New Jersey

“Old Glory” & the History of “Flag Day” in America

Did you know that the week of June 12–18, 2024 is designated as National Flag Week. “Old Glory” or rather, the American “Stars and Stripes” which originated as a result of a resolution adopted by the Marine Committee of the Second Continental Congress at Philadelphia on June 14, 1777. The resolution read: “Resolved, that the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field representing a new constellation.”

The resolution gave no instruction as to how many points the stars should have, or how the stars should be arranged on the blue union. Consequently, some flags had stars scattered on the blue field without any specific design, some arranged the stars in rows, and some in a circle. The first Navy Stars and Stripes had the stars arranged in staggered formation in alternate rows of threes and twos on a blue field. Other Stars and Stripes flags had stars arranged in alternate rows of four, five and four. Some stars had six points while others had eight.

Strong evidence indicates that Francis Hopkinson of New Jersey, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was responsible for the stars in the U.S. flag. At the time that the flag resolution was adopted, Hopkinson was the Chairman of the Continental Navy Board’s Middle Department. Hopkinson also helped design other devices for the Government including the Great Seal of the United States. For his services, Hopkinson submitted a letter to the Continental Admiralty Board asking “whether a Quarter Cask of the public Wine will not be a proper & reasonable Reward for these Labours of Fancy and a suitable Encouragement to future Exertions of a like Nature.” His request was subsequently turned down since the Congress regarded him as a public servant.

According to legend, in 1776, George Washington commissioned Philadelphia seamstress Betsy Ross to create a flag for the new nation. Scholars debate this legend, but agree that Mrs. Ross most likely knew Washington and sewed flags. To date, there have been twenty-seven official versions of the flag, but the arrangement of the stars varied according to the flag-makers’ preferences until 1912 when President Taft standardized the then-new flag’s forty-eight stars into six rows of eight. The forty-nine-star flag (1959-60), as well as the fifty-star flag, also have standardized star patterns. The current version of the flag dates to July 4, 1960, after Hawaii became the fiftieth state on August 21, 1959.

The first celebration of the U.S. Flag’s birthday was held in 1877 on the 100th anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777. However, it is believed that the first annual recognition of the flag’s birthday dates back to 1885 when school teacher, BJ Cigrand, first organized a group of Wisconsin school children to observe June 14 – the 108th anniversary of the official adoption of The Stars and Stripes as the Flag’s Birthday. Cigrand, now known as the ‘Father of Flag Day,’ continued to publically advocate the observance of June 14 as the flag’s ‘birthday’, or ‘Flag Day’ for years.

In 1916, the anniversary of the Flag Resolution of 1777 became a nationally observed event by a proclamation by President Woodrow Wilson thus establishing a national Flag Day on June 14 each year. Americans have commemorated the adoption of the Stars and Stripes by celebrating June 14 as Flag Day. Prior to 1916, many localities and a few states had been celebrating the day for years. Congressional legislation had already designated that date as the national Flag Day and it was signed into law by President Harry Truman in 1949; the legislation also called upon the president to issue a Flag Day proclamation every year. However, it was not designated as National Flag Day until August 3rd, 1949, when an Act of Congress designated June 14th of each year as National Flag Day.

Though Flag Day is neither a federal holiday nor one can declare it as an official leave the state of Pennsylvannia was the first and foremost state in the U.S. who declared & celebrated Flag Day as a state holiday on June 14th 1937.

Today, Flag Day is celebrated throughout the country with parades, essay contests, ceremonies, and picnics sponsored by veterans’ groups, schools, and groups like the National Flag Day foundation whose goal is to preserve the traditions, history, pride, and respect that are due the nation’s symbol, Old Glory.

Pledge

I AM AN AMERICAN SAILOR

I Am An American Sailor!th5D0OF9UM

Hear my voice, America!  Though I speak through the mist of 200 years, my shout for freedom will echo through liberty’s halls for many centuries to come. Hear me speak, for my words are of truth and justice, and the rights of man. For those ideals I have spilled my blood upon the world’s troubled waters. Listen well, for my time is eternal -yours is but a moment. I am the spirit of heroes past and future! 

I am the American Sailor. I was born upon the icy shores at Plymouth, rocked upon the waves of the Atlantic, and nursed in the wilderness of Virginia. I cut my teeth on New England codfish, and I was clothed in southern cotton. I built muscle at the halyards of New Bedford whalers, and I gained my sea legs high atop mizzen of Yankee clipper ships.

