Easter is observed on the first Sunday following the full moon after the vernal equinox. Considered Christianity’s most important holy day, it celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Depending on which calendar a church follows, some will celebrate Easter earlier than others.
Then during Holy Week, the Sunday before Easter is known as Palm Sunday. It commemorates Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem on a donkey just 5 days before He was crucified. Maundy Thursday remembers Jesus’s last supper, Good Friday is the day of the crucifixion, Holy Saturday is the time span between the crucifixion and the resurrection and Easter Sunday.
HOW TO OBSERVE
If you choose, you can participate in any number of church services. Dye eggs with children and have an Easter egg hunt. Local communities hold annual Easter egg hunts as well, so check your local social media, newspapers and community listings for dates and times. Use #Easter to share on social media.
HISTORY
Before Easter, Passover was the primary holy day celebrated, and it is closely linked with Easter. Jesus’s last supper was a Passover meal. By the 2nd century, Easter (Pascha) was being celebrated alongside Passover as well as pagan spring festivals.
The tradition of an Easter Bunny comes from medieval Germany where the Osterhase or Easter Hare would lay it’s colorful eggs in nests prepared by children. Immigrants in the 18th-century settling in the Dutch Pennsylvania countryside brought this fable and tradition with them to the United States.
Dying eggs is a tradition that dates back thousands of years across many cultures. Eggs have long been a symbol of rebirth, fertility and life springing forth. Today Easter egg hunts take place across the country, and it is not unusual to see a giant Easter Bunny surrounded by children in their Sunday best getting their pictures taken.
