Easter is an annual religious holiday celebrated by believers of the Christian faith. It is the most important holiday of the Christian liturgical year, and commemorates Jesus Christ’s death by the Roman practice of crucifixion and His subsequent resurrection from the tomb.
Easter is the culmination of Holy Week, which begins with the holiday called “Palm Sunday” on the previous Sunday, which celebrates Christ’s entry into Jerusalem for the annual Jewish celebration of Passover.
The date of Easter is determined for Roman Catholic and Protestant churches by the Gregorian Calendar (the calendar which was established by Pope Gregory XIII of the Roman Catholic Church in 1592 CE), and the ecclesiastical rules established by the First Council of Nicaea convened by the Christian Emperor of the Roman Empire Constantine in the year 325 CE.
The Eastern Christian (Orthodox) churches use the Julian calendar to determine the date they will celebrate the holiday.
Christians celebrate the holiday by attending religious services during the week. Easter also concludes the fasting or dietary restrictions which some Christians follow during Lent, the six-week period which began with Ash Wednesday.
Easter is celebrated with feasting with family and friends. Family events may include dyeing eggs, participating in egg hunts or the White House egg roll, and Easter baskets for the children, filled by the “Easter Bunny.”
Web Sites
- Date of the Easter Holiday – U.S. Naval Observatory
- Christian Beliefs
- History.com
- Vatican: Pope Benedict Easter Vigil message 2009
- History of the White House Easter Egg Roll
Catalog
Search the library's catalog for Easter.
Databases
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