Easter From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This article is about the Christian festival.

For other uses, see Easter (disamb iguation). Page semi-protected Easter RabulaGospelsCrucifixion.jpg 6th century depiction of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus from the Rabbula Gospels Type Christian, cultural Significance Celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Celebrations Church services, festive family meals, Easter egg hunts and gift -giving Observances Prayer, all-night vigil, sunrise service 2013 date 31 March (Western) 5 May (Eastern) 2014 date 20 April (Western) 20 April (Eastern) 2015 date 5 April (Western) 12 April (Eastern) Related to Passover, of which it is regarded the Christian equivalent; Sept uagesima, Sexagesima, Quinquagesima, Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, Clean Monday , Lent, Great Lent, Palm Sunday, Holy Week, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Ho ly Saturday which lead up to Easter; and Thomas Sunday, Ascension, Pentecost, Tr inity Sunday, and Corpus Christi which follow it. Easter[nb 1] (Old English Eostre; Latin: Pascha; Greek ??s?a Paskha, the latter two derived from Hebrew: ??????? Pesa?[1]) is a Christian festival and holiday c elebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his crucifixi on at Calvary as described in the New Testament.[2][3] Easter is the culmination of the Passion of Christ, preceded by Lent, a forty-day period of fasting, pray er, and penance. The last week of Lent is called Holy Week, and it contains the days of the Easte r Triduum, including Maundy Thursday (also known as Holy Thursday), commemoratin g the Last Supper and its preceding foot washing,[4][5] as well as Good Friday, commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus.[6] Easter is followed by a fif ty-day period called Eastertide, or the Easter Season, ending with Pentecost Sun day. Easter is a moveable feast, meaning it is not fixed in relation to the civil cal endar. The First Council of Nicaea (325) established the date of Easter as the f irst Sunday after the full moon (the Paschal Full Moon) following the March equi nox.[7] Ecclesiastically, the equinox is reckoned to be on 21 March (although th e astronomical equinox occurs on 20 March in most years), and the "Full Moon" is not necessarily on the astronomically correct date. The date of Easter therefor e varies between 22 March and 25 April inclusive. Eastern Christianity bases its calculations on the Julian calendar, whose 21 March corresponds, during the 21s t century, to 3 April in the Gregorian calendar, and in which therefore the cele bration of Easter varies between 4 April and 8 May. Easter is linked to the Jewish Passover by much of its symbolism, as well as by its position in the calendar. In many languages, the words for "Easter" and "Pas sover" are identical or very similar.[8] Easter customs vary across the Christia n world, and include sunrise services, exclaiming the Paschal greeting, clipping the church[9] and decorating Easter eggs, a symbol of the empty tomb.[10][11][1 2] Additional customs that have become associated with Easter and are observed b y both Christians and some non-Christians include egg hunting, the Easter Bunny, and Easter parades.[13][14][15][16] Contents [hide] 1 Etymology 2 Theological significance 3 In the early Church

4 Date 4.1 Computations 4.2 Controversies over the date 4.3 First Council of Nicaea (325 AD) 4.4 Reform of the date 4.5 Table of the dates of Easter 5 Position in the church year 5.1 Western Christianity 5.2 Eastern Christianity 6 Religious observance 6.1 Western Christianity 6.2 Eastern Christianity 7 Non-observing and Nonconformist Christian groups 8 Easter celebrations around the world 9 See also 10 Footnotes 11 References 12 External links Etymology Main article: Names of Easter The modern English term Easter, cognate with modern German Ostern, developed fro m the Old English word Eastre or Eostre.[nb 2] This is generally held to have or iginally referred to the name of an Anglo-Saxon goddess, Eostre, a form of the w idely attested Indo-European dawn goddess.[nb 3] In both Greek and Latin, the 2nd-century Christian celebration was called Pascha , derived, through Aramaic, from the Hebrew term Pesach (??????), known in Engli sh as Passover, the Jewish festival commemorating the story of the Exodus.[20][2 1] Paul writes from Ephesus that "Christ our Pascha has been sacrificed for us", although the Ephesian Christians were not the first to hear that Exodus 12 spok e about the death of Jesus.[22] In most of the non-English speaking world, the f east today is known by the name Pascha and words derived from it.[1][23] Theological significance Part of a series on Christianity Jesus depicted as the Good Shepherd Jesus Christ [show] Bible Foundations [show] Theology[show] History Tradition [show] Related topics[show] Denominations Groups [show] P christianity.svg Christianity Portal v t e The New Testament teaches that the resurrection of Jesus, which Easter celebrate s, is a foundation of the Christian faith.[24] The resurrection established Jesu s as the powerful Son of God[25] and is cited as proof that God will judge the w orld in righteousness.[26][27] God has given Christians "a new birth into a livi ng hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead".[28] Christians, through faith in the working of God are spiritually resurrected with Jesus so t hat they may walk in a new way of life.[27][29] Easter is linked to the Passover and Exodus from Egypt recorded in the Old Testa ment through the Last Supper and crucifixion that preceded the resurrection.[23] According to the New Testament, Jesus gave the Passover meal a new meaning, as he prepared himself and his disciples for his death in the upper room during the

Last Supper.[23] He identified the matzah and cup of wine as his body soon to b e sacrificed and his blood soon to be shed. Paul states, "Get rid of the old yea st that you may be a new batch without yeast as you really are. For Christ, our Pa ssover lamb, has been sacrificed";[30] this refers to the Passover requirement t o have no yeast in the house and to the allegory of Jesus as the Paschal lamb.[3 1] One interpretation of the Gospel of John is that Jesus, as the Passover lamb, wa s crucified at roughly the same time as the Passover lambs were being slain in t he temple, on the afternoon of Nisan 14.[32] The scriptural instructions specify that the lamb is to be slain "between the two evenings", that is, at twilight. By the Roman period, however, the sacrifices were performed in the mid-afternoon . Josephus, Jewish War 6.10.1/423 ("They sacrifice from the ninth to the elevent h hour"). Philo, Special Laws 2.27/145 ("Many myriads of victims from noon till eventide are offered by the whole people"). This interpretation, however, is inconsistent with the chronology in the Synopti c Gospels. It assumes that text literally translated "the preparation of the pas sover" in John 19:14 refers to Nisan 14 (Preparation Day for the Passover) and n ot necessarily to Yom Shishi (Friday, Preparation Day for the Passover week Sabb ath)[33] and that the priests' desire to be ritually pure in order to "eat the p assover"[34] refers to eating the Passover lamb, not to the public offerings mad e during the days of Unleavened Bread.[35] In the early Church The first Christians, Jewish and Gentile, were certainly aware of the Hebrew cal endar,[nb 4] and there is no direct evidence that they celebrated any specifical ly Christian annual festivals.[36] It was probably as an aspect of Passover that Jewish Christians, the first to do so, celebrated the resurrection of Jesus, da ted close to Passover.[20] Direct evidence for the Easter festival begins to appear in the mid-2nd century. Perhaps the earliest extant primary source referencing Easter is a mid-2nd-cent ury Paschal homily attributed to Melito of Sardis, which characterizes the celeb ration as a well-established one.[36] Evidence for another kind of annual Christ ian festival, the commemoration of martyrs, begins to appear at about the same t ime as evidence for the celebration of Easter.[37] While martyrs' days (usually the individual dates of martyrdom) were celebrated on fixed dates in the local solar calendar, the date of Easter was fixed by mean s of the local Jewish lunisolar calendar. This is consistent with the celebratio n of Easter having entered Christianity during its earliest, Jewish period, but does not leave the question free of doubt.[38] The ecclesiastical historian Socrates Scholasticus attributes the observance of Easter by the church to the perpetuation of its custom, "just as many other cust oms have been established", stating that neither Jesus nor his Apostles enjoined the keeping of this or any other festival. Although he describes the details of the Easter celebration as deriving from local custom, he insists the feast itse lf is universally observed.[39] Date

A stained glass window depicting the Passover Lamb, a concept integral to the fo undation of Easter[23][40] Easter and the holidays that are related to it are moveable feasts, in that they do not fall on a fixed date in the Gregorian or Julian calendars (both of which follow the cycle of the sun and the seasons). Instead, the date for Easter is d etermined on a lunisolar calendar similar to the Hebrew calendar. The First Coun cil of Nicaea (325) established the date of Easter as the first Sunday after the full moon (the Paschal Full Moon) following the March equinox. Ecclesiastically , the equinox is reckoned to be on 21 March (even though the equinox occurs, ast ronomically speaking, on 20 March in most years), and the "full moon" is not nec essarily the astronomically correct date.

