Easter 2023: Easter is the most significant religious holiday in Christianity. Easter commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ, a fundamental tenet of Christianity and the centre of their faith. Religious scholars believe the event occurred approximately 30 years after the crucifixion of Jesus by the Romans, three days later. Therefore, Christians have faith that they will also experience a resurrection in heaven.
Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday following the first full moon following March 21. Easter is on April 9 in 2024.
Christians celebrate Easter in personal and universal ways. Let’s examine more closely.
The background of Easter
Easter is a two-thousand-year-old Christian festival commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the beginning of spring. Easter is one of the most significant observances of the year for Christians around the globe. However, for many, Easter is synonymous with chocolate bunnies, dyed eggs, and bouquets of daffodils and lilies.
Easter is also closely associated with the Old Testament account of the exodus of the Jews from Egypt and the Jewish festival of Passover. The Last Supper, which occurred the evening before Jesus’ arrest, is also associated with these events.
The Sunday preceding Easter is known as Palm Sunday. It commemorates and celebrates the day Jesus arrived in Jerusalem and his disciples laid palm fronds at his feet as a sign of respect. In many churches, Easter celebrations commence on Holy Saturday evening, just before Easter Sunday. This service is referred to as the Easter Vigil.
According to Eastern Orthodox Christianity, the Easter rituals commence with the Great Lent, which commences 40 days before Easter on Clean Monday. The 40 days preceding the persecution, crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ are a time of contrition, fasting, and commemoration. Holy Week is the final week, which culminates in Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter.
Easter is religiously witnessed by Christians in a variety of ways, such as the baptismal rite and traditional liturgy observed by Catholics on Holy Saturday evening or the sunrise practises on Easter Sunday favoured by Protestants. Easter is also enthusiastically observed by members of the Orthodox church, although the date of their celebration differs by 13 days from that of Catholics due to their use of the Julian calendar.
Over time, numerous pagan celebrations have merged with Easter to usher in spring. The Easter bunny, a figure associated with spring who delivers colourful eggs representing new life, is one of these relatively modern traditions. Although the origins of the Easter bunny have been debated, most concur that it originated in Germany. In any case, children eagerly anticipate his arrival, and egg decorating, candy consumption, and community Easter egg searches have become significant aspects of the evolving Easter holiday.
Black Saturday 2023: Date, History, Facts about Holy Week
THE EASTER HOLIDAY: THREE FACTS
Eggs have been viewed as a symbol of life and regeneration since ancient times, and the practise of colouring them predates Christianity.
The National Retail Federation reports that Americans spend approximately $18 billion on Easter.
According to the National Confectioners Association, two out of every three American parents create Easter baskets for their children.
EASTER DATES
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | April 4 | Sunday |
| 2022 | April 17 | Sunday |
| 2023 | April 9 | Sunday |
| 2024 | March 31 | Sunday |
| 2025 | April 20 | Sunday |
