Janet’s post Easter Day – From Tragedy To Triumph is a fine account of a very memorable Easter celebration.
In most years the daffodils have been yellow – this year’s late Easter probably helps to explain the change of colour.
White is, however, a traditional colour for Easter.
In his poem ‘Loveliest of trees’ A.E. Housman (1859–1936) exploits this:
Loveliest of trees, the cherry now
Is hung with bloom along the bough,
And stands about the woodland ride
Wearing white for Eastertide.
(A Shropshire Lad, poem no. 2, stanza 1)
The article A. E. Housman includes the whole poem.
In many churches altar frontals and some other decorations are white at Easter, whereas different colours are used at many other times and seasons. See for example, the tables in this article on liturgical colours.
Easter is widely thought of as being over after the Easter Monday Bank Holiday. In fact the Easter season (or Eastertide) continues right through to Pentecost (or Whitsun). By the way, the ‘tide’ part of ‘Eastertide’ is derived from an Anglo-Saxon word meaning ‘time’, ‘period’ or ‘season’.
Thank you Hugh for this educational post. I’ve never realised the significance of white for Easter until now. I love the topic of colour and the cross-culture significance of colour. Please continue to enlighten us. Thank you.