In Western Christianity, using the Gregorian calendar, Easter always falls on a Sunday between 22 March and 25 April inclusive, within about seven days after th e astronomical full moon.[41] The following day, Easter Monday, is a legal holid ay in many countries with predominantly Christian traditions. Eastern Christianity bases its calculations on the Julian Calendar. Because of t he 13-day difference between the calendars between 1900 and 2099, 21 March corre sponds, during the 21st century, to 3 April in the Gregorian Calendar. Easter th erefore varies between 4 April and 8 May on the Gregorian calendar (the Julian c alendar is no longer used as the civil calendar of the countries where Eastern C hristian traditions predominate). Also, because the Julian "full moon" is always several days after the astronomical full moon, the eastern Easter is often late r, relative to the visible moon's phases, than western Easter. Among the Oriental Orthodox some churches have changed from the Julian to the Gr egorian calendar and the date for Easter as for other fixed and moveable feasts is the same as in the Western church.[42] Computations Main article: Computus In 725, Bede succinctly wrote, "The Sunday following the full Moon which falls o n or after the equinox will give the lawful Easter."[43] However, this does not reflect the actual ecclesiastical rules precisely. One reason for this is that t he full moon involved (called the Paschal full moon) is not an astronomical full moon, but the 14th day of a calendar lunar month. Another difference is that th e astronomical equinox is a natural astronomical phenomenon, which can fall on 1 9, 20 March, or 21, while the ecclesiastical date is fixed by convention on 21 M arch.[44] In applying the ecclesiastical rules, Christian churches use 21 March as the sta rting point in determining the date of Easter, from which they find the next ful l moon, etc. The Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches continue to use the Julian calendar. Their starting point in determining the date of Orthodox E aster is also 21 March, but according to the Julian reckoning, which currently c orresponds to 3 April in the Gregorian calendar. In addition, the lunar tables of the Julian calendar are four days (sometimes fi ve days) behind those of the Gregorian calendar. The 14th day of the lunar month according to the Gregorian system is only the ninth or tenth day according to t he Julian. The result of this combination of solar and lunar discrepancies is di vergence in the date of Easter in most years (see table). Easter is determined on the basis of lunisolar cycles. The lunar year consists o f 30-day and 29-day lunar months, generally alternating, with an embolismic mont h added periodically to bring the lunar cycle into line with the solar cycle. In each solar year (1 January to 31 December inclusive), the lunar month beginning with an ecclesiastical new moon falling in the 29-day period from 8 March to 5 April inclusive is designated as the paschal lunar month for that year.[45] Easter is the third Sunday in the paschal lunar month, or, in other words, the S unday after the paschal lunar month's 14th day. The 14th of the paschal lunar mo nth is designated by convention as the Paschal full moon, although the 14th of t he lunar month may differ from the date of the astronomical full moon by up to t wo days.[45] Since the ecclesiastical new moon falls on a date from 8 March to 5 April inclusive, the paschal full moon (the 14th of that lunar month) must fall on a date from 21 March to 18 April inclusive. The Gregorian calculation of Easter was based on a method devised by the Calabri an doctor Aloysius Lilius (or Lilio) for adjusting the epacts of the moon,[46] a nd has been adopted by almost all Western Christians and by Western countries wh o celebrate national holidays at Easter. For the British Empire and colonies, a determination of the date of Easter Sunday using Golden Numbers and Sunday lette rs was defined by the Calendar (New Style) Act 1750 with its Annexe. This was de signed to exactly match the Gregorian calculation. Controversies over the date An Orthodox icon of the Resurrection of Jesus.

Main article: Easter controversy The precise date of Easter has at times been a matter for contention. By the lat er 2nd century, it was accepted that the celebration of the holiday was a practi ce of the disciples and an undisputed tradition. The Quartodeciman controversy, the first of several Easter controversies, then arose concerning the date on whi ch the holiday should be celebrated. The term "Quartodeciman" refers to the practice of celebrating Easter on Nisan 1 4 of the Hebrew calendar, "the LORD's passover" (Leviticus 23:5). According to t he church historian Eusebius, the Quartodeciman Polycarp (bishop of Smyrna, by t radition a disciple of John the Evangelist) debated the question with Anicetus ( bishop of Rome). The Roman province of Asia was Quartodeciman, while the Roman a nd Alexandrian churches continued the fast until the Sunday following (the Sunda y of Unleavened Bread), wishing to associate Easter with Sunday. Neither Polycar p nor Anicetus persuaded the other, but they did not consider the matter schisma tic either, parting in peace and leaving the question unsettled. Controversy arose when Victor, bishop of Rome a generation after Anicetus, attem pted to excommunicate Polycrates of Ephesus and all other bishops of Asia for th eir Quartodecimanism. According to Eusebius, a number of synods were convened to deal with the controversy, which he regarded as all ruling in support of Easter on Sunday.[47] Polycrates (circa 190), however, wrote to Victor defending the a ntiquity of Asian Quartodecimanism. Victor's attempted excommunication was appar ently rescinded and the two sides reconciled upon the intervention of bishop Ire naeus and others, who reminded Victor of the tolerant precedent of Anicetus. Quartodecimanism seems to have lingered into the 4th century, when Socrates of C onstantinople recorded that some Quartodecimans were deprived of their churches by John Chrysostom[48] and that some were harassed by Nestorius.[49] It is not known how long the Nisan 14 practice continued. But both those who fol lowed the Nisan 14 custom, and those who set Easter to the following Sunday had in common the custom of consulting their Jewish neighbors to learn when the mont h of Nisan would fall, and setting their festival accordingly. By the later 3rd century, however, some Christians began to express dissatisfaction with the cust om of relying on the Jewish community to determine the date of Easter. The chief complaint was that the Jewish communities sometimes erred in setting Passover t o fall before the Northern Hemisphere spring equinox.[50][51] The Sardica pascha l table[52] confirms these complaints, for it indicates that the Jews of some ea stern Mediterranean city (possibly Antioch) fixed Nisan 14 on dates well before the spring equinox on multiple occasions.[53] Because of this dissatisfaction with reliance on the Jewish calendar, some Chris tians began to experiment with independent computations.[nb 5] Others, however, felt that the customary practice of consulting Jews should continue, even if the Jewish computations were in error. First Council of Nicaea (325 AD) This controversy between those who advocated independent computations, and those who wished to continue the custom of relying on the Jewish calendar, was formal ly resolved by the First Council of Nicaea in 325, which endorsed the move to in dependent computations, effectively requiring the abandonment of the old custom of consulting the Jewish community in those places where it was still used. Epip hanius of Salamis wrote in the mid-4th century: ... the emperor ... convened a council of 318 bishops ... in the city of Nicea . .. They passed certain ecclesiastical canons at the council besides, and at the same time decreed in regard to the Passover that there must be one unanimous con cord on the celebration of God's holy and supremely excellent day. For it was va riously observed by people ...[56] That the older custom (called "protopaschite" by historians) did not at once die out, but persisted for a time, is indicated by the existence of canons[57] and sermons[58] against it. Some scholars have concluded that no detailed method of determining the date of Easter was specified by the Council.[59] In any case, in the years following the council, the computational system that was worked out by the church of Alexandr ia came to be normative. It took a while for the Alexandrian rules to be adopted

