The History of Easter Laughter

May you laugh in church? The church fathers said ‘no’, but the question resurfaced thanks to a German custom of making the congregation laugh on Easter morning. In 1518, Oecolampadius wrote a book in which Easter Laughter is described for the first time. Until now, his Latin text has never been translated. This study provides a historical account of Easter Laughter in the Early Modern period, traces the controversy it sparked between Catholics and Protestants in the following centuries, and offe