What and when is Easter?

Today, Easter’s most recognizable traditions are perhaps those dealing with eggs and rabbits. But how did the holiday get its start? Celebrations of the Christian festival of Easter have been documented as early as the 2nd century. Today the holiday is observed around the globe by thousands of Christian denominations. Easter commemorates the Resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his Crucifixion about 30 CE. The Easter story is documented in the Bible, in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Each Gospel tells a similar story. On the Sunday morning following Christ’s Crucifixion on Good Friday, women went to visit Christ’s tomb and found a stone rolled away from the tomb’s entrance and Christ’s body gone. The women hurriedly shared the news with Christ’s followers, the Apostles. After initial disbelief, the Apostles celebrated the Resurrection of Christ until his Ascension into heaven 40 days later. Easter is one of the most important Christian festivals of the liturgical calendar. For Christians, Easter not only celebrates Christ’s Resurrection, but it also reveals God’s plan for salvation and hope for one’s own resurrection, a key belief shared across denominations. The holiday marks the end of Lent, a period of 40 days before Easter, not counting Sundays, during which Christians often practice acts of penance and fasting in preparation for Christ’s Resurrection. Debates about when to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ caused major controversy in early Christianity. In 325 the Council of Nicaea decreed that Easter would be on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox, which was then March 21. Churches today use this basic formula, with March 21 as a fixed date for the spring equinox, to determine the date of Easter. However, Eastern Orthodox churches usually celebrate Easter slightly later than Catholic and Protestant ones because they still calculate their liturgical year using the Julian, as opposed to the Gregorian, calendar. A main component of many celebrations is the Easter Vigil, often taking place after sunset the night before Easter. Easter celebrations vary across the world and across Christian denominations. Orthodox traditions celebrate a similar Easter Vigil, while many North American Protestant churches participate in Easter sunrise services. Today the holiday is widely identifiable by its secular traditions. Although its origins are obscure, the practice of dyeing and decorating eggs has been practiced in both the Eastern Orthodox and Western churches since the Middle Ages. Rabbits became associated with Easter by Protestants in Europe starting in the 17th century. The Easter Hare in Germany hid eggs for children to find, or it laid its eggs in nests prepared by children. Nests eventually changed to Easter baskets, and today children often look forward to receiving chocolate and other candies in their baskets on Easter. As many as 91 million chocolate bunnies are sold for Easter in the United States each year, making Easter not only one of the holiest days of the Christian calendar but also one of the sweetest.