Easter

What is Easter?	Celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ
Who celebrates it?	Christians and many cultural traditions
How is it celebrated?	Church services, family meals, Easter egg decoration and gifts
When does it happen?	Changes each year – in 2025 it will be on April 20

Easter, also called Pasch or Pascha, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday that celebrates the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. According to the Bible's New Testament, this amazing event happened three days after Jesus was crucified by the Romans around the year 30 AD. Easter marks the end of a special time called Lent, a 40-day period of fasting, prayer, and penance that leads up to this joyful day.

Christians around the world observe Easter in many different ways. The week before Easter, known as Holy Week, is very important. In Western Christianity, it begins with Palm Sunday, remembering when Jesus entered Jerusalem. It includes Maundy Thursday, marking the Last Supper, and Good Friday, the day of Jesus' crucifixion. Easter Sunday itself is the start of a seven-week season called Eastertide, ending with Pentecost Sunday.

Easter does not happen on the same date every year—it moves based on a special calendar calculation. It is always the first Sunday after the first full moon that occurs on or after the March equinox. Because of this, Easter is closely linked to the Jewish holiday of Passover, sharing similar symbols and traditions.

Many fun and meaningful customs are associated with Easter. People attend sunrise services or late-night vigils, exchange special greetings, decorate churches with Easter lilies, and enjoy Easter eggs—which represent the empty tomb where Jesus' body was placed before he rose again. In many places, children participate in egg hunts, and the Easter Bunny is a popular symbol. Easter is also a time for special meals that vary from country to country.

Etymology

Main articles: [Ēostre] and [Names of Easter]

The word "Easter" comes from an old English word that was used for a month around April. An historian named Bede wrote that this month was named after a goddess called Ēostre.

In many other languages, Easter is called "Pascha." This word comes from a Jewish holiday called Passover, which celebrates the time the Jewish people left slavery in Egypt. Early Christians used this word to talk about Jesus' resurrection. Some people also call Easter "Resurrection Sunday" because it celebrates Jesus coming back to life.

Theological significance

A stained-glass window depicting the Passover Lamb, a concept integral to the foundation of Easter

Easter celebrates Jesus' supernatural resurrection from the dead, which is a key belief in Christianity. It is thought that through faith in Jesus, believers can live a new kind of life and hope for eternal salvation and life in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Easter is connected to the holiday of Passover and the story of the Exodus from Egypt in the Old Testament. During the Last Supper, Jesus shared bread and wine with his followers, giving them new meaning as symbols of his body and blood. This event helped prepare them for his upcoming death.

Early Christianity

The Last Supper (1495–1498). Mural, tempera on gesso, pitch and mastic, 700 x 880 cm (22.9 x 28.8 ft). In the Santa Maria delle Grazie Church, Milan, Italy, it is Leonardo da Vinci's dramatic interpretation of Jesus' last meal before death. The Last Supper celebrated by Jesus and his disciples. The early Christians, too, would have celebrated this meal to commemorate Jesus's death and subsequent resurrection.

The first Christians celebrated the resurrection of Jesus in relation to the Jewish Passover festival. By the mid-2nd century, Easter, also known as Pascha, had become a well-established Christian festival. One of the earliest writings about Easter is a homily by Melito of Sardis, which describes the celebration as a long-standing tradition.

Martyrs in early Christianity were honored on fixed dates, but the date of Easter was determined using the Jewish lunisolar calendar. This shows that Easter became part of Christianity during its early Jewish period.

Date

Main articles: Date of Easter and List of dates for Easter

A five-part Russian Orthodox icon depicting the Easter story. Eastern Orthodox Christians use a different computation for the date of Easter from the Western churches.

Easter and holidays related to it are moveable feasts, meaning they do not fall on a fixed date in the Gregorian or Julian calendars. Instead, the date for Easter is determined on a lunisolar calendar similar to the Hebrew calendar.

The precise date of Easter has sometimes been controversial. In the early church, different regions celebrated it on different days. Over time, leaders tried to find a common date. The First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD helped settle this, deciding Easter should be on the first Sunday after the full moon following the spring equinox.

Today, most Western Christians use the Gregorian calendar to calculate Easter, which always falls on a Sunday between March 22 and April 25. Eastern Orthodox Christians use the Julian calendar, which can make their Easter fall from April 4 to May 8 in the Gregorian calendar. This means Orthodox Easter can sometimes be on the same day as Western Easter, a week later, or even several weeks later.

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Position in the church year

Further information: Liturgical year

In Western Christianity, Easter is preceded by Lent, a 40-day period of fasting and prayer that begins on Ash Wednesday. The week before Easter, called Holy Week, is very important. It starts with Palm Sunday, when people welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem. The days leading up to Easter include Maundy Thursday, remembering the Last Supper, and Good Friday, remembering Jesus' crucifixion. Easter itself celebrates Jesus' resurrection.

In Eastern Christianity, the time leading up to Easter is called Great Lent, starting on Clean Monday. The celebration of Easter begins late on Holy Saturday night during the Paschal Vigil. The days following Easter are known as Bright Week, a time of joy and celebration.

Liturgical observance

The Easter festival is celebrated in many ways among Western Christians. For Roman Catholics, Lutherans, and some Anglicans, the observance begins on the night of Holy Saturday with the Easter Vigil, a service with candles, light, and readings from the Bible. Services also continue on Easter Sunday and sometimes Easter Monday. Some churches hold sunrise services, often in open areas where the sunrise can be seen.

Christian worshippers attend an Easter Sunday church service at St James's Church, Piccadilly, London. The cross in the chancel is draped with a white shroud, symbolizing the resurrection.

Eastern Orthodox, Eastern Catholics, and Byzantine Rite Lutherans also place great importance on Easter. Their preparation begins with Great Lent, a period of fasting and prayer. The Orthodox Easter service starts late on Saturday night, symbolizing the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The church is dark until the priest lights a candle, and the service includes a special procession. The fasting ends with a feast on Easter Sunday.

Some Christian groups, such as Puritans, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Quakers, do not observe Easter. They believe it either has origins not directly supported by the Bible or that all days should be treated equally. Instead, Jehovah’s Witnesses hold a commemorative service to remember the Last Supper and Christ’s death, while Quakers view every day as the Lord’s Day and do not elevate specific days for celebration.

Easter celebrations around the world

Easter is celebrated in many different ways around the world. People often have special meals and decorations to mark the holiday. Common traditions include attending sunrise services, decorating churches with flowers, and exchanging greetings. One popular activity is decorating and hunting for Easter eggs, which symbolize new life and the empty tomb of Jesus.

In many countries, Easter is a public holiday. Good Friday and Easter Monday are often days off work and school. Each country has its own special foods and customs. For example, in Sweden and Denmark families might have a big meal with herring and salmon, while in Finland they enjoy roasted lamb and a special Easter treat called mämmi. In Italy, families eat lamb and special Easter bread called Colomba di Pasqua.