throughout Christian Europe, however. The Church of Rome continued to use an 84 -year lunisolar calendar cycle from the late 3rd century until 457. It then swit ched to an adaptation by Victorius of Aquitaine of the Alexandrian rules.[60][61 ] Because this Victorian cycle differed from the Alexandrian cycle in the dates of some of the Paschal Full Moons, and because it tried to respect the Roman custo m of fixing Easter to the Sunday in the week of the 16th to the 22nd of the luna r month (rather than the 15th to the 21st as at Alexandria), by providing altern ative "Latin" and "Greek" dates in some years, occasional disagreements from the date of Easter as fixed by Alexandrian rules continued.[60][61] The Alexandrian rules were adopted in their entirety in the 6th century. From this time, theref ore, all disputes between Alexandria and Rome as to the correct date for Easter cease, as both churches were using identical tables. Early Christians in Britain and Ireland also used an 84-year cycle. From the 5th century onward this cycle set its equinox to 25 March and fixed Easter to the S unday falling in the 14th to the 20th of the lunar month inclusive.[62][63] This 84-year cycle was replaced by the Alexandrian method in the course of the 7th a nd 8th centuries. Churches in western continental Europe used a late Roman metho d until the late 8th century during the reign of Charlemagne, when they finally adopted the Alexandrian method. Since 1582, when the Catholic Church adopted the Gregorian calendar while the Eastern Orthodox and most Oriental Orthodox Church es retained the Julian calendar, the date on which Easter is celebrated has agai n differed. The Greek island of Syros, whose population is divided almost equally between Ca tholics and Orthodox, is one of the few places where the two Churches share a co mmon date for Easter, with the Catholics accepting the Orthodox date a practice he lping considerably in maintaining good relations between the two communities.[64 ] Reform of the date See also: Reform of the date of Easter The congregation lighting their candles from the new flame, just as the priest h as retrieved it from the altar note that the picture is flash-illuminated; all ele ctric lighting is off, and only the oil lamps in front of the Iconostasis remain lit. (St. George Greek Orthodox Church, Adelaide). In the 20th century, some individuals and institutions have propounded a fixed d ate for Easter, the most prominent proposal being the Sunday after the second Sa turday in April. Despite having some support, proposals to reform the date have not been implemented.[65] An Orthodox congress of Eastern Orthodox bishops, whic h included representatives mostly from the Patriarch of Constantinople and the P atriarch of Serbia, met in Constantinople in 1923, where the bishops agreed to t he Revised Julian calendar.[66] The original form of this calendar would have determined Easter using precise as tronomical calculations based on the meridian of Jerusalem.[67][68] However, all the Eastern Orthodox countries that subsequently adopted the Revised Julian cal endar adopted only that part of the revised calendar that applied to festivals f alling on fixed dates in the Julian calendar. The revised Easter computation tha t had been part of the original 1923 agreement was never permanently implemented in any Orthodox diocese.[66] In the United Kingdom, the Easter Act 1928 set out legislation to allow the date of Easter to be fixed as the first Sunday after the second Saturday in April (o r, in other words, the Sunday in the period from 9 to 15 April). However, the le gislation has not been implemented, although it remains on the Statute book and could be implemented subject to approval by the various Christian churches.[69] At a summit in Aleppo, Syria, in 1997, the World Council of Churches (WCC) propo sed a reform in the calculation of Easter which would have replaced the present divergent practices of calculating Easter with modern scientific knowledge takin g into account actual astronomical instances of the spring equinox and full moon based on the meridian of Jerusalem, while also following the Council of Nicea p

osition of Easter being on the Sunday following the full moon.[70] The recommend ed World Council of Churches changes would have sidestepped the calendar issues and eliminated the difference in date between the Eastern and Western churches. The reform was proposed for implementation starting in 2001, but it was not ulti mately adopted by any member body. Table of the dates of Easter See also: Western vs Eastern dates, in a wider timeframe (1994 - 2034) The WCC presented comparative data of the relationships: Table of dates of Easter 2001 2021 (In Gregorian dates) Year Spring Full Moon Astronomical Easter Gregorian Easter Julian Easter Jewish Passover 2001 8 April 15 April 15 April 15 April 8 April 2002 28 March 31 March 31 March 5 May 28 March 2003 16 April 20 April 20 April 27 April 17 April 2004 5 April 11 April 11 April 11 April 6 April 2005 25 March 27 March 27 March 1 May 24 April 2006 13 April 16 April 16 April 23 April 13 April 2007 2 April 8 April 8 April 8 April 3 April 2008 21 March 23 March 23 March 27 April 20 April 2009 9 April 12 April 12 April 19 April 9 April 2010 30 March 4 April 4 April 4 April 30 March 2011 18 April 24 April 24 April 24 April 19 April 2012 6 April 8 April 8 April 15 April 7 April 2013 27 March 31 March 31 March 5 May 26 March 2014 15 April 20 April 20 April 20 April 15 April 2015 4 April 5 April 5 April 12 April 4 April 2016 23 March 27 March 27 March 1 May 23 April 2017 11 April 16 April 16 April 16 April 11 April 2018 31 March 1 April 1 April 8 April 31 March 2019 21 March 24 March 21 April 28 April 20 April 2020 8 April 12 April 12 April 19 April 9 April 2021 28 March 4 April 4 April 2 May 28 March Notes: 1. Astronomical Easter is the first Sunday after the Astronomical full mo on, referred to the meridian of Jerusalem. 2. Passover commences at sunset preceding the date indicated. Position in the church year Further information: Liturgical year Liturgical year Western Advent Christmastide Ordinary Time Septuagesima/Pre-Lent/Shrovetide Lent Holy Week Paschal Triduum Eastertide Pentecost Ordinary Time Eastern Nativity Fast Christmastide Ordinary Time Septuagesima/Pre-Great Lent