Yes, I am the American Sailor, one of the greatest seamen the world has ever known. The sea is my home and my words are tempered by the sound of paddle wheels on the Mississippi and the song of whales off Greenland’s barren shore. My eyes have grown dim from the glare of sunshine on blue water, and my heart is full of star-strewn nights under the Southern Cross. My hands are raw from winter storms while sailing down round the Horn, and they are blistered from the heat of cannon broadside while defending our nation.  I am the American Sailor, and I have seen the sunset of a thousand distant, lonely lands.

 bonhomme_richardI am the American Sailor. It was I who stood tall beside John Paul Jones as he shouted, “I have not yet begun to fight!”  I fought upon the Lake Erie with Perry, and I rode with Stephen Decatur into Tripoli harbor to burn Philadelphia.  I met Guerriere aboard Constitution, and I was lashed to the mast with Admiral Farragut at Mobile Bay. I have heard the clang of Confederate shot against the sides of Monitor. I have suffered the cold with Peary at the North Pole, and I responded when Dewy said, “You may fire when ready Gridley,” at Manila Bay.  It was I who transported supplies through submarine infested waters when our soldiers were called “over there.”  I was there as Admiral Byrd crossed the South Pole.  It was I who went down with the Arizona at Pearl Harbor, who supported our troops at Inchon, and patrolled dark deadly waters of the Mekong Delta. 

 thI6IANB6VI am the American Sailor and I wear many faces. I am a pilot soaring across God’s blue canopy and I am a Seabee atop a navy-seal3dusty bulldozer in the South Pacific. I am a corpsman nursing the wounded in the jungle, and I am a Torpedoman in the Nautilus deep beneath the North Pole. I am hard and I am strong. But it was my eyes that filled with tears when my brother went down with the Thresher, and it was my heart that rejoiced when Commander Shepherd rocketed into orbit above the earth. It was I who languished in a Viet Cong prison camp, and it was I who walked upon the moon. It was I who saved the Stark and the Samuel B. Roberts in the mine infested waters of the Persian Gulf.  It was I who pulled my brothers from the smoke filled compartments of the Bonefish and wept when my shipmates died on the Iowa and White Plains. When called again, I was there, on the tip of the spear for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

 I am the American Sailor.  I am woman, I am man, I am white and black, yellow, red and brown. I am Jew, Muslim, Christian, and Buddhist. I am Irish, Filipino, African, French, Chinese, and Indian.  And my standard is the outstretched hand of Liberty. Today, I serve around the world; on land, in air, on and under the sea. I serve proudly, at peace once again, but with the fervent prayer that I need not be called again. Tell your children of me. Tell them of my sacrifice, and how my spirit soars above their country. I have spread the mantle of my nation over the ocean, and I will guard her forever.  I am her heritage and yours. ~ I am the American Sailor.   (Written by: ~MUCM J. Wallace, USN)

 

PN1 Dorian F. Howard, US Navy 1979 – 1990

 

 

 

 

ENC Luke D. Howard, US Navy- Retired (1978 – 1999)

 

My husband & I met in 1986 and married the following March. Three months later, Luke deployed back to sea duty. His ship, (USS Butte AE-27)  was part of the USS Saratoga CV-60 battle group that was on deployment in the Mediterranean Sea. The year was 1987.  The mission was highly Top Secret so I didn’t hear from him for several months!   Ever heard of Operation Goldenrod ? Keeping secrets from your wife after only a few months of marriage can be deadly, however; this Navy wife understood completely!  And yes, we’re still married!

 

 

DEMOCRATS PUT BOTH FEET IN THEIR MOUTH!

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A History of the New Year

A Move from March to January by Borgna Brunner

The celebration of the new year on January 1st is a relatively new phenomenon. The earliest recording of a new year celebration is believed to have been in Mesopotamia, c. 2000 B.C. and was celebrated around the time of the NewYearsEvevernal equinox in mid-March. A variety of other dates tied to the seasons were also used by various ancient cultures. The Egyptians, Phoenicians, and Persians began their new year with the fall equinox, and the Greeks celebrated it on the winter solstice.

