What are the differences in how Catholics and Protestants celebrate Easter?

Question

I'm Protestant...My boyfriend is Catholic. We just recently got into a "discussion" about Easter.

I don't know much about Catholicism and he doesn't know much about my religion either. But as a Protestant, I do not take part in Lent. I have nothing against the tradition, I'm just unfamiliar with it and never practiced it.

We were talking about this and he pretty much stated that I "basically don't celebrate Easter then"

This really bothered me. What are the differences between Catholics/Protestants in topics such as these?

Answer 1

Catholics enter into the Lenten season as a way to recall why Jesus had to die on the Cross in the first place- to redemm us from our sins. It is supposed to be a time of sorrow and repentance for our sins and a time to grow closed to the Lord.

We begin Holy Week on Palm Sunday. On Holy Thursday we recall the institution of the sacramental priesthood, the first Mass and the institution of the Eucharist. On Good Friday we recall the Lord's Passion and death. Holy Saturday is a quiet day of reflection- Christ is in the tomb. The Easter Vigil on Saturday night begins a FIFTY DAY celebration! Yes- Easter is SO big for Catholics- we need 50 days!

But all that is impossible without the Lenten journey....and you notice that Easter is longer than Lent! It is a reminder to us that no matter how great our sins, the love and mercy of our Lord is greater!

Answer 2

The date of Easter isn't replaced each 3 hundred and sixty 5 days! whether, it quite works on a lunar calendar. good Friday is defined through fact the Friday following the 1st complete moon after the Vernal Equinox. through fact the moon has a 29.5 day cycle, the day of the full moon transformations each and each month. The Vernal Equinox transformations besides - between 20-22 March, finding on the three hundred and sixty 5 days, and likewise, finding on the place you reside (the international Date Line comes into play). that's the Jewish Passover time, the Friday earlier it is traditionally typical through fact the date of Jesus' execution (Passover starts off at sunset on the Friday, it is considered Saturday in the Jewish calendar device. The day transformations at sunset, no longer nighttime). through fact the Passover is predicated on the lunar calendar, so is Easter. Protestants, Roman Catholics, and Fundies all share an identical date. Jews can fluctuate, through their theory that the day transformations at sunset, no longer nighttime, yet this would not happen all that usually. And, of direction, the Orthodox Church nevertheless makes use of the previous calendar, so the call for the date would be diverse than the Western church, whether the day would be an identical.

Answer 3

Your boyfriend is wrong. I'm Catholic too. But even I know that Protestants celebrate Easter. Maybe not the way Catholics do tho.

Yes, there are differences in the way we celebrate Easter.We do renew our Baptismal promises as our priest sprinkles Holy Water on us.

And of course, there is most likely a difference in the way Palm Sunday is celebrated. We reenact the Procession of Christ into Jeruselem with palm leaves and all take an active part in the reenactment of His Passion.

Holy Week is very important to us. We spend alot of time at Mass in prayer and reflection. But not in the mornings. Just at night.

The Blessing Of Oils used for the Sacraments occurs on Wednesday. It is known as the Mass of the Holy Chrism.

Holy Thursday has several activities. The Mass to Recall the Institution of the Eucharist and Holy Orders, the Washing of Feet - Our Call to Service. The Mass of The Lord's Supper.and then Adoration which lasts well into the night.

Stations Of The Cross is reinacted for the last time on Good Friday and is a Day of Fasting and Abstinance as We Recall the Sacrifice and Death of Christ. All day Adoration with Stations Of The Cross at Noon and Commemoration Of The Lord's Passion is Friday night. Also we Venerate the Cross and receive Holy Communion.

The Easter Vigil is Saturday night and of course, the celebration of His Resurrection takes place on Easter Sunday.

Answer 4

"...basically don't celebrate Easter" is a little extreme, but I can see where he's coming from.

As a Lutheran I might be able to explain this in more Protestant-friendly terms for you. There is a duality in the Gospel, where the Law exposes our sins and brings us to despair and repentance, then Grace brings forgiveness of sin and a new life in Christ. It's a package deal. You cannot have Grace without the Law, and you cannot have Easter without Lent.

Each year on Ash Wednesday, the palm leaves from the previous year's Palm Sunday celebration are burned, and the ashes are placed on our foreheads as a reminder of our sinfulness. This marks the beginning of Lent, which is a yearly reminder of our place under the Law as condemned sinners. It is a time of repentance, of prayer and fasting, and of self-denial. It is a time to reflect on the truth of who we would be apart from Christ and to examine our lives to make sure everything is in order.

As Lent draws to a close, we arrive at Maundy Thursday--the day before Good Friday. On this day we have a very somber service in which repentance is given extreme emphasis. The service ends with a ritual stripping of the altar. As each item is removed, the pastor talks about what makes that item important, and reminds us that without Christ we lose everything. And so by the end of the service, the altar is completely bare in recognition of the fact that on this night Christ was taken away from us.

Most significantly, since the bread and wine of Communion are Christ's body and blood, we do not receive Communion after Maundy Thursday, in recognition of Christ's death and His absence.

So when Easter comes, Christ's resurrection is marked with great celebration. The penitent color purple is replaced with white representing Christ's purity, and we celebrate God's grace in the giving of His Son, whom we again receive in Communion. When we celebrate Easter, we are celebrating the completion by Grace of the work begun in us through the Law, which was observed in Lent.

So while non-liturgical Protestants still acknowledge Easter, it is not celebrated in the same way we celebrate in liturgical, sacramental churches. I hope this helps!

Answer 5

Lent is something leftover from the Jewish faith, that many "new" Christians in early history couldn't give up because of their upbringing (Teach them in the way of the Lord and they will not depart from it) Anyway, Lent is kinda along the lines of the passover fasting. Catholics also have adapted many Pagan celebrations into their festivities; basically when the conversions of the Pagans and other druid-type nations of the UK and France had these customs and religious holidays they were used to practicing- so instead of "giving up" their traditions, they simply incorporated them much like the Jewish converts did with Lent. The egg representation is not Christian, it's actually from a greek goddess (her name escapes me now) who was often depicted with eggs as her sign of fertility and spring and renewal. Her main temple was the Parthenon in Greece, and who's festival and celebration was during Spring.

Answer 6

Lent is a 6 wk period where Catholics feel obligated to give something up (type of food, habit, something they enjoy) to suffer as Jesus did...nothing wrong with doing that, but the part that they all HAVE to do it at that time makes it pointless, they should be doing that throughout the year to show that they really do WANT to do this for the Lord, not just HAVE to. (Keep in mind there ARE some that do partake in this throughout the year.)

The Catholic Easter Mass if I remember correctly, will include the priest walking around and spraying everyone with Holy Water....to start anew...

Just let him know you give of yourself all year long, not just during Lent.

Answer 7

Nothing much that I know of

Now Greek and Russian ORTHODOX has a different date most of the time.

Answer 8

We usually go to church and then you are to reflect upon the family of Christ. After all, it's more important that Christmas...so treat it more than you treat Christmas.