Great Lent Eastertide Apostles' Fast Ordinary Time Western Christianity In Western Christianity, Easter is preceded by Lent, a period of fasting and pen itence in preparation for Easter, which begins on Ash Wednesday and lasts forty days (not counting Sundays). The week before Easter, known as Holy Week, is very special in the Christian tradition. The Sunday before Easter is Palm Sunday, wi th the Wednesday before Easter being known as Spy Wednesday. The last three days before Easter are Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday (sometimes ref erred to as Silent Saturday). Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday respectively commemorate Jesus' ent ry in Jerusalem, the Last Supper and the Crucifixion. Maundy Thursday, Good Frid ay, and Holy Saturday are sometimes referred to as the Easter Triduum (Latin for "Three Days"). Many churches begin celebrating Easter late in the evening of Ho ly Saturday at a service called the Easter Vigil. In some countries, Easter last s two days, with the second called "Easter Monday". The week beginning with Easter Sunday is called Easter Week or the Octave of Eas ter, and each day is prefaced with "Easter", e.g. Easter Monday, Easter Tuesday, etc. Easter Saturday is therefore the Saturday after Easter Sunday. The day bef ore Easter is properly called Holy Saturday. Eastertide, or Paschaltide, the sea son of Easter, begins on Easter Sunday and lasts until the day of Pentecost, sev en weeks later. Eastern Christianity In Eastern Christianity, the spiritual preparation for Easter begins with Great Lent, which starts on Clean Monday and lasts for 40 continuous days (including S undays). The last week of Great Lent (following the fifth Sunday of Great Lent) is called Palm Week, and ends with Lazarus Saturday. The Vespers which begins La zarus Saturday officially brings Great Lent to a close, although the fast contin ues through the following week. After Lazarus Saturday comes Palm Sunday, Holy W eek, and finally Easter itself, and the fast is broken immediately after the Pas chal Divine Liturgy. The Paschal Vigil begins with the Midnight Office, which is the last service of the Lenten Triodion and is timed so that it ends a little before midnight on Hol y Saturday night. At the stroke of midnight the Paschal celebration itself begin s, consisting of Paschal Matins, Paschal Hours, and Paschal Divine Liturgy.[71] Placing the Paschal Divine Liturgy at midnight guarantees that no Divine Liturgy will come earlier in the morning, ensuring its place as the pre-eminent "Feast of Feasts" in the liturgical year. The liturgical season from Easter to the Sunday of All Saints (the Sunday after Pentecost) is known as the Pentecostarion (the "fifty days"). The week which beg ins on Easter Sunday is called Bright Week, during which there is no fasting, ev en on Wednesday and Friday. The Afterfeast of Easter lasts 39 days, with its Apo dosis (leave-taking) on the day before Ascension. Pentecost Sunday is the fiftie th day from Easter (counted inclusively).[72] Religious observance Part of a series on Christianity Jesus depicted as the Good Shepherd Jesus Christ [hide] Jesus in Christianity Virgin birth Ministry Crucifixion Resurrection Bible Foundations [hide] Old Testament New Testament Gospel Canon Books Church Creed New Covenant Theology[hide] God Father Son Holy Spirit Apologetics Baptism Catholicism Christology History o f theology Mission Salvation Trinity

History Tradition [hide] Mary Apostles Peter Paul Fathers Early Christianity Constantine Councils Augusti ne East West Schism Crusades Aquinas Reformation Luther Related topics[hide] Art Holidays (list) Criticism Ecumenism Liturgy Music Other religions Prayer Ser mon Symbolism Denominations Groups [show] P christianity.svg Christianity Portal v t e Western Christianity The Easter festival is kept in many different ways among Western Christians. The traditional, liturgical observation of Easter, as practised among Roman Catholi cs, Lutherans, and some Anglicans begins on the night of Holy Saturday with the Easter Vigil. This, the most important liturgy of the year, begins in total dark ness with the blessing of the Easter fire, the lighting of the large Paschal can dle (symbolic of the Risen Christ) and the chanting of the Exultet or Easter Pro clamation attributed to Saint Ambrose of Milan. After this service of light, a number of readings from the Old Testament are rea d. These tell the stories of creation, the sacrifice of Isaac, the crossing of t he Red Sea, and the foretold coming of the Messiah. This part of the service cli maxes with the singing of the Gloria and the Alleluia and the proclamation of th e Gospel of the resurrection. At this time, the lights are brought up and the ch urch bells are rung, according to local custom. A sermon may be preached after t he gospel. The focus then moves from the lectern to the font. Anciently, Easter was conside red the ideal time for converts to receive baptism, and this practice continues within Roman Catholicism and the Anglican Communion. Whether there are baptisms at this point or not, it is traditional for the congregation to renew the vows o f their baptismal faith. This act is often sealed by the sprinkling of the congr egation with holy water from the font. The Catholic sacrament of Confirmation is also celebrated at the Vigil. Holy Week procession in Santiago de Compostela. The Easter Vigil concludes with the celebration of the Eucharist (known in some traditions as Holy Communion). Certain variations in the Easter Vigil exist: Som e churches read the Old Testament lessons before the procession of the Paschal c andle, and then read the gospel immediately after the Exsultet. Some churches prefer to keep this vigil very early on the Sunday morning instead of the Saturday night, particularly churches, to reflect the gospel account of the women coming to the tomb at dawn on the first day of the week. These service s are known as the Sunrise service and often occur in outdoor setting such as th e church cemetery, yard, or a nearby park. The first recorded "Sunrise Service" took place in 1732 among the Single Brethre n in the Moravian Congregation at Herrnhut, Saxony, in what is now Germany. Foll owing an all-night vigil they went before dawn to the town graveyard, God's Acre , on the hill above the town, to celebrate the Resurrection among the graves of the departed. This service was repeated the following year by the whole congrega tion and subsequently spread with the Moravian Missionaries around the world, in cluding Old Salem in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Additional celebrations are usually offered on Easter Sunday itself. Typically t hese services follow the usual order of Sunday services in a congregation, but a lso typically incorporate more highly festive elements. The music of the service , in particular, often displays a highly festive tone; the incorporation of bras s instruments (trumpets, etc.) to supplement a congregation's usual instrumentat ion is common. Often a congregation's worship space is decorated with special ba nners and flowers (such as Easter lilies). In predominantly Roman Catholic Philippines, the morning of Easter (known in the

national language as "Pasko ng Muling Pagkabuhay" or the Pasch of the Resurrect ion) is marked with joyous celebration, the first being the dawn "Salubong", whe rein large statues of Jesus and Mary are brought together to meet, imagining the first reunion of Jesus and his mother Mary after Jesus' Resurrection. This is f ollowed by the joyous Easter Mass. In Polish culture, the Rezurekcja (Resurrection Procession) is the joyous Easter morning Mass at daybreak when church bells ring out and explosions resound to c ommemorate Christ rising from the dead. Before the Mass begins at dawn, a festiv e procession with the Blessed Sacrament carried beneath a canopy encircles the c hurch. As church bells ring out, handbells are vigorously shaken by altar boys, the air is filled with incense and the faithful raise their voices heavenward in a triumphant rendering of age-old Easter hymns. After the Blessed Sacrament is carried around the church and Adoration is complete, the Easter Mass begins. Ano ther Polish Easter tradition is Swieconka, the blessing of Easter baskets by the parish priest on Holy Saturday. This custom is celebrated not only in Poland, b ut also in the United States by Polish-Americans. Eastern Christianity Easter is the fundamental and most important festival of the Eastern and Orienta l Orthodox Churches: This is the Expected and Holy Day, the One among the Sabbaths, the Sovereign and Lady of days, Feast of feasts, Celebration of celebrations, on which we praise Christ for all eternity! Boris Kustodiev's Pascha Greetings (1912) shows traditional Russian khristosovan ie (exchanging a triple kiss), with such foods as red eggs, kulich and paskha in the background. Every other religious festival in their calendar, including Christmas, is second ary in importance to the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. This i s reflected in rich Paschal customs in the cultures of countries that have tradi tionally had an Orthodox Christian majority. Eastern Catholics have similar emph asis in their calendars, and many of their liturgical customs are very similar. This is not to say that Christmas and other elements of the Christian liturgical calendar are ignored. Instead, these events are all seen as necessary but preli minary to, and illuminated by, the full climax of the Resurrection, in which all that has come before reaches fulfillment and fruition. They shine only in the l ight of the Resurrection. Easter is the primary act that fulfills the purpose of Christ's ministry on earth to defeat death by dying and to purify and exalt human ity by voluntarily assuming and overcoming human frailty. This is succinctly sum marized by the Paschal troparion, sung repeatedly during Christian Passover unti l the Apodosis of Easter, which is the day before Ascension: ???st?? ???st? ?? ?e????, ?a??t? ???at?? pat?sa?, ?a? t??? ?? t??? ??as? ???? ?a??s?e???. Christ is risen from the dead, Trampling down death by death, And upon those in the tombs Bestowing life! Preparation for Easter begins with the season of Great Lent. In addition to fast ing, almsgiving, and prayer, Orthodox Christians cut down on all entertainment a nd non-essential worldly activities, gradually eliminating them until Great and Holy Friday, the most austere day of the year. Traditionally, on the evening of Great and Holy Saturday, the Midnight Office is celebrated shortly after 11:00 p m (see Paschal Vigil). Easter Procession in the Region of Kursk, Russia, painting by Ilya Repin (1880 83)