Early Roman Calendar: March 1st Rings in the New Year

The early Roman calendar designated March 1 as the new year. The calendar had just ten months, beginning with March. That the new year once began with the month of March is still reflected in some of the names of the months. September through December, our ninth through twelfth months, were originally positioned as the seventh through tenth months (septem is Latin for “seven,” octo is “eight,” novem is “nine,” and decem is “ten.”

January Joins the Calendar

The first time the new year was celebrated on January 1st was in Rome in 153 B.C. (In fact, the month of January did not even exist until around 700 B.C., when the second king of Rome, Numa Pontilius, added the months of January and February.) The new year was moved from March to January because that was the beginning of the civil year, the month that the two newly elected Roman consuls—the highest officials in the Roman republic—began their one-year tenure. But this new year date was not always strictly and widely observed, and the new year was still sometimes celebrated on March 1.

Julian Calendar: January 1st Officially Instituted as the New Year

In 46 B.C. Julius Caesar introduced a new, solar-based calendar that was a vast improvement on the ancient Roman calendar, which was a lunar system that had become wildly inaccurate over the years. The Julian calendar decreed that the new year would occur with January 1, and within the Roman world, January 1 became the consistently observed start of the new year.

Middle Ages: January 1st Abolished

In medieval Europe, however, the celebrations accompanying the new year were considered pagan and unchristian like, and in 567 the Council of Tours abolished January 1 as the beginning of the year. At various times and in various places throughout medieval Christian Europe, the new year was celebrated on Dec. 25, the birth of Jesus; March 1; March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation; and Easter.

Gregorian Calendar: January 1st Restored

In 1582, the Gregorian calendar reform restored January 1 as new year’s day. Although most Catholic countries adopted the Gregorian calendar almost immediately, it was only gradually adopted among Protestant countries. The British, for example, did not adopt the reformed calendar until 1752. Until then, the British Empire —and their American colonies— still celebrated the new year in March.

Article written by: Borgna Brunner & Reprinted Courtesy of  http://www.infoplease.com/spot/newyearhistory.html

I’d like to wish a very Happy New Year to ALL of my brother & sister Military Veterans & those brave Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Army, Coast & National Guard personnel currently serving on Active Duty around the world!  God Bless You ALL & Thank You for Your Service to our Country! ~JGT

FRAUD! Michelle Obama’s Mom Will Receive HUGE Taxpayer Funded Pension FOREVER Just For Doing What Americans Do For Free EVERY DAY!!!

I haven’t fact-checked this story yet but if it is true~ I believe it really is time for a second American Revolution! The very idea that anyone who babysits for their own grandchildren for 8 years while their parents lived at tax-payer expense~ in the White House should receive a government  pension at the additional expense of American Taxpayers is appalling! Who the hell came up with the figure of $160,000? Who the hell decided that this was to be paid for by the American People? Granny Robinson should be paid a pension by HER daughter, Michelle & son-in-law, Barack! NOT THE AMERICAN TAXPAYER!  In my opinion, it is long past time for ‘legal’ Americans to do whatever tit takes to help drain the swamp of corrupt Washington DC & all corrupt Politicians!  ~JGT

screen-shot-2016-10-19-at-1_20_57-pmWho could’ve imagined when Barack Hussein Obama, took to the podium and spoke so eloquently those immortal lines; “we are 5-days from fundamentally “transforming America,” did we envision the implication hidden within those words.   Most ignored the fact that standing before us at the podium was a young and inexperienced individual with no executive experience, and with a few worrisome skeletons hidden within his closet, and most (I didn’t’), overlooked the apparent inconsistencies and his ties to leftist and violent radicals, most felt it was time for a change, regardless of those implications…we were making history and showing the world how morally advanced we were as a nation in voting for the “FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN PRESIDENT.”

Now 8-years later we see what “Transforming America” has inflicted upon our Republic, and aside from our continued journey into the abyss, the Obama’s are making sure to take care of their own before leaving the White House, by pillaging, looting, robbing, ransacking, and stripping the American taxpayer once again.
This time with the help of congress who’ve apparently worked out another deal behind closed doors, this one allows Marian Robinson, 79, dubbed “First Grandma” to receive a lifetime 160K GOVERNMENT PENSION…get this, for taking care of her own grandchildren.

The scam was uncovered by documents obtained through the “Freedom of Information Act.”
The pension scam was for “services rendered as full-time/in-home caregiver” for taking care of her granddaughters.
Moreover there’s little doubt that this two-bit “Chicago hustler” has indeed “transformed” his own net worth, at the expense of the American taxpayer.
Do you think Michelle Obama’s mother should get $160,000 a year for the rest of her life for baby sitting her own grand daughters?

