Pasquale Pasquale Pasquale is a masculine Italian given name and a surname mainly found in southern Italy. It is a cognate of the French name Pascal, the Spanish Pascual, the Portuguese Pascoal and the Catalan Pasqual. Pasquale derives from the Latin "paschalis" or "pashalis", which means "relating to Easter", from Latin "pascha" ("Easter"), Greek "Πάσχα", Aramaic "pasḥā", in turn from the Hebrew "פֶּסַח", which means "to be born on, or to be associated with, Passover day". Since the Hebrew holiday Passover coincides closely with the later Christian holiday of Easter, the Latin word came to be used for both occasions. The
Easter Drama known as the Easter Plays. Since the element of worldly amusement predominated more and more (a development of which Gerhoh of Reichersberg complained as early as the 12th century), the ecclesiastical authorities began to prohibit the production of Easter Plays in the churches. It became necessary to separate them from church services, because of their length, which increased greatly, particularly after the introduction of the story of the Passion. Fragments of an Easter Play in Latin dating from the 13th century are found in the Benedictbeurn Easter Play, also in that of Klosterneuburg, both of which, probably, go back to