, depicting a Bright Week Crucession. At its completion all light in the church building is extinguished, and all wait in darkness and silence for the stroke of midnight. Then, a new flame is struck in the altar, or the priest lights his candle from the perpetual lamp kept burn ing there, and he then lights candles held by deacons or other assistants, who t hen go to light candles held by the congregation (this practice has its origin i n the reception of the Holy Fire at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusale m). Then the priest and congregation go in a Crucession (procession with the cro ss) around the temple (church building), holding lit candles, chanting: By Thy Resurrection O Christ our savior, the angels in Heaven sing, enable us wh o are on Earth, to glorify thee in purity of heart. This procession reenacts the journey of the Myrrhbearers to the Tomb of Jesus "v ery early in the morning" (Luke 24:1). After circling around the temple once or three times, the procession halts in front of the closed doors. In the Greek pra ctice the priest reads a selection from the Gospel Book (Mark 16:1 8). Then, in al l traditions, the priest makes the sign of the cross with the censer in front of the closed doors (which represent the sealed tomb). Traditional Paschal Crucession during Bright Week by Russian Orthodox Old-Rite C hurch. He and the people chant the Paschal Troparion, and all of the bells and semantra are sounded. Then all re-enter the temple and Paschal Matins begins immediately , followed by the Paschal Hours and then the Paschal Divine Liturgy. The high po int of the liturgy is the delivery of Paschal Homily of St. John Chrysostom, for which the congregation stands. After the dismissal of the Liturgy, the priest may bless Paschal eggs and basket s brought by the faithful containing those foods which have been forbidden durin g the Great Fast. Immediately after the Liturgy it is customary for the congrega tion to share a meal, essentially an Agpe dinner (albeit at 2:00 am or later). In Greece the traditional meal is mageiritsa, a hearty stew of chopped lamb live r and wild greens seasoned with egg-and-lemon sauce. Traditionally, Easter eggs, hard-boiled eggs dyed bright red to symbolize the spilt Blood of Christ and the promise of eternal life, are cracked together to celebrate the opening of the T omb of Christ. The next morning, Easter Sunday proper, there is no Divine Liturgy, since the Li turgy for that day has already been celebrated. Instead, in the afternoon, it is often traditional to celebrate "Agpe Vespers". In this service, it has become cu stomary during the last few centuries for the priest and members of the congrega tion to read a portion of the Gospel of John 20:19 25 (in some places the reading is e to include verses 19:26 31) in as many languages as they can manage, to show the universality of the Resurrection. For the remainder of the week, known as "Bright Week", all fasting is prohibited , and the customary Paschal greeting is: "Christ is risen!", to which the respon se is: "Truly He is risen!" This may also be done in many different languages. T he services during Bright Week are nearly identical to those on Easter itself, e xcept that they do not take place at midnight, but at their normal times during the day. The Crucession during Bright Week takes place either after Paschal Mati ns or the Paschal Divine Liturgy. Non-observing and Nonconformist Christian groups Along with the celebration of Christmas and Advent, many Easter traditions were altered or even abandoned altogether by various offshoots of the Protestant Refo rmation, as they were deemed "pagan" or "Popish" (and therefore tainted) by many of the Reformation's Puritan movements.[73] However, some of the major Reformat ion Churches and movements (Lutheran, Methodist and Anglican for example), chose to retain a large proportion of the observances of the established Church Year along with many of its associated traditions. In Lutheran Churches, for example, not only were the days of Holy Week observed, but also Christmas, Easter and Pe ntecost were observed with three-day festivals (the day itself and the two follo

wing). Among many other Reformation and counter Counter-Reformation traditions, however , things were very different, with most Anabaptists, Quakers, Congregational and Presbyterian Puritans, regarding such festivals as an abomination.[74] The Puri tan rejection of Easter traditions was (and is) based partly upon their interpre tation of 2 Corinthians 6:14 16 and partly upon a more general belief that if a re ligious practice or celebration is not actually written in the Old and/or New Te staments of the Christian Bible then that practice/celebration must be a later d evelopment and cannot be considered an authentic part of Christian practice or b elief so at best simply unnecessary, at worst actually sinful. Some Christian groups reject the celebration of Easter due to perceived pagan ro ots and historical connections to the practices and permissions of the "Roman" C atholic Church.[75] While "Nonconformist" Christian groups that do still celebra te the event prefer to call it Resurrection Day (or Resurrection Sunday) for the same reasons as well as a rejection of secular or commercial aspects of the hol iday in the 20th and 21st centuries.[76] Jehovah's Witnesses maintain a similar view, observing a yearly commemorative se rvice of the Last Supper and subsequent execution of Christ on the evening of Ni san 14 (as they calculate the dates derived from the lunar Hebrew Calendar). It is commonly referred to by many Witnesses as simply "The Memorial".[77] Jehovah' s Witnesses believe that such verses as Luke 22:19 20 and 1 Cor 11:26 constitute a commandment to remember the death of Christ though not the resurrection,[77] an d they do so on a yearly basis just as Passover is celebrated annually by the Je ws. Members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), as part of their historic testimony against times and seasons, do not celebrate or observe Easter or any other Christian holidays, believing instead that "every day is the Lord's day",[ 78] and that elevation of one day above others suggests that it is acceptable to do un-Christian acts on other days.[79][not in citation given] During the 17th and 18th centuries, Quakers were persecuted for this non-observance of Holy Days .[80] Some Christian groups feel that Easter is something to be regarded with great jo y: not marking the day itself, but remembering and rejoicing in the event it com memorates the miracle of Christ's resurrection. In this spirit, these Christians t each that each day and all Sabbaths should be kept holy, in Christ's teachings. Hebrew-Christian, Sacred Name, and Armstrong movement churches (such as the Livi ng Church of God) usually reject Easter in favor of Nisan 14 observance and cele bration of the Christian Passover. This is especially true of Christian groups t hat celebrate the New Moons or annual High Sabbaths in addition to seventh-day S abbath. They support this textually with reference to the letter to the Colossia ns: "Let no one ... pass judgment on you in matters of food and drink or with re gard to a festival or new moon or sabbath. These are shadows of things to come; the reality belongs to Christ." (Col. 2:16 17, NAB) Easter celebrations around the world Question book-new.svg This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this s ection by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challe nged and removed. (January 2014) Main article: Easter customs An Easter postcard. Easter eggs are a popular cultural symbol of Easter. Many Americans follow the tradition of coloring hard-boiled eggs and giving bask ets of candy. The Easter Bunny is a popular legendary anthropomorphic Easter gif t-giving character analogous to Santa Claus in American culture. On Easter Monda y, the President of the United States holds an annual Easter egg roll on the Whi