Original Article courtesy of US Herald 

What do you think? Feel free to let me know. ~ JGT

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Me & Mom after I graduated from US Navy Boot Camp 1979

A JERSEY GIRL’S HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME 2016

 

Someone I once knew used to always say, “If I didn’t have bad luck~ I wouldn’t have luck at all!”.

Well~ that’s almost the way I felt yesterday morning, even though I’d hoped~ several weeks earlier, that the 24th would at least be a pretty-good day (all things considered). So, what happened? My doctor’s office had scheduled me to undergo a battery of tests at the hospital yesterday morning at 10 AM. And so it was, the fasting & no water orders from midnight the previous evening.

I tossed & turned all night and when I woke up at 5:30 in the morning with cotton-mouth and a rumbling stomach, I felt absolutely miserable! If that didn’t beat all, my husband greeted me with a cheerful, “Good Morning, Hap..” I cut him off mid-sentence & snapped back, “What’s so good about it!?” (Poor guy. Too bad. He should know me better after over 31 years!)

Regardless of the fact that I couldn’t even have my customary one & only cup of coffee of the day, I managed, albeit reluctantly~ to keep my appointment with the doctor at the hospital. Irritated, I was in rare form yesterday morning and even managed to ask my doctor why he grew a beard and insult him by telling him he looked like a Terrorist! (Obviously, this was not a great idea, but what the hell!)

Indeed, just before drifting off to sleep, I remember mumbling something like, “Don’t shave my hair off while I’m sleeping. I had a haircut on Tuesday!”, or words to that effect. Thankfully, I eventually woke up with all my hair intact and an hour later was allowed to have some apple juice & crackers. My doctor gave me a thumbs up, but reminded me that he’d be in touch after my MRI scheduled for this coming Monday. Oh, and by the way, he said, “No driving & NO Alcohol for the next few days!”.

Yikes!

On the way home, I pointed out the White Castle on Route 9 in Freehold and demanded my husband, Luke to  pull in there! It was the one thing that had happened that day thus far that I had been in control of! “I ordered two Murder-Burgers and some Fatal Fries”! They were absolutely delicious!

A HEARTFELT THANK-YOU TO ALL MY FAMILY & FRIENDS for Your Happy Birthday Wishes. Yesterday (June 24, 2016) was the 33rd anniversary of my 29th Birthday! Your greetings & wishes ALL made my day because at the end of the day~ it was the brightest part of the day! Thanks again & God Bless You ALL!

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My brother Ross & me circa 1956

Port Authority NY with Ross circa 1979

Lest I forget~ Happy birthday to my brother, Ross… thankfully exactly TWO years older than me! Ha-Ha!

D.F. Howard ©June 2016

Postscript: Next year, GOD Willing~ I’m spending my Birthday in Las Vegas! ~ Hopefully & GOD Willing! ~ JGT

 

I AM STILL HERE
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World Pet Memorial Day 2016

Throughout our marriage, my husband & I have loved and lost most of what we like to refer as “Our Children”. However; these children have all been furry, four-legged, loveable creatures that we have adopted and rescued. Each one was a unique individual and each had a strikingly different personality. We miss them every single day! We currently live with three children (1 cat & 2 dogs) which after all these years, we think may be the last of our brood, since the reality of our own mortality seems to grow closer with each passing year.  

I AM STILL HERE

Wouldn’t it be comforting to know that this poem, “I Am Still Here” is true? I have posted it here in Memory of our Children in Heaven. We miss you all!

OUR LOST PET FAMILY

(Pictured above) Gulliver, Guinevere, Tiger, Pandora, Emmet, Marcus, Willow, Jasper, Misty, Buster, Bear, Heidi, Christian, Chloe, O’Reilly, Delilah, Angel and Barnaby.

Duffy

Bella

Our Babies May08 007

Rocky

 

Alas, these three “trouble makers are still alive & well! “We don’t miss them~ yet!~ JGT

 

 

Don’t forget to visit your local Animal Shelter before purchasing a pet from a pet store.  Here are a few links to my favorite pet charities.

