chicken eggs painted in bright colours, a habit that still exists in certain countries.  

But wait! ...And what about the rabbit? Where does it come in this story, anyway? ...Well, it is that many cultures consider the rabbit a symbol of fertility and the renewal of life, just like the egg. 

So far so good! But what is the link between Easter and the delicious chocolate eggs? 

To boost sales in the period leading up to Easter, someone joined business with pleasure. They invented the chocolate eggs which traders began selling with great success. 

That way, my dear friend, you can get and eat chocolate eggs without guilt. You just can not forget that the meaning of Easter for us Christians, goes much further. It represents the return of Jesus in spirit and truth, proving that death does not exist!

So, this Easter Sunday, we should remember Jesus, thanking Him for His life, the example He left us and His Gospel, which is light to our souls. 

The rest is up to the traders who do everything to encourage sales in the period preceding Easter.   
 

                Aunt Celia 



 



O Consolador
 
Weekly Magazine of Spiritism