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Mar 31, 2023 · Getty Images. Easter traditions make a splash in Poland. In Poland, people throw water over each other on Easter Monday. It's known as Wet Monday and happens in many other countries too. It's a ...
- Easter: What is it and how is it celebrated? - BBC Newsround
Easter is the most important festival in the Christian...
- Easter traditions around the world - CBBC Newsround
Kite flying is an easter tradition across the world. Bermuda...
- Easter: What is it and how is it celebrated? - BBC Newsround
Mar 29, 2024 · Easter is the most important festival in the Christian calendar, and is celebrated by thousands of people all over the world. It marks Jesus rising from the dead, after dying on a wooden cross ...
Apr 19, 2019 · Kite flying is an easter tradition across the world. Bermuda has a long tradition of flying kites around Easter time. The Caribbean country has special festivals on Good Friday where people make ...
- Overview
- The date of Easter and its controversies
Easter is one of the principal holidays, or feasts, of Christianity. It marks the Resurrection of Jesus three days after his death by crucifixion. For many Christian churches, Easter is the joyful end to the Lenten season of fasting and penitence. The earliest recorded observance of Easter comes from the 2nd century, though it is likely that even the earliest Christians commemorated the Resurrection, which is an integral tenet of the faith.
Why is Easter celebrated?
Easter is celebrated by Christians as a joyous holiday because it represents the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Old Testament and the revelation of God’s salvific plan for all of humankind. In commemorating the Resurrection of Jesus, Easter also celebrates the defeat of death and the hope of salvation. Christian tradition holds that the sins of humanity were paid for by the death of Jesus and that his Resurrection represents the anticipation believers can have in their own resurrection.
When is Easter?
In 325 the Council of Nicaea decreed that Easter should be observed on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox (March 21). Easter, therefore, can fall on any Sunday between March 22 and April 25. Eastern Orthodox churches use a slightly different calculation based on the Julian calendar. As a result, the Orthodox Easter celebration usually occurs later than that of Roman Catholics and Protestants.
Why is Easter called Easter?
Fixing the date on which the Resurrection of Jesus was to be observed and celebrated triggered a major controversy in early Christianity in which an Eastern and a Western position can be distinguished. The dispute, known as the Paschal controversies, was not definitively resolved until the 8th century. In Asia Minor, Christians observed the day of the Crucifixion on the same day that Jews celebrated the Passover offering—that is, on the 14th day of the first full moon of spring, 14 Nisan (see Jewish calendar). The Resurrection, then, was observed two days later, on 16 Nisan, regardless of the day of the week. In the West the Resurrection of Jesus was celebrated on the first day of the week, Sunday, when Jesus had risen from the dead. Consequently, Easter was always celebrated on the first Sunday after the 14th day of the month of Nisan. Increasingly, the churches opted for the Sunday celebration, and the Quartodecimans (“14th day” proponents) remained a minority. The Council of Nicaea in 325 decreed that Easter should be observed on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox (March 21). Easter, therefore, can fall on any Sunday between March 22 and April 25.
Eastern Orthodox churches use a slightly different calculation based on the Julian rather than the Gregorian calendar (which is 13 days ahead of the former), with the result that the Orthodox Easter celebration usually occurs later than that celebrated by Protestants and Roman Catholics. Moreover, the Orthodox tradition prohibits Easter from being celebrated before or at the same time as Passover.
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Pop Quiz: 19 Things to Know About Christianity
Easter lilies, a symbol of the resurrection, adorning the chancel in a Lutheran church in Baltimore Flowered cross prepared for Easter Sunday. Easter traditions (also known as Paschal traditions) are customs and practices that are followed in various cultures and communities around the world to celebrate Easter (also known as Pascha or Resurrection Sunday), which is the central feast in ...
Apr 2, 2022 · Like its festive and spooky cousins, Christmas and Halloween, Easter evolved over centuries, blending Christian and non-Christian elements together. Hence the origins of the springtime celebration are far more complicated than you might expect, due in part to misconceptions which continue to circulate. So, let’s put the bunnies, eggs and all ...
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Feb 25, 2021 · The night before Easter, Christians have a vigil that begins somber; but when morning comes, dancing and music breaks out! In Ethiopia, Christian churches celebrate Faskia, which is the 55 days leading up to Easter. Faskia is actually a bigger deal to people than Christmas, and that’s why it’s celebrated longer than our Easter in the U.S.
