Easter laughter: the hilarious and controversial medieval history of religious jokes

[Still Waters]

Quote

Just how serious is Easter? For non-churchgoers (like myself) with a sweet tooth (guilty, again) the answer to this question is probably: not very, although the chocolate eggs are welcome. For the more devout, Easter is an incredibly serious business.

And yet, there has always been scope for joy and laughter in Easter celebrations. The early Christian tradition of risus paschalis – Easter laughter – is alive and well in congregations around the world. Historically-minded preachers hark back to the view, first offered by the Church Fathers, that Jesus’s resurrection represents the ultimate practical joke, played by God on the devil: the triumph of life over death, of good over evil.

But what interests me more, as someone who researches the cultural history of joking and laughter, is the controversial status Easter laughter once held. In late medieval Europe, priests provoked the laughter of their congregations on Easter Day by telling crude jokes, making obscene gestures and putting on slapstick comedic performances. According to one contemporary witness, preachers often spiced up these occasions by pitting husbands and wives against each other.

https://theconversation.com/easter-laughter-the-hilarious-and-controversial-medieval-history-of-religious-jokes-179401

[docyabut2]

Just how serious is Easter?

Good Friday is Jesus `s cruifixion,    Easter is the third day he arosed from the dead.resurrection,  its not funny 

 

  

Edited April 14, 2022 by docyabut2

[jmccr8]

1 hour ago, docyabut2 said:

Just how serious is Easter?

Good Friday is Jesus `s cruifixion,    Easter is the third day he arosed from the dead.resurrection,  its not funny 

Hi Docy

I don't mock your faith and encourage you to find something that gives you value in life.

I think the Jesus story is a good learning principal from an evolving inter-cultural exchange process. One god is inclusive of all men and all men know regret for their actions/words and reflects society. god= judge, Jesus = our defense and Satan = prosecutor and we are the guilty. I have no interest in causing harm unless it is in defense of those I love because I love them and others that I may not as an oath to my country, none the less I love them all in one way or another.

[+joc]

I think that saying that I gave up cleaning out the clothes dryer for Lent is funny.  

[Abramelin]

Easter was originally a fertility thing. Just think: a bunny... with eggs.

I hope most of you know what rabbits are good at: making lots more rabbits