Easter Lamb

The festival of Easter is celebrated with great fanfare by Christian people across the world. The day, which commemorates the Resurrection of Lord Jesus Christ three days after crucifixion, is observed with religious fervor. On the occasion, special services are conducted in churches, where the altar is decorated beautifully with the traditional Easter flowers, such as white lily. After offering prayers to the almighty, people head towards their respective places to spend the rest of the day with their loved ones. Usually, a lavish lunch is prepared in the households. This is followed by a scrumptious meal containing traditional Easter recipes. When it comes to traditional dishes, the recipes made by using lamb are prominent.

Apart from being a traditional delicacy in the Easter dinner, Easter lamb is also a part of religious symbolism. It is a prominent Easter symbol in central and eastern European countries. Easter lamb represents Jesus and relates his death to that of the lamb, sacrificed on the first Passover. Lamb has been mentioned in the seventh-century holy book of the Benedictine Monastery. Christians traditionally refer to Jesus as "the Lamb of God". The Easter lamb, draped with the flag of victory, may be seen in pictures and images in the homes of every central and eastern European family, during the holiday season.

Along with smoked ham, lamb has been an integral part of the traditional Easter feast. Over the years, people have been preparing a number of recipes using lamb. Apart from the usual roasted ones, you can also find a variety of fried lamb recipes, cooked specially for Easter. In many households, lamp-shaped cakes are also prepared as the dessert item for the Easter dinner. Roast lamb has been the main feature of the Pope's Easter dinner, for many centuries. After the tenth century, in place of the whole lamb, smaller pieces of meat were used. In some Benedictine monasteries, however, even today, whole lambs are still blessed with the ancient prayers.

The ancient tradition of the Pasch lamb inspired among the Christians to make use of lamb meat as a popular food for the festival of Easter. Apart from serving as a lip smacking food, lamb is also used as a theme for table decorations for the festival. Nowadays, you can find little figures of a lamb made with the help of butter, pastry or sugar, serving as beautiful Easter table centerpieces. The symbol is also used to make attractive craft items, which serve as decorative pieces for homes and premises. You can also make use of the images of lamb to paste in front of handmade greeting cards and send them to your loved ones, to convey your Easter wishes to them.