te House lawn for young children. New York City holds an annual Easter parade on Easter Sunday. In countries where Christianity is a state religion, or where the country has la rge Christian population, Easter is a public holiday. Some European and other co untries in the world also have Easter Monday as a public holiday. In Canada, bot h Easter Sunday and Easter Monday are public holidays. In province of Quebec, ei ther Good Friday or Easter Monday (although most companies give both) are statut ory holidays. Two days before Easter Sunday, on Good Friday, is a public holiday as well. In Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, both Easter Sunday and Easter Monday are public holidays. It is a holiday for most workers except some shopping malls wh ich keep open for half-day. Many businesses give their employees almost a week o ff called Easter break. In the Netherlands both Easter Sunday and Easter Monday are public holidays. Lik e first and second Christmas Day they are both considered Sundays, which results in a first and a second Easter Sunday, after which the week continues to a Tues day. In the United States, Easter Sunday is a flag day[clarification needed] but beca use Easter falls on a Sunday, which is already a non-working day for federal and state employees, it has not been designated as a federal or state holiday. Few banks that are normally open on regular Sundays are closed on Easter. Some retail stores, shopping malls, and restaurants are closed on Easter Sunday, although this practice is declining. Good Friday, which occurs two days before Easter Sunday, is a holiday in 12 states (see the article for details). Even in states where Good Friday is not a holiday, many financial institutions, stock ma rkets, and public schools are closed. See also Portal icon Christianity portal Easter customs Life of Jesus in the New Testament Resurrection of Jesus Greek words (wiktionary): ??s?a (Easter) vs p?s?a (Passover) vs p?s?? (to suffer ). Footnotes Jump up ^ The festival is referred to in English by a variety of different names including Easter Day, Easter Sunday, Resurrection Day, and Resurrection Sunday. "Easter Day" is the traditional name in English for the principal feast of East er, used (for instance) by the Book of Common Prayer, but in the 20th century "E aster Sunday" became widely used, despite this term's also referring to the foll owing Sunday. Also called the Pasch Lisa D. Maugans Driver, Christ at the Center (Westminster John Knox Press 2009 ISBN 978-0-664-22897-2), p. 151 Everett Fergu son, Baptism in the Early Church (Eerdmans 2009 ISBN 978-0-8028-2748-7), p. 351 or Pascha Jump up ^ IPA: ['??stre, 'e?ostre] Jump up ^ See for example "Old English Eastre is ultimately the goddess of the d awn, corresponding to the Roman goddess Aurora and the Greek goddess Eos,[17] "T he plainest example of the Dawn goddess's becoming attached to a single festival , and that in the spring, is that of the Anglo-Saxon Eostre and her postulated G erman counterpart stara, who have given us Easter and the Ostertage. Our source d oes not connect Eostre with dawn, but that is undoubtedly the meaning of her nam e".[18] Finally, comparative material such as Old English Eostre "permits us to posit a PIE ...'goddess of the dawn' who was characterized as a "reluctant" brin ger of light for which she is punished. In three of the IE stocks, Baltic, Greek and Indo-Iranian, the existence of a PIE 'goddess of the dawn' is given additio nal linguistic support in that she is designated the 'daughter of heaven'. This can be seen in [corresponding Lithuanian, Greek, and Old Indian terms] which all derive from a PIE ...'daughter of heaven'. The corresponding 'son of heaven' is not lexically reconstructible but is both semantically and mythologically assoc

iated with the 'Divine Twins'"[19] Jump up ^ Acts 2:1; 12:3; 20:6; 27:9, 1 Cor 16:8 Jump up ^ Eusebius reports that Dionysius, Bishop of Alexandria, proposed an 8-y ear Easter cycle, and quotes a letter from Anatolius, Bishop of Laodicea, that r efers to a 19-year cycle.[54] An 8-year cycle has been found inscribed on a stat ue unearthed in Rome in the 17th century, dated to the 3rd century.[55] References ^ Jump up to: a b Norman Davies (20 January 1998). Europe: A History. HarperColl ins. "In most European languages Easter is called by some variant of the late La tin word Pascha, which in turn derives from the Hebrew pesach, passover'." Jump up ^ Bernard Trawicky, Ruth Wilhelme Gregory (2000). Anniversaries and Holi days. American Library Association. "Easter is the central celebration of the Ch ristian liturgical year. It is the oldest and most important Christian feast, ce lebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The date of Easter determines the da tes of all movable feasts except those of Advent." Jump up ^ Aveni, Anthony (2004). "The Easter/Passover Season: Connecting Time's Broken Circle", The Book of the Year: A Brief History of Our Seasonal Holidays. Oxford University Press. pp. 64 78. ISBN 0-19-517154-3. Jump up ^ Peter C. Bower. The Companion to the Book of Common Worship. Geneva Pr ess. Retrieved 11 April 2009. "Maundy Thursday (or le mand; Thursday of the Manda tum, Latin, commandment). The name is taken from the first few words sung at the ceremony of the washing of the feet, "I give you a new commandment" (John 13:34 ); also from the commandment of Christ that we should imitate His loving humilit y in the washing of the feet (John 13:14 17). The term mandatum (maundy), therefor e, was applied to the rite of foot-washing on this day." Jump up ^ Gail Ramshaw (2004). Three Day Feast: Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, an d Easter. Augsburg Books. Retrieved 11 April 2009. "In the liturgies of the Thre e Days, the service for Maundy Thursday includes both, telling the story of Jesu s' last supper and enacting the footwashing." Jump up ^ Leonard Stuart (1909). New century reference library of the world's mo st important knowledge: complete, thorough, practical, Volume 3. Syndicate Pub. Co. Retrieved 11 April 2009. "Holy Week, or Passion Week, the week which immedia tely precedes Easter, and is devoted especially to commemorating the passion of our Lord. The Days more especially solemnized during it are Holy Wednesday, Maun dy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday." Jump up ^ Frequently asked questions about the date of Easter Jump up ^ Weiser, Francis X. (1958). Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs. N ew York: Harcourt, Brace and Company. p. 214. ISBN 0-15-138435-5. Jump up ^ "clipping the church". Oxford Reference. Oxford University Press. Retr ieved 30 March 2013. Jump up ^ Anne Jordan (5 April 2000). Christianity. Nelson Thornes. Retrieved 7 April 2012. "Easter eggs are used as a Christian symbol to represent the empty t omb. The outside of the egg looks dead but inside there is new life, which is go ing to break out. The Easter egg is a reminder that Jesus will rise from His tom b and bring new life. Orthodox Christians dye boiled eggs red to represent the b lood of Christ shed for the sins of the world." Jump up ^ The Guardian, Volume 29. H. Harbaugh. 1878. Retrieved 7 April 2012. "J ust so, on that first Easter morning, Jesus came to life and walked out of the t omb, and left it, as it were, an empty shell. Just so, too, when the Christian d ies, the body is left in the grave, an empty shell, but the soul takes wings and flies away to be with God. Thus you see that though an egg seems to be as dead as a sone, yet it really has life in it; and also it is like Christ's dead body, which was raised to life again. This is the reason we use eggs on Easter. (In o lden times they used to color the eggs red, so as to show the kind of death by w hich Christ died,-a bloody death.)" Jump up ^ Gordon Geddes, Jane Griffiths (22 January 2002). Christian belief and practice. Heinemann. Retrieved 7 April 2012. "Red eggs are given to Orthodox Chr istians after the Easter Liturgy. They crack their eggs against each other's. Th e cracking of the eggs symbolizes a wish to break away from the bonds of sin and

