Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Last Supper |
Last SupperNoun1. The traditional Passover supper of Jesus with his disciples on the eve of his crucifixion. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Easter is a Christian holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead three days after his crucifixion on Good Friday and marking the end of the Lent fast. Easter is the holiest day in the Christian calendar, followed by Christmas and is recognized as a legal holiday in most countries with a significant Christian tradition, with the notable exception of the United States where Easter is only celebrated on Easter Sunday (and not also on Easter Monday).
The timing of Easter depends on the Jewish Pesach, in English Passover, (see 1 below), which commemorates the sparing of the Hebrew first-born, as recounted in Exodus, since it is during this holiday that Jesus is believed to have been resurrected.
The Date of Easter
Easter and the holidays that are related to it are moveable feasts, in that they do not fall on a fixed date in the Gregorian calendar (which follows the motion of the Sun and the seasons). Instead, they are based on a lunar calendar like that used by the Jews. At the First Council of Nicaea in 325 it was decided that Easter would be celebrated on the Sunday after the 14th day of the first lunar month of spring (in theory, the Sunday after the first full moon on or after the day of the vernal equinox). Eventually, all churches accepted the Alexandrian method of computing Easter, which set the northern hemisphere vernal equinox at 21 March (the actual equinox may fall one or two days earlier or later), and the date of the full moon was to be determined by using the Metonic cycle. A problem here is the difference between the western churches and the Eastern Orthodox Churches. The former now use the Gregorian calendar to calculate the date of Easter, while the latter still use the original Julian calendar. The World Council of Churches proposed a reform of the method of determining the date of Easter at a summit in Aleppo, Syria, in 1997. This reform would have eliminated the difference in the date between the Eastern and Western churches. The reform was due to be implemented starting in 2001, but it failed. See Reform of the date of Easter.
Computing the date of Easter, known as computus, is somewhat complicated. The Wiki page explains the traditional tabular methods, but also has algorithms such as the one developed by the famous mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss.
External Link:
Western Christianity
In Western Christianity, Easter marks the end of the forty-six days of Lent, a period of fasting and penitence in preparation for Easter, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Easter Sunday. Lent really comprises 40 days since the 6 Sundays during this period are excluded from the Lenten fast, and are days that set apart to commemorate Easter Sunday.
The days before Easter also are special in the Christian tradition: the Sunday before is Palm Sunday, and the last three days before Easter are Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday (sometimes referred to as Silent Saturday). Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday respectively commemmorate Jesus's entry in Jerusalem, the Last Supper and the Crucifixion. Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday are sometimes referred to as the Triduum (Latin for "Three Days"). In some countries Easter lasts two days, Sunday and Monday, called first and second Easter day, or "Easter Monday".
Pentecost is seven weeks after Easter.
Eastern Christianity
In Eastern Christianity, preparations begin with Great Lent. Following the fifth Sunday of Great Lent is Palm Week, which ends with Lazarus Saturday. Lazarus Saturday officially brings Great Lent to a close, although the fast continues for the following week. After Lazarus Saturday comes Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and finally Easter itself, or Pascha, and the fast is broken immediately after the Divine Liturgy. Easter is immediately followed by Bright Week, during which there is no fasting, even on Wednesday and Friday.
Other Celebrations of Easter
As with other Christian dates, Easter is also commercially important, with big sales of confectionery such as chocolate Easter eggs, marshmallow bunnies, Peeps, jelly beans, and greeting cards.
In the United States, the Easter holiday has been secularized, such that the main holiday event for many Americans is the coloring of Easter eggs, followed on Easter Sunday by an Easter egg hunt, in which young children gather the eggs that have been hidden in their homes or yards. According to the children's stories, eggs and other treats are delivered by the Easter Bunny in the form of an Easter basket which children find waiting for them when they wake up on Easter Sunday. The Easter Bunny's motives for doing this are seldom clarified.
Names
Some Germanic languages may have named the holiday after the goddess Eostre, although there is no direct evidence of this. It is equally as likely that the holiday was named after "Eostremonat", which was the spring month it usually occurred in. After all, nobody would presumed that "Good Friday" (which precedes Easter) is named after the Norse goddess Freyja merely because the day "Friday" is named for her.
However, in most Christian-dominated nations, namely the European, the names of Easter are from Hebrew pésah ("Passover"):
- English Easter
- German Ostern
- Greek pasxa
- Latin pascha (or Festa Paschalia)
- French Pâques
- Italian Pasqua
- Lower Rhine German Paisken
- Spanish Pascua
- Scottish Pask
- Gaeilge Caisc
- Dutch Pasen
- Danish Paaske
- Swedish Pask
When is Easter?
See also Computus.
West (Roman Catholic and Protestant)
East (Orthodox)
- 2000 April 23
- 2001 April 15
- 2002 March 31
- 2003 April 20
- 2004 April 11
- 2005 March 27
- 2006 April 16
- 2007 April 7
- 2008 March 24
- 2009 April 12
- 2010 April 4
- 2011 April 24
- 2000 April 30
- 2001 April 15
- 2002 May 5
- 2003 April 27
- 2004 April 11
- 2005 May 1
- 2006 April 23
- 2007 April 8
- 2008 April 27
- 2009 April 19
- 2010 April 4
- 2011 April 24
External links
- Article on Easter in the catholic Encyclopedia
- Frequency of the Date of Easter 1875 to 2124
- Calculation of the Ecclesiastical Calendar
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Easter."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The Last Supper refers to, in Christian theology, the last meal between Jesus and his apostles, which was held just prior to his death. This meal was a Seder or Passover meal, since all participants were Jewish. The time of the supper was that of the feast commemorating the "passing over" of the Angel of Death in Egypt, just prior to the Exodus from Egypt.
