Easter

What is Easter?

Christians believe that when Jesus was crucified, his death was not final. Easter is the celebration of Jesus Christ's return to life on the third day after his crucifixion which took place on the day we know as Good Friday. According to the bible, Jesus appeared to his disciples several times, before he ascended into heaven.

Easter is usually celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon following the Vernal or Spring Equinox on March 21st. This can be any Sunday between March 22nd and April 25th. It is the most sacred of all the Christian holidays and is celebrated with many small rituals including a traditional Easter breakfast and Easter egg hunts.

Christ's return from death is known as the Resurrection. Jesus died on Good Friday. According to the scriptures, Christ's tomb was empty three days after his death – he had risen. His followers saw him and talked to him after this. Christians believe that through his death, Jesus has ensured that they too will have an everlasting life in Heaven after their earthly death.

Lent:

Lent is the forty days special season prior to Easter Sunday. Sundays are not counted because it is the Lord's Day and should be celebrated and therefore there is no fasting. Lent is a period of fasting or doing without certain foods, praying and repentance. This is to serve as a reminder of the forty days Jesus fasted in the

wilderness. Some countries have celebrations like the Mardi Gras, which means "Fat Tuesday" in French, the day before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. It is also called "Carnival" sometimes. While the largest celebration is probably in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, that in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, is probably the most spectacular.

The Holy Week:

The Holy Week is the last week of Lent. It begins with the observance of Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter Sunday. The name, Palm Sunday originated from Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. The crowd laid
carpets of palms on the street for him.

The Last Supper is commemorated on Holy Thursday of special week (often called Maundy Thursday) and Friday is the anniversary of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on the cross. The Lenten season and Holy Week, end with Easter Sunday (the Resurrection of Jesus Christ).

Easter around the World:

Easter was called Pesach by early Christians. It is the Hebrew name for Passover. Today, the name for Easter in many cultures in Europe are similar to the word Pesach. For example in France it is known as Paques, in Albania it is known as Pashke, in Norway it is called Passke and in Holland it is called Pasen.
The English name "Easter" is much newer. Before Christianity in early England, the people
celebrated the vernal equinox with a feast honouring Eostre, the Pagan goddess of spring.

When the early English Christians wanted others to accept Christianity, they decided to use the name Easter for this holiday so that it would match the name of the old spring celebration. This made it more
comfortable for other people to accept Christianity. Some believed that the word Easter came from an early German word "eostarun", meaning dawn and white. Newly baptized Christians wore white clothes as a sign of their new life on Easter.

Easter's Ancient Roots

Although of course Easter is a Christian festival, it has many pre-Christian, Pagan traditions. While the origin of its name is uncertain, some scholars accept the derivation proposed by the 8th
century English scholar St. Bede, also known as The Venerable Bede, whose tomb is in the magnificent Durham Cathedral in North-East England.

Bede believed the name probably came from Eostre. A month was dedicated to her, corresponding to our month of April. Her festival was celebrated on the day of the vernal equinox and traditions associated with the festival live on in the modern day Easter rabbit, a symbol of fertility, and in coloured Easter eggs.

These were originally painted with brilliant colours to represent the warmth and sunlight of spring, and used in Easter-egg rolling contests or given as gifts.

Easter festival

celebrations probably embody a number of other traditions occurring at around the same time. Most scholars speak of the relationship of Easter to the Jewish festival of Passover, or Pesach in Hebrew. The Passover celebrates the safe flight of the Israelites out of Egypt and across the Red Sea, lead of course by Moses, and as described in the Book of Exodus.