Easter
Easter, also called Resurrection Day, is a holiday. Among Christians, it is a celebration of Jesus Christ returning from the dead. Christians believe that it is the holiest day in the year. People who are not Christians celebrate it as the beginning of Spring.
Easter is not held on the same date every year. Currently all Christian churches agree on how the date is calculated. Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday, following the first full moon, after the Spring Equinox. This means it is celebrated in March or April. Western churches, like the Roman Catholic Church, use the Gregorian calendar, while Eastern churches, like the Eastern Orthodox Church, use the Julian calendar. Because of this the date of Easter celebrations is different for these two types of churches even though the way they calculate the date is the same.
Some Christians do not use the word "Easter", because it comes from Eastre (ancient German), the Goddess of Spring, in paganism. The French word for Easter, Pâcques, comes from the Greek word for Passover, which is the Jewish holiday celebrated at the same time of the year.
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[change] Importance to Christians
Christians believe that Jesus was killed on the cross about 2000 years ago by the Romans in a city called Jerusalem (most of Jerusalem is in the modern country of Israel). The people who killed him did so because they believed that he was causing trouble for the government, and because he was claiming to be the Messiah. When they crucified him (meaning they nailed him to a cross), they even hung a sign over his head, which said, "King of the Jews."[1] The day he was crucified is known by Christians as Good Friday.
Christians believe that on the Sunday after Jesus was killed, some of his followers found that his body was no longer in the tomb where he was laid.[2] Later, Jesus is said to have appeared to over 500 people and preached to them.[3] The New Testament teaches that the resurrection of Jesus is what Christianity is based on.[4] The resurrection made people believe that Jesus was the powerful Son of God.[4] It is also spoken of as proof that God will judge the world fairly.[5] Christians believe that God has given Christians "a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead".[6] Christians believe that through faith in God[7] they are spiritually made alive with Jesus so that they may lead a new life.[8]
[change] Customs and traditions
Today, people celebrate Easter in a number of different ways: they give each other or hide to have children find, colourful Easter eggs; they also give each others candy. Sometimes they even give each other baby ducks, chickens, or bunnies as presents, though this is not done as much as it used to be. These ways of celebrating have nothing to do with Christianity. They come from the spring celebrations from old European nature religions. Christians, and even some people who are not Christians, dress very nicely and go to church on Easter Sunday. Large dinners are usually held on Easter afternoon as well. A ham is often at the center of this dinner, and hot cross buns are sometimes served.
[change] References
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