In the process of the last supper, Jesus told his disciples, "Do this in remembrance of me." This command was understood by the early Christians as a command to recreate the Last Supper in a remembrance service.
Initially, the remembrance service took the form of agape feasts. Agape is one of the Greek words for love. This service apparently was a full meal, with each participant bringing their own food, with the meal eaten in a common room. Some echoes of this meal remain in fellowship or potluck dinners held at some churches.
This service is known as the Mass or Eucharist in Catholic traditions, and as the Divine Liturgy in Orthodox traditions. The name Eucharist is from the Greek word eucharios which means thanksgiving or thank you. Catholics typically restrict the term 'communion' to the distribution to the commmunicants during the service of the body and blood of Christ.
Within many Protestant traditions, the name Communion is used. This name emphasizes the nature of the service as a "joining in common" between God and humans, due to the sacrifice of Christ Jesus.
A final variation of the name of the service is The Lord's Supper. This name tends to be used by the churches of minimalist traditions, such as those strongly influenced by Zwingli.
See also:
- Sacrament
- Transubstantiation
- Consubstantiation
The Last Supper (La Ultima Cena) is the title of a painting by Leonardo da Vinci. See The Last Supper (Leonardo).
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "The Last Supper."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The Last Supper (in Italian, Il Cenacolo or La Ultima Cena) is a painting by Leonardo da Vinci for his patron Duke Lodovico Sforza. It represents the scene of The Last Supper from the final days of Jesus Christ as depicted in the Christian Bible. The painting is based on John 13:21, in which Jesus announced that one of his disciples would betray him.The work measures 460 x 880 cm and can be found in the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan. Leonardo began work on The Last Supper in 1495 and completed it in 1498.
Leonardo painted The Last Supper on a dry wall rather than on wet plaster, so it is not a true fresco. Because of the method used, the piece has not withstood time very well " within 20 years of completion it already began showing signs of deterioration. It has undergone significant restoration since the 16th century. Because of this it is uncertain whether the faces still resemble Leonardo's original painting.
The most recent restoration took 22 years and on May 28, 1999 the painting was put back on display.
There is a life-sized copy of Leonardo's work in the Viennese Minorite Church.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "The Last Supper (Leonardo)."
Synonym: Last SupperSynonym: Lord's Supper (n). (additional references) |
Crosswords: Last Supper |
| English words defined with "Last Supper": Apostle of the Gentiles, Apostle Paul ♦ Eucharist, Eucharistic liturgy ♦ grail ♦ Holy Grail, Holy Sacrament, Holy Thursday ♦ Liturgy, Lord's Supper ♦ Maundy Thursday ♦ Paul, Paul the Apostle ♦ sacrament of the Eucharist, Saint Paul, Sangraal, Saul, Saul of Tarsus. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "Last Supper": Greal ♦ Point de Judas ♦ Symbols of Saints ♦ VINCI. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | Did he not say at his last supper, take, eat, this is my body (Lady Jane; writing credit: Chris Bryant; David Edgar) For the Last Supper, would they not have gone out for Chinese (Robin Williams: Live on Broadway; writing credit: Robin Williams) | |
Movie/TV Titles | The Last Supper (2000) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Theater & Movies | |
Music |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | St. Cyril (Kirill)-Belozersk Monastery, Holy Gates (1523), with frescoes of Last Supper and Apostles, Kirillov, Russia. Credit: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540. |  | Santa Maria delle Grazie. Refectory containing picture of Last supper by Leonardo da Vinci. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | The Last supper. Credit: Library of Congress. | ||
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Author | Date | Quotation |
Treaty of Versailles | 1919 | Bavon at Ghent, now in the Berlin Museum; (2) The leaves of the triptych of the Last Supper, painted by Dierick Bouts, formerly in the Church of St. (reference) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Expression using "Last Supper": the last supper. Additional references. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "Last Supper"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Arabic | العشاء الأخير (the last supper). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | тайната вечеря (the holy supper, the last supper). (various references) | |
French | sainte cène. (various references) | |
Greek | μυστικόσ δείπνοσ (lord's supper). (various references) | |
Hungarian | utolsó vacsora. (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 最後の晩餐 (the Last Supper). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | さい"のば"さ" (the Last Supper). (various references) | |
Manx | Yn Shibber Jerrinagh (The Last Supper). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | astlay uppersay.(various references) | |
Turkish | hazreti isa'nın son akşam yemeği (the last supper, the supper). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-e-l-p-p-r-s-s-t-u" | |
-2 letters: appulses, pasteups, pastures, persalts, perusals, plasters, psalters, pulsates, purplest, saluters, slappers, spurtles, staplers, supplest, upstares. | |
-3 letters: appulse, artless, estrual, lappers, lappets, lapsers, lasters, lusters, lustres, palters, papules, pastels, pasters, pasteup, pasture, paupers, pausers, persalt, perusal, petasus, plaster, platers, pleuras, psalter, pulpers, pulsars, pulsate, pulsers, pupates, purples, rappels, repasts, results, rustles, salters, saluter. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-e-l-p-p-r-s-s-t-u" | |
+1 letter: supplanters. | |
+2 letters: superplastic. | |
+4 letters: superdiplomats, superspectacle. | |
+5 letters: superplasticity, superspecialist, superspectacles. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Quotations: Historic | 9. Expressions 10. Expressions: Internet 11. Translations: Modern 12. Anagrams | 13. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