misery and enter the new life issuing from Christ's resurrection." Jump up ^ Vicki K. Black (1 July 2004). The Church Standard, Volume 74. Church P ublishing, Inc. Retrieved 7 April 2012. "In parts of Europe, the eggs were dyed red and were then cracked together when people exchanged Easter greetings. Many congregations today continue to have Easter egg hunts for the children after the services on Easter Day." Jump up ^ The Church Standard, Volume 74. Walter N. Hering. 1897. Retrieved 7 Ap ril 2012. "When the custom was carrierd over into Christian practice the Easter eggs were usually sent to the priests to be blessed and sprinked with holy water . In later times the coloring and decorating of eggs was introduced, and in a ro yal roll of the time of Edward I., which is preserved in the Tower of London, th ere is an entry of 18d. for 400 eggs, to be used for Easter gifts." Jump up ^ From Preparation to Passion. 2010. Retrieved 7 April 2012. "So what pr eparations do most Christians and non-Christians make? Shopping for new clothing often signifies the belief that Spring has arrived, and it is a time of renewal . Preparations for the Easter Egg Hunts and the Easter Ham for the Sunday dinner are high on the list too." Jump up ^ Duchak, Alicia (2002). An A-Z of Modern America. Rutledge. Jump up ^ Barnhart, Robert K. The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, p. 2 29. (1995) HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-270084-7 Jump up ^ West, M. L.. Indo-European Myth and Culture, p. 227, cf. 217 218. (2007) . Oxford University Press Jump up ^ Mallory, J. P. and Adams, Douglas Q.. Encyclopedia of Indo-European Cu lture, pp. 148 149. (1997) Taylor & Francis. ^ Jump up to: a b "History of Easter". The History Channel website. A&E Televisi on Networks. Retrieved 9 March 2013. Jump up ^ Karl Gerlach (1998). The Antenicene Pascha: A Rhetorical History. Peet ers Publishers. p. XVIII. "The second century equivalent of easter and the pasch al Triduum was called by both Greek and Latin writers "Pascha (p?s?a)", a Greek transliteration of the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ??????, the Passover feast of Ex. 12." Jump up ^ Karl Gerlach (1998). The Antenicene Pascha: A Rhetorical History. Pete rs Publishers. p. 21. "For while it is from Ephesus that Paul writes, "Christ ou r Pascha has been sacrificed for us," Ephesian Christians were not likely the fi rst to hear that Ex 12 did not speak about the rituals of Pesach, but the death of Jesus of Nazareth." ^ Jump up to: a b c d Vicki K. Black (1 July 2004). Welcome to the Church Year: An Introduction to the Seasons of the Episcopal Church. Church Publishing, Inc. "Easter is still called by its older Greek name, Pascha, which means "Passover", and it is this meaning as the Christian Passover-the celebration of Jesus' triu mph over death and entrance into resurrected life-that is the heart of Easter in the church. For the early church, Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of the Jewis h Passover feast: through Jesus, we have been freed from slavery of sin and gran ted to the Promised Land of everlasting life." Jump up ^ 1 Corinthians 15:12 20 Torrey, Reuben Archer (1897). "The Resurrection of Christ". Torrey's New Topical Textbook. Retrieved 2013-03-31. (interprets primary source references in this s ection as applying to the Resurrection) "The Letter of Paul to the Corinthians". Encyclopdia Britannica Online. Encyclopdi a Britannica. Retrieved 10 March 2013. Jump up ^ Romans 1:4 Jump up ^ Acts 17:31 ^ Jump up to: a b "Jesus Christ". Encyclopdia Britannica Online. Encyclopdia Brita nnica. Retrieved 11 March 2013. Jump up ^ 1 Peter 1:3 Jump up ^ Romans 6:4 Jump up ^ 1 Corinthians 5:7 Jump up ^ John 1:29, Revelation 5:6, 1 Peter 1:19, 1 Peter 1:2, and the associat ed notes and Passion Week table in Barker, Kenneth, ed. (2002). Zondervan NIV St udy Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan. p. 1520. ISBN 0-310-92955-5.

Karl Gerlach (1998). The Antenicene Pascha: A Rhetorical History. Peeters Publis hers. pp. 32, 56. Jump up ^ Exodus 12:6 Jump up ^ Exodus 12:18, John 13:2, John 18:28, John 19:14. Barker, Kenneth, ed. (2002). Zondervan NIV Study Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan. ISBN 0-310-92955-5. Jump up ^ John 18:28 Jump up ^ Leviticus 23:8 ^ Jump up to: a b "Homily on the Pascha". Kerux (Northwest Theological Seminary) . Retrieved 28 March 2007. Jump up ^ Cheslyn Jones, Geoffrey Wainwright, Edward Yarnold, and Paul Bradshaw, Eds., The Study of Liturgy, Revised Edition, Oxford University Press, New York, 1992, p. 474. Jump up ^ Cheslyn Jones, Geoffrey Wainwright, Edward Yarnold, and Paul Bradshaw, Eds., The Study of Liturgy, Revised Edition, Oxford University Press, New York, 1992, p. 459:"[Easter] is the only feast of the Christian Year that can plausib ly claim to go back to apostolic times ... [It] must derive from a time when Jew ish influence was effective ... because it depends on the lunar calendar (every other feast depends on the solar calendar)." Jump up ^ Socrates, Church History, 5.22, in Schaff, Philip (13 July 2005). "The Author's Views respecting the Celebration of Easter, Baptism, Fasting, Marriage , the Eucharist, and Other Ecclesiastical Rites.". Socrates and Sozomenus Eccles iastical Histories. Calvin College Christian Classics Ethereal Library. Retrieve d 28 March 2007. Jump up ^ Karl Gerlach (1998). The Antenicene Pascha: A Rhetorical History. Peet ers Publishers. p. 21. "Long before this controversy, Ex 12 as a story of origin s and its ritual expression had been firmly fixed in the Christian imagination. Though before the final decades of the 2nd century only accessible as an exegeti cal tradition, already in the Paulin letters the Exodus saga is deeply involved with the celebration of bath and meal. Even here, this relationship does not sud denly appear, but represents developments in ritual narrative that mus have begu n at the very inception of the Christian message. Jesus of Nazareth was crucifie d during Pesach-Mazzot, an event that a new covenant people of Jews and Gentiles both saw as definitive and defining. Ex 12 is thus one of the few reliable guid es for tracing the synergism among ritual, text, and kerygma before the Council of Nicaea." Jump up ^ The Date of Easter. Article from United States Naval Observatory (27 M arch 2007). Jump up ^ "The Church in Malankara switched entirely to the Gregorian calendar i n 1953, following Encyclical No. 620 from Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem I, dt. D ecember 1952." Calendars of the Syriac Orthodox Church. Retrieved 22 April 2009 Jump up ^ Bede: The reckoning of time, translated by Faith Wallis (Liverpool: Li verpool University Press, 1999) chapter 62, p. 148. Jump up ^ Paragraph 7 of Inter gravissimas ISO.org to "the vernal equinox, which was fixed by the fathers of the [first] Nicene Council at XII calends April [21 March]". This definition can be traced at least back to chapters 6 & 59 of Bede 's De temporum ratione (725). ^ Jump up to: a b Montes, Marcos J. "Calculation of the Ecclesiastical Calendar" . Retrieved 12 January 2008. Jump up ^ G Moyer (1983), "Aloisius Lilius and the 'Compendium novae rationis re stituendi kalendarium'", pages 171 188 in G.V. Coyne (ed.). Jump up ^ Eusebius, Church History 5.23. Jump up ^ Socrates, Church History, 6.11, at Schaff, Philip (13 July 2005). "Of Severian and Antiochus: their Disagreement from John.". Socrates and Sozomenus E cclesiastical Histories. Calvin College Christian Classics Ethereal Library. Ret rieved 28 March 2009. Jump up ^ Socrates, Church History 7.29, at Schaff, Philip (13 July 2005). "Nest orius of Antioch promoted to the See of Constantinople. His Persecution of the H eretics.". Socrates and Sozomenus Ecclesiastical Histories. Calvin College Chris tian Classics Ethereal Librar. Retrieved 28 March 2009.

