preview

Passover and Easter Essay

Good Essays

Passover & Easter

Christianity and Judaism are the few examples of religions that are originated from Western Traditions. These religions take different approaches to representational art and iconography which is found in their religious festivals. The Christian celebration of Easter and the Jewish Passover differentiate in their approaches to these icons in the history, the celebration and the symbols used during the commemoration of these holidays.

Passover and Easter have many hidden representational art and iconography that are reflected in the historical stories behind Judaism and Christianity. For Jewish people, the Exodus story narrated the Israelite’s liberation from slavery in Egypt which …show more content…

When Jesus arrived to Golgotha, He was nailed to the cross and soon after dies. The symbol of Jesus’ crucifixion is what Christians live by. It represents Jesus sacrificing his life to save humanity from their evil sins. When He died, He was taken down from the cross and was buried in a tomb, where He resurrected into Heaven and was seated at the right Hand of God. Jesus’ resurrection symbolizes two things. First, it proves to Christians that Jesus is the Son of God (Curtis). In the Bible, Paul affirmed that Christ is declared to be the Son of God by the resurrection from the dead (Rom. 1:4). Second, Jesus’ resurrection represented an assurance that all of humanity is saved and forgiven for their sins (Curtis).


Passover and Easter also have representational art and iconography that are displayed in how the religious festivals are celebrated by Jewish people and Christians.
Jewish people celebrate Passover with a ritual dinner called Seder, which represents the meal that the Israelites ate before fleeing Egypt (Oxtoby 123). In a Passover Seder, the head of the family begins the ceremony by sanctifying the holiday with a Qiddush, or benediction, over a cup of wine (Tobias 88). While reciting a prayer, raw vegetables dipped in vinegar, a shank bone and a hard-boiled egg are presented to the family members. Then, a second cup of wine is poured and at this time, the Passover liturgy, or Haggadah, begins (Oxtoby 124). The

Get Access