What is Easter?

Many of us know Easter as the Easter bunny, Cadbury eggs, Peeps and Easter Egg Hunts.  But there is more to Easter than just candy.  Read on if you’d like to learn more.

Easter is the most important annual religious feast in the Christian liturgical year.  According to Christian scripture, Jesus was resurrected from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. Some Christians celebrate this resurrection on Easter Day orEaster Sunday, two days after Good Friday and three days after Maundy Thursday. The chronology of his death and resurrection is variously interpreted to be between AD 26 and AD 36. Easter also refers to the season of the church year called Eastertide or theEaster Season. Traditionally the Easter Season lasted for the forty days from Easter Day until Ascension Day but now officially lasts for the fifty days untilPentecost. The first week of the Easter Season is known as Easter Week or the Octave of Easter. Easter also marks the end of Lent, a season of fasting, prayer, and penance.

Easter is linked to the Jewish Passover not only for much of its symbolism but also for its position in the calendar. In most European languages the feast called Easter in English is termed by the words for passover in those languages and in the older English versions of the Bible the term Easter was the term used to translate passover.

Easter is a moveable feast, meaning it is not fixed in relation to the civil calendar. The date of  Easter varies between March 22 and April 25.

Relatively newer elements such as the Easter Bunny, Easter egg hunts and the giving of gift baskets have become part of the holiday’s modern celebrations, and those aspects are often celebrated by many Christians and non-Christians alike. There are also some Christian denominations who do not celebrate Easter.

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