Jump up ^ Eusebius, Church History, 7.32. Jump up ^ Peter of Alexandria, quoted in the Chronicon Paschale. In Alexander Ro berts and James Donaldson, eds., Ante-Nicene Christian Library, Volume 14: The W ritings of Methodius, Alexander of Lycopolis, Peter of Alexandria, And Several F ragments, Edinburgh, 1869, p. 326, at Donaldson, Alexander (1 June 2005). "That Up to the Time of the Destruction of Jerusalem, the Jews Rightly Appointed the F ourteenth Day of the First Lunar Month.". Gregory Thaumaturgus, Dionysius the Gr eat, Julius Africanus, Anatolius and Minor Writers, Methodius, Arnobius. Calvin College Christian Classics Ethereal Library. Retrieved 28 March 2009. Jump up ^ MS Verona, Biblioteca Capitolare LX(58) folios 79v 80v. Jump up ^ Sacha Stern, Calendar and Community: A History of the Jewish Calendar Second Century BCE Tenth Century CE, Oxford, 2001, pp. 124 132. Jump up ^ Eusebius, Church History, 7.20, 7.31. Jump up ^ Allen Brent, Hippolytus and the Roman Church in the Third Century, Lei den, E.J. Brill, 1995. Jump up ^ Epiphanius, Adversus Haereses, Heresy 69, 11,1, in Willams, F. (1994). The Panarion of Epiphianus of Salamis Books II and III. Leiden: E.J. Brill. p. 331. Jump up ^ Apostolic Canon 7: If any bishop, presbyter, or deacon shall celebrate the holy day of Easter before the vernal equinox with the Jews, let him be depo sed. A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, Second Series, Volume 14: The Seven Ecumenical Councils, Eerdmans, 1956, p. 594 . Jump up ^ St. John Chrysostom, "Against those who keep the first Passover", in S aint John Chrysostom: Discourses against Judaizing Christians, translated by Pau l W. Harkins, Washington, D.C., 1979, p. 47ff. Jump up ^ Mosshammer, Alden A. (2008). The Easter Computus and the Origins of th e Christian Era. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 50 52. ISBN 978-0-19-9543120. ^ Jump up to: a b Mosshammer, Alden A. (2008). The Easter Computus and the Origi ns of the Christian Era. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 239 244. ISBN 978-019-954312-0. ^ Jump up to: a b Holford-Strevens, Leofranc, and Blackburn, Bonnie (1999). The Oxford Companion to the Year. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 808 809. ISBN 0 -19-214231-3. Jump up ^ Mosshammer, Alden A. (2008). The Easter Computus and the Origins of th e Christian Era. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 223 224. ISBN 978-0-19-95431 2-0. Jump up ^ Holford-Strevens, Leofranc, and Blackburn, Bonnie (1999). The Oxford C ompanion to the Year. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 870 875. ISBN 0-19-2142 31-3. Jump up ^ "Easter: A date with God". The Economist. 20 April 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2011. "Only in a handful of places do Easter celebrants alter their own ar rangements to take account of their neighbours. Finland's Orthodox Christians ma rk Easter on the Western date. And on the Greek island of Syros, a Papist strong hold, Catholics and Orthodox alike march to Orthodox time. The spectacular publi c commemorations, involving flower-strewn funeral biers on Good Friday and firew orks on Saturday night, bring the islanders together, rather than highlighting d ivision." Jump up ^ "Easter (holiday)". Encyclopdia Britannica Online. Encyclopdia Britannic a. Retrieved 9 March 2013. ^ Jump up to: a b Hieromonk Cassian, A Scientific Examination of the Orthodox Ch urch Calendar, Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies, 1998, p.51 52, ISBN 0-9 11165-31-2. Jump up ^ M. Milankovitch, "Das Ende des julianischen Kalenders und der neue Kal ender der orientalischen Kirchen", Astronomische Nachrichten 200, 379 384 (1924). Jump up ^ Miriam Nancy Shields, "The new calendar of the Eastern churches", Popu lar Astronomy 32 (1924) 407 411 (page 411). This is a translation of M. Milankovit ch, "The end of the Julian calendar and the new calendar of the Eastern churches ", Astronomische Nachrichten No. 5279 (1924).

Jump up ^ "Hansard Reports, April 2005, regarding the Easter Act of 1928". Unite d Kingdom Parliament. Retrieved 14 March 2010. Jump up ^ WCC: Towards a common date for Easter Jump up ^ "On the Holy and Great Sunday of Pascha". Monastery of Saint Andrew th e First Called, Manchester, England. 25 January 2007. Retrieved 27 March 2007. Jump up ^ "Pentecost Sunday". About.com. Retrieved 28 March 2013. Jump up ^ Otto, Diane L. (2007). Guess What I Discovered on the Way to Church?. Xulon Press. p. 413. ISBN 978-1-60266-349-7. Jump up ^ Daniels, Bruce Colin (1995). Puritans at Play: Leisure and Recreation in Colonial New England. Macmillan, p. 89, ISBN 312125003 . Jump up ^ Pack, David. "The True Origin of Easter". The Restored Church of God. Retrieved 24 March 2011. Jump up ^ "LETTER: Let's change Easter to Resurrection Day". The Stanford Herald . 27 March 2013. ^ Jump up to: a b http://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/wp19960401/originof-easter-not-in-bible/ Jump up ^ A careful and free inquiry into the true nature and tendency of the re ligious principes of the Society of Friends by William Craig Brownlee; Philadelp hia, 1824 Jump up ^ See Quaker Faith & practice of Britain Yearly Meeting, Paragraph 27:42 Jump up ^ Quaker life, December 2011: "Early Quaker Top 10 Ways to Celebrate (or Not) "the Day Called Christmas" by Rob Pierson External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Easter. Look up Easter in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Liturgical 50 Catholic Prayers for Easter Liturgical Resources for Easter Holy Pascha: The Resurrection of Our Lord (Orthodox icon and synaxarion) Traditions Liturgical Meaning of Holy Week (Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia) Easter in the Armenian Orthodox Church Roman Catholic View of Easter (from the Catholic Encyclopedia) Easter in Belarus: In Pictures on the official website of the Republic of Belaru s Polish Easter Traditions Calculating A Perpetual Easter and Passover Calculator Julian and Gregorian Easter for any y ear plus other info Almanac The Christian Year Julian or Gregorian Easter and associated festivals for any year Easter Dating Method for calculator Dates for Easter 1583 9999 Orthodox Paschal Calculator Julian Easter and associated festivals in Gregorian calendar 1583 4099 About the Greek Easter and Greek Easter Calculator Orthodox Paschal calculator w ith technical discussion and full source code in javascript [show] Links to related articles Categories: EasterChristian holidaysHoly WeekMarch observancesApril observances Navigation menu Create accountLog inArticleTalkReadView sourceView history Main page Contents Featured content Current events Random article Donate to Wikipedia

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