Popcorn Park

Adopt a Pet ASPCA

Angels of Animals

New Jersey SPCA

Pets for Patriots

 

 

THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY

dfhPINUPMy goal for 2016 was to lose 10 pounds. Only 15 to go.

Ate a salad for dinner last night! Mostly croutons & tomatoes. Really, it was just one big, round crouton covered with tomato sauce. And cheese. Okay, FINE. I ate a pizza!

Here’s a great recipe for Tofu:
1. Throw it in the trash.
2. Grill some Meat!

I just did a week’s worth of cardio by walking into a spider web!

I don’t mean to brag but~ I finished my 14-day diet in 3 hours and 20 minutes!

A recent study has found that women who carry a little extra weight live longer than men who mention it!

Kids today don’t know how easy they have it. When I was young, I had to walk 9 feet through shag carpet to change the TV channel.

Senility has been a smooth transition for me.

Remember back when we were kids and every time it was below zero out they closed the schools? Me neither!

I may not be that funny or good-looking or smart or talented …. I forgot where I was going with this.

A thief broke into my house last night. He started searching for money, so I decided to search with him.

My dentist told me I needed a crown. I was like; I KNOW! Right?

I love being over 50. I learn something new every day~ and forget 5 others!

Indeed, I think I’ll just put an ‘Out of Order’ sticker on my head & call it a day!

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE ‘GOOD OLD’ USA?

I don’t get it!

The United States of America is a Republic; (re·pub·lic; noun \ri-ˈpə-blik\: a country that is governed by elected representatives and by an elected leader, such as a president rather than by a king or queen) and our founders intended that we be governed as a democracy, (de·moc·ra·cy  noun \di-ˈmä-krə-sē\:  a form of government in which people choose leaders by voting~ for a government by the people; especially: rule of the majority; a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections).

So why is it that our current elected officials appear and act as if they care more about themselves, their careers & political correctness than they seem to do about WE, the People? We, those very people that elected them into office? America was founded by revolutionaries who had a dream of independence, a longing for personal & religious freedom. Our forefathers were visionaries, certainly they were men of their times and flawed as ALL human beings are, but they had a vision and for over 200 years that vision was grown & nurtured by the American people. Indeed; America was built by men who had entrepreneurial imagination as well as on the integrity and ingenuity of its people and the independent spirit, hard work and longing for the ‘American Dream’ of our immigrant ancestors.    

On April 17, 1913 the balance of power in United States shifted from the states to the central government with the illegal ratification of the 17th Amendment to our Constitution. Without the ‘voice’ of the States,  that single amendment effectively stifled state’s rights and in 1933 the federal government under FDR began the systematic destruction of the Constitution of the United States. Today, the last vestiges of freedom remain tethered to the Bill of Rights by a thin, raveled thread.

When a government becomes so powerful that citizens become the servant, and government officials become the master and overlord it is no longer the country the Founding Fathers intended.

Considering all the candidates running for office this year, vote as you will in November, but please be advised, that if any American doesn’t vote out of spite~ it may be the last free-election they may ever have the choice or  privilege to vote in. The Politically Correct  left & radical liberals just may finally realize their dream of a Socialist States of America!

 As I said, I don’t get it! ~ JGT

I pulled the following Letter to the Editor from my Twitter feed and thought that the writer, Ken Huber really has his pulse on the thoughts of many Americans. Thank you, Ken. In my opinion~ you are the voice of the silent majority!~ JGT

 

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EASTER SUNDAY

easter-cross-daybreakEaster is the holiday that celebrates and commemorates the central event of the Christian faith: the resurrection of Jesus Christ three days after his death by crucifixion. All major branches of Christianity observe the holiday. Today, other than church attendance, the holiday often involves Easter Eggs for toys and candy as well as the imagery of bunnies and rabbits (see more below). Easter occurs the Sunday after Good Friday.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the centerpiece of the Christian faith, according to the Apostle Paul, who even says that if Jesus Christ has not been resurrected then the Christian faith is worthless and futile (1 Cor. 15:14-17). Therefore, without Easter there is no Christianity.

Easter is the oldest Christian holiday and the most important day of the church year. All the Christian movable feasts and the entire liturgical year of worship are arranged around Easter. Easter is preceded by the season of Lent, a 40-day period of fasting and repentance culminating in Holy Week, and followed by a 50-day Easter Season that stretches from Easter to Pentecost.

