WHAT IS EASTER ? Easter is the celebration of Jesus Christ's rising from the dead after his crucifixion. It is usually celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon following the first day of Spring. This can be any Sunday between March 22 and April 25. It is the most sacred of all the Christian holidays or celebrations. His return from death is called the Resurrection. According to the scriptures, Jesus tomb was empty three days after His death, which is commemorated on Good Friday. His followers saw Him and talked to Him after this. Christians therefore believe that they too can receive new life after death. Easter is the celebration of this belief.

HOW EASTER WAS CELEBRATED IN ANCIENT DAYS ? A long time ago, people used to celebrate when Spring arrived. People used to believe that changes in seasons were guided by spirits or gods. The blooming of plants and flowers and animals coming out of their hibernation and the return of birds brought life back to the land. This new life in spring symbolizes the new life Christians gain because of Jesus's death on the cross and his resurrection or back to life again. In ancient Egypt, Easter was celebrated at the same time Jesus was crucified during the Jewish Passover. This was so for many years. However, in A.D. 325, the Roman Emperor Constantine convened the First Council of Nicacea (now called Turkey), and decided that Easter should be on a different day. This Council also determined that December 25th would henceforth celebrate the birth of Christ.

They chose the Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox. Vernal means "spring" and equinox means "equal night". This special Sunday is the one 24-hour period in spring when both day and night last exactly twelve hours. This is how Easter is celebrated today. However, many Orthodox or Eastern Christians still wait until the time of the Jewish Passover and other traditions to celebrate Easter.

WHAT IS LENT ? Lent is the forty days special season prior to Easter Sunday. Sundays are not counted because it is the Lord's Day and should be celebrated and therefore no fasting. Lent is a period of fasting or doing without certain foods, praying and repentance. This is to serve as a reminder of the forty days Jesus fasted in the wilderness. Some countries have celebrations like the Mardi Gras, which means "Fat Tuesday" in French, the day before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. It is also called "Carnival" sometimes. While the largest celebration is probably in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, that in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, is probably the most spectacular.

WHAT IS THE HOLY WEEK ? The Holy week is the last week of Lent. It begins with the observance of Palm Sunday. The name, Palm Sunday originated from Jesus's entry in Jerusalem. The crowd laid carpets of palms on the street for Him. The Last Supper is commemorated on Holy Thursday of special week (often called Maundy Thursday) and Friday is the anniversary of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on the cross. The Lenten season and Holy week end with Easter Sunday (the Resurrection of Jesus Christ).

NAMES OF EASTER Easter was called Pesach by early Christians. It is the Hebrew name for Passover. Today, the name for Easter in many cultures in Europe are similar to the word Pesah. For example: France -Paques Spain -Pascua Italy -Pasqua Albania -Pashke Greece -Pascha Norway -Paaske Holland -Pasen Sweden -Pask

HOW DID EASTER GET ITS NAME ? The English name "Easter" is much newer. Before Christianity in early England, the people celebrated the vernal equinox with a feast honoring Eostre, the Pagan goddess of spring. When the early English Christians wanted others to accept Christianity, they decided to use the name Easter for this holiday so that it would match the name of the old spring celebration. This made it more comfortable for other people to accept Christianity. Some believed that the word Easter came from an early German word "eostarun", meaning dawn and white. Newly baptized Christians wore white clothes as a sign of their new life on Easter.

Made by Vladimir 7b class from “St. Paissiy Hilendarski” high school Haskovo, Bulgaria