About the relevance of the festival of Easter

The whole of the Christian community celebrate Easter to commemorate the death and the immediate reappearance of Jesus Christ. It is believed that Jesus was the son of God and he died for people’s sin but so powerful that he did not stayed dead and defeating death, after three days he rose from the death bed to fight against the evil. In a nutshell, we can say that Easter is celebrated for death of Jesus for people’s sin and his resurrection. And, that’s the reason that most people calls Easter resurrection day. And it is commonly believed that those who repose faith in Jesus will get the opportunity to travel to the path of heaven.

Easter 2020

Easter this year in 2020 will be celebrated on 12th of April. The date for Easter changes every Year and it follows the lunar calendar. It is always celebrated between 22nd of April to 25th of April every year and it always falls on the first Sunday which follows the first full Moon of the spring equinox. Also Good Friday is observed just before the Easter Sunday and this year in 2020, it is falling on 10th of April.

Significance

The week in which Easter falls is considered as Holy Week and this week consists of Maundy Thursday, last Supper and Good Friday. According to the western Christianity the Easter season starting from the Easter Sunday lasts for seven weeks while in the Eastern Christianity, it is Pascha when the season of Pascha begins and it ends on the 40th day called as the Feast of the Ascension.

The Easter holidays are not fixed either in the Gregorian or the Julian calendars which are in accordance only with the cycle of the Sun. And, therefore, its dates are determined by the Lunisolar calendars which is similar to the Hebrew calendar.

Easter Traditions

Both by the position of the Easter in calendar and by much of its representation the festival of Easter is linked to Jewish Passover. And, for that reason, in many of the languages, the words Easter and Passover are used quite synonymously. The traditions and customs of Eastern vary across Christianity which includes sunrise services, Paschal greeting, decorating the Easter eggs and clipping the church. In the Christian world, Easter lily symbolises resurrection and it is generally used to decorate the chancel area of the Church. Some other customs of the Easter which are celebrated by both the Christian and a few of the non-Christian is Easter bunny, Easter parades and Egg hunting. Besides that, there are also a plenty of traditional foods associated with Easter that vary from region to region.

Why are Easter Eggs Given?

As per the earlier traditions, eggs were prohibited during this Holy Week and if any egg, laid during the week was saved and embellished so as to be given as Easter gift to children. The Victorians were the one who adapted the tradition of decorating eggs with cardboard eggs covered with satin and filled with gifts. In 19th century, in Germany and France, the first chocolate egg appeared.