Related Terms • Jesus • Passover • Lent • Ash Wednesday • Clean Monday • resurrection

Definition:
In Christianity, the Easter celebration is held to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus, which Christians believe happened three days after he was buried, having been crucified by Roman authorities just outside of Jerusalem. Easter takes place at the same time as Jewish Passover and, as such, is not a fixed date on the calendar but instead moves around. Because of its connection to Passover, Easter is also sometimes referred to as Pascha, a word that appears in both Latin and Greek but comes from the Hebrew Pesah, or Passover.

Setting the Date
Before 325 CE, Christian communities celebrated Easter on a variety of different days of the week, but the Council of Nicea, called together by Emperor Constantine, issued the "Easter Rule" which standardized Easter observance to the first Sunday after the first full moon (known as th paschal moon) on or after the vernal equinox. This "full moon" is not defined in a scientific manner, however - it is an "ecclesiastical full moon" and the "ecclesiastical vernal equinox" is always on March 21st. This means that Easter always occurs on a Sunday between March 22nd and April 25th, signaling the end of the season of Lent.

Calculations for Easter in Eastern Orthodox churches is slightly different because even those that otherwise use the Gregorian calendar still use the Julian calendar for dating the equinox. Thus, while their Easter can fall on the same date as Eastern for Western churches, in reality it can be one, four, or even five weeks later.

Finally, there were also the Quatrodecimens, a group of Christian whose churches in Asia Minor celebrated Easter on the 14th day of the Jewish month of Nisan, essentially making Easter a Christian Passover. Important Quatrodecimens included Polycarp of Smyrna and Apollinaris of Hierapolis. Although the Council of Nicea was supposed to settle the date of Easter for all Christians, there is evidence of Quatrodecimens continuing their tradition down through the 5th century.

Traditions
Although Easter is just one day in the liturgical calendar, in reality preparations for Easter take place throughout the 40 days of Lent and it plays a central role in the following 50 days of Pentecost (also known as the Easter season). Thus, Easter can rightly be regarded as the central day in the entire Christian calendar.

Although Easter is probably the oldest Christian celebration aside from the Sabbath, it wasn't always the same as what people currently think of when they look at Easter services. The earliest known observances, known as Pasch, occurred between the 2nd and 4th centuries. These celebrations commemorated both Jesus' death and his resurrection at once, whereas these two events have been split up between Good Friday and Eastern Sunday today.

Early Christian church services included a vigil service before the Eucharist. The vigil service included a series of psalms and readings, but it is no longer observed every Sunday; instead, Roman Catholics observe it only one day of the year, on Easter. Aside from the psalms and readings, the service also includes the lighting of a paschal candle and the blessing of the baptismal font in the church.

There is a deep connection between Easter and baptism because, during the time of early Christianity, the season of Lent was used by those who wanted to become Christians (catechumens) to prepare for their baptisms on Easter day - the only day of the year when baptisms for new Christians were performed. This is why the blessing of the baptismal font on Easter night is so important today and why those who have been recently baptized continue their catechetical formation through mystagogia.

Easter retains great importance for Eastern Orthodox and Protestant churches as well. For Eastern Orthodox Christians, there is an important procession which symbolizes the failed search for the body of Jesus, followed a return to the church were lit candles symbolize Jesus' resurrection. Many Protestant churches hold interdenominational services in order to focus on the unity of all Christians and as part of a culmination of special church services throughout Holy Week.

Easter is treated not simply as a commemoration of events that occurred at one time in the past. Instead, Easter is regarded as a living symbol of the very nature of Christianity. During Easter, Christians believe that they symbolically pass through death and into a new life (spiritually) in Jesus Christ, just as Jesus passed through death and after three days rose from the dead.

Pagan Influences
Not all Easter traditions are Christian in nature. Many are pagan "imports" and, even then, many pagan and Christian traditions have been secularized over time. The Easter Bunny, for example, derives from the worship of the Anglo-Saxon goddess of fertility Eastre (hence the name Easter) whose natural symbol was the rabbit. Use of the Easter Bunny was brought to America by German immigrants - non-German Christians ignored the rabbit until some time after the Civil War when the celebration of Easter became more widespread.

Easter Eggs also predate Christian Easter celebrations. Pagan groups long exchanged eggs at some point near the beginning of Spring as symbol of fertility and the hope that the coming summer crops would be good. These eggs were also often painted with bright colors to represent the colors of spring, from the blooming flowers and the bright sun (remember that in the northern regions there is much less sunlight during the winter). Different cultures today color their eggs in different ways. For example, in Greece it is common to exchange eggs which have been colored crimson to represent the blood of Christ. Slavic countries tend to decorate their eggs with gold and silver and in parts of Germany and Austria, people exchange green eggs on Holy Thursday.

History
Did the events during the "original" Easter - Jesus' resurrection - happen as portrayed in the New Testament? That is doubtful at best. The accounts offered in the gospels and in the letters from Paul vary in a great many ways and it is not possible to adequately reconcile them. Dan Barker, a former preacher and currently head of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, has a standing challenge to believers and pastors: using only the information contained in those sources, adding nothing and removing nothing, give a coherent account of what happened on that first Easter. So far, no one has succeeded. All attempts require either making up new "facts," or ignoring certain inconvenient data.

Upcoming Easters:

Easter 2003

Ash Wednesday: March 5
Clean Monday: March 10
Feast of the Annunciation: March 25
(Western) Palm Sunday: April 13
(Western) Maundy Thursday: April 17
Good Friday: April 18
Holy Saturday: April 19
(Orthodox) Lazarus Saturday: April 19
(Western) Easter Sunday: April 20
(Orthodox) Palm Sunday: April 13
(Orthodox) Maundy Thursday: April 24
(Orthodox) Holy Great Friday: April 18
(Orthodox) Easter Sunday: April 27

Easter 2004

Ash Wednesday: February 25
Palm Sunday: April 4
Maundy Thursday: April 8
Good Friday: April 9
Holy Saturday: April 10
(Western) Easter Sunday: April 11
(Orthodox) Easter Sunday: April 11

Easter 2005

Ash Wednesday: February 9
Palm Sunday: March 20
Maundy Thursday: March 24
Good Friday: March 25
Holy Saturday: March 26
(Western) Easter Sunday: March 27
(Orthodox) Easter Sunday: May 1

Also Known As: none

Alternate Spellings: none

Common Misspellings: none

Related Resources:

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