easter is celebrated on the weekend after the first full moon that follows march 21. that means in some years it‘s in late march, and other years in april. the word easter comes from the old english name for the saxon1 goddess of dawn called eostre. she was worshipped(敬奉) in the spring. in canada, the easter season is also a time for celebrating the rebirth of nature. the long cold winter is beginning to melt into(融合) spring.

　　while all canadians celebrate the return of the warm weather, there is another meaning to easter. christians rejoice2 because they believe that jesus christ rose from the dead on easter sunday three days after he was crucified(钉十字架上处死) on good friday. to celebrate the miracle3 of his resurrection(复活), they attend churches filled with candles and white lilies (百合花) on easter sunday. the lilies symbolize (象征) hope and rebirth. a lot of communities (社会) have easter parades (*), some religious, others with brightly decorated floats(彩车), costumes4 and hats.