The History of Easter

Easter, which celebrates Jesus Christ's resurrection from the dead, is Christianity's most important holiday. It has been called a moveable feast because it doesn't fall on a set date every year, as most holidays do. Instead, Christian churches in the West celebrate Easter on the first Sunday following the full moon after the vernal equinox on March 21. Therefore, Easter is observed anywhere between March 22 and April 25 every year. Orthodox Christians use the Julian calendar to calculate when Easter will occur and typically celebrate the holiday a week or two after the Western churches, which follow the Gregorian calendar.

The exact origins of this religious feast day's name are unknown. Some sources claim the word Easter is derived from Eostre, a Teutonic goddess of spring and fertility. Other accounts trace Easter to the Latin term hebdomada alba, or white week, an ancient reference to Easter week and the white clothing donned by people who were baptized during that time. Through a translation error, the term later appeared as esostarum in Old High German, which eventually became Easter in English. In Spanish, Easter is known as Pascua; in French, Paques. These words are derived from the Greek and Latin Pascha or Pasch, for Passover. Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection occurred after he went to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover (or Pesach in Hebrew), the Jewish festival commemorating the ancient Israelites' exodus from slavery in Egypt. Pascha eventually came to mean Easter.

Easter is really an entire season of the Christian church year, as opposed to a single-day observance. Lent, the 40-day period leading up to Easter Sunday, is a time of reflection and penance and represents the 40 days that Jesus spent alone in the wilderness before starting his ministry, a time in which Christians believe he survived various temptations by the devil. The day before Lent, known as Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday, is a last hurrah of food and fun before the fasting begins. The week preceding Easter is called Holy Week and includes Maundy Thursday, which commemorates Jesus' last supper with his disciples; Good Friday, which honors the day of his crucifixion; and Holy Saturday, which focuses on the transition between the crucifixion and resurrection. The 50-day period following Easter Sunday is called Eastertide and includes a celebration of Jesus' ascension into heaven.

In addition to Easter's religious significance, it also has a commercial side, as evidenced by the mounds of jelly beans and marshmallow chicks that appear in stores each spring. As with Christmas, over the centuries various folk customs and pagan traditions, including Easter eggs, bunnies, baskets and candy, have become a standard part of this holy holiday.

Did You Know?
Over 90 million chocolate Easter bunnies are made each year

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Efortless Office Cleaning Ideas

Efortless Office Cleaning Ideas
A clean and ordered work environment is basic to encourage output. How would your clients react if they walked into your business to find piles of files and papers in all quarters, soiled carpets and disorganised desks?

If I entered into such an environment, I would turn back and leave straight away and I bet you would too. With that mindset I'll share with you some effortless to administer office cleaning tips to assist keep your business twinkling clean at all time, be it a town office or a home office.

Generally city business units are cleaned by specialist authentic cleaning companies but there are certain things that can be done to help improve the cleanliness of these work places.

This initial tip might sound obsolete but you would be alarmed how many office blocks still haven't applied it to their work environment. Reduce paper clutter by bringing in a digital filing system.

Its likely your corporation already has a network, and thats a positive opening point. Next comes a complete reconstruct of the networks file structure. This will take some time and choosy consideration. A general rule-of-thumb is that an effective digital file system - when segmented - reflects exactly how the business is organised and leaves room for future modification and likely change.

Create a cleaning and organisation inspection group, the idea here is to designate two or three employees, depending on the amount of your workforce, to go around the office inspecting tables and drawers.

This examination team should report directly to the office controller or to you. They should give out warnings for those who don't keep their workstation organised and then issue penalties. That way you will provoke your team to keep their desks and drawers organised at all times.

For home office workers you will have to be your own inspectors, even though you might not get any person visiting your study. Keep in mind what was said in the beginning of this item - A clean and organised workplace boosts productivity.

Incite recycling by adding recycling bins in your office's canteen and around the office. Choose a day of the week to do a "paper recycling day". You can use the cleaning and organization inspection team to go around the office asking for people to get rid of aged paper work that cannot be filed.

Premium help

As my last piece of advice, I would advise you seek professional help to enhance even further the cleanliness and hygiene of your office. Take on an office cleaning company and get them to do the dirty work for you.

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