There is evidence that Christians originally celebrated the resurrection of Christ every Sunday, with observances such as Scripture readings, psalms, the Eucharist, and a prohibition against kneeling in prayer. {6} At some point in the first two centuries, however, it became customary to celebrate the resurrection specially on one day each year. Many of the religious observances of this celebration were taken from the Jewish Passover.

The specific day on which the resurrection should be celebrated became a major point of contention within the church. First, should it be on Jewish Passover no matter on what day that falls, or should it always fall on a Sunday? It seems Christians in Asia took the former position, while those everywhere else insisted on the latter. The eminent church fathers Irenaeus and Polycarp were among the Asiatic Christians, and they claimed the authority of St. John the Apostle for their position. Nevertheless, the church majority officially decided that Easter should always be celebrated on a Sunday. Eusebius of Caesarea, our only source on this topic, reports the affair as follows:

A question of no small importance arose at that time [c. 190 AD]. The dioceses of all Asia, as from an older tradition, held that the fourteenth day of the moon, on which day the Jews were commanded to sacrifice the lamb, should always be observed as the feast of the life-giving pasch, contending that the fast ought to end on that day, whatever day of the week it might happen to be. However it was not the custom of the churches in the rest of the world to end it at this point, as they observed the practice, which from Apostolic tradition has prevailed to the present time, of terminating the fast on no other day than on that of the Resurrection of our Saviour. Synods and assemblies of bishops were held on this account, and all with one consent through mutual correspondence drew up an ecclesiastical decree that the mystery of the Resurrection of the Lord should be celebrated on no other day but the Sunday and that we should observe the close of the paschal fast on that day only. {7} With this issue resolved, the next problem was to determine which Sunday to celebrate the resurrection. The Christians in Syria and Mesopotamia held their festival on the Sunday after the Jewish Passover (which itself varied a great deal), but those in Alexandria and other regions held it on the first Sunday after the spring equinox, without regard to the Passover.

This second issue was decided at the Council of Nicea in 325, which decreed that Easter should be celebrated by all on the same Sunday, which Sunday shall be the first following the paschal moon (and the paschal moon must not precede the spring equinox), and that a particular church should determine the date of Easter and communicate it throughout the empire (probably Alexandria, with their skill in astronomical calculations).

The policy was adopted throughout the empire, but Rome adopted an 84-year lunar cycle for determining the date, whereas Alexandria used a 19-year cycle. {8} Use of these different “paschal cycles” persists to this day and contributes to the disparity between the eastern and western dates of Easter.

Common elements found in most Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant religious Easter celebrations include baptism, the Eucharist, feasting, and greetings of “Christ is risen!” and “He is risen indeed!”

In Roman Catholicism, and some Lutheran and Anglican churches, Easter is celebrated with a vigil that consists of “the blessing of the new fire (a practice introduced during the early Middle Ages); the lighting of the paschal candle; a service of lessons, called the prophecies; followed by the blessing of the font and baptisms and then the mass of Easter.” {9} The traditional customs of the Catholic church are described in detail in the online Catholic Encyclopedia {10}.

In Orthodox churches, the vigil service is preceded by a procession outside the church. When the procession leaves the church, there are no lights on. The procession conducts a symbolic fruitless search for Christ’s body, then joyfully announces, “Christ is risen!” When the procession returns to the church, hundreds of candles and lamps are lit to symbolize the splendor of Christ’s resurrection, and the Easter Eucharist is taken. {11}

Protestant observances also include baptism and the Eucharist (or Lord’s Supper), and often a sunrise service (to commemorate Mary Magdalene’s arrival at the empty tomb “early, while it was still dark”) and special hymns and songs.

Easter Eggs and Christianity

12717977_1025836324177545_6398181941345550489_nWhat do eggs have to do with Easter? Over the centuries, Easter Sunday has been supplemented by popular customs, many of were incorporated from springtime fertility celebrations of European and Middle Eastern pagan religion. Rabbits and eggs, for example, are widely-used pagan symbols for fertility.

Some Christians disassociate themselves entirely from Easter eggs because of their pagan connotations. Other Christians view Easter eggs, or other candies and treats, as symbols of joy and celebration (as they were forbidden during the fast of Lent) and as a “taste” of new life and resurrection that they have in Jesus Christ. A common custom is to hide brightly colored eggs for children to find.

ORIGNAL ARTICLE COURTESY OF RELIGION FACTS