Easter,
Easter Sunday, also:
Holy Sunday,
Resurrection of the
Lord, in Orthodoxy:
Pascha - the oldest and
most important
Christian holiday commemorating the paschal
mystery of
Jesus Christ: his
passion,
death and
resurrection, celebrated by
Christian churches keeping the Nicene Creed (325 AD). It is the culmination of Jesus'
Passion, preceded by Lent, forty days of
fasting,
prayer and penance. The
week preceding
Easter, which is the period of remembering the
most important events for the
Christian faith, is called
Holy Week. The last
three days of this
week:
Holy Thursday (
evening),
Good Friday,
Holy Saturday and
Easter Sunday are known as the Paschal
Triduum (
Triduum Paschale).
Easter Sunday begins on
Saturday after
dark. It begins with the
Easter Vigil,
during which the Paschal
candle is lit - a
large wax
candle that symbolizes the risen
Christ. It is also the last day of the
Easter Triduum, calculated according to the
Jewish calendar from
Holy Thursday evening to
Sunday evening vespers. The
celebration of
Easter extends over the next
eight days - the
Easter octave, and more broadly throughout the entire
Easter period, which lasts 50 days, and which ends at
Pentecost -
Pentecost Sunday. On the 40th day (
Thursday), the Ascension of
Jesus is celebrated.
During this period, the liturgical vestments are
white in
color.
Easter customs vary throughout the
Christian world and include
sunrise services,
Easter greetings, and
church decorations. The
symbols of
Easter include
colorful Easter eggs,
Easter catkins,
Easter chickens and
rabbits. Additional
customs that
have been linked to
Easter and are observed in both
Christian and some non-Christian
cultures include
Easter egg
hunt and
Easter parades.
There are also
various traditional
Easter dishes that vary regionally.
