About this site
About us
Our beliefs
Your first visit?
Contact us
External links
Good books
Visitor essays
Our forum
New essays
Other features
Buy a CD
Vital notes

World religions
BUDDHISM
CHRISTIANITY
 Who is a Christian?
 Shared beliefs
 Handle change
 Bible topics
 Bible inerrancy
 Bible harmony
 Interpret Bible
 Persons
 Beliefs, creeds
 Da Vinci code
 Revelation 666
 Denominations
HINDUISM
ISLAM
JUDAISM
WICCA / WITCHCRAFT
Other religions
Cults and NRMs
Comparing religions

Non-theistic...
Atheism
Agnosticism
Humanism
Other

About all religions
Main topics
Basic info.
Gods/Goddesses
Handling change
Doubt/security
Quotes
Movies
Confusing terms
Glossary
World's end
True religion?
Seasonal topics
Science/Religion
More info.

Spiritual/ethics
Spirituality
Morality/ethics
Absolute truth

Peace/conflict
Attaining peace
Relig. tolerance
Relig. freedom
Relig. hatred
Relig. conflict
Relig. violence

"Hot" topics
Very hot topics
10 command.
Abortion
Assisted suicide
Cloning
Death penalty
Environment
Homosexuality
Human rights
Gay marriage
Nudism
Origins
Sex & gender
Sin
Spanking kids
Stem cells
Transexuality
Women-rights
Other topics

Laws and news
Religious laws
Religious news

 

Web site logo

Christian holy days

Menu

Origins, meanings,
and practices of Easter

horizontal rule

Sponsored link.

horizontal rule

Overview:

Modern-day Easter is derived from two ancient traditions: one Judeo-Christian and the other Pagan. Both Christians and Pagans have celebrated death and resurrection themes following the Spring Equinox for millennia. Most religious historians believe that many elements of the Christian observance of Easter were derived from earlier Pagan celebrations.

The equinox occurs each year on March 20, 21 or 22. Both Neopagans and Christians continue to celebrate religious rituals linked to the equinox. Wiccans and other Neopagans usually hold their celebrations on the day or eve of the equinox. Western Christians celebrate Easter on the Sunday on or after the full moon that follows the nominal date of the Equinox -- MAR-21. The Eastern Orthodox churches follow a different calculation; their Easter celebration is often many weeks after the date selected by the Western churches.

horizontal rule

Topics discussed in this section:

bulletThe Pagan origins of Easter
bulletPagan and Neopagan celebrations at or near the Spring Equinox
 
bulletThe Christian origins of Easter
bulletHow and when Easter is celebrated today
bulletThe names for Easter in various languages
bulletPast disputes over the date of Easter?
bulletAttempts to find a common date for Easter
bulletWas Jesus executed on a Wednesday and resurrected on a Saturday?
bulletBeliefs about Jesus' resurrection

Some links to other web sites:

bullet

Easter cards:

bullet101 Easter offers Ecards, recipes, jokes, a history of Easter, and other information. See: http://www.101easter.com/
bullet   123Greetings is a premier electronic greeting card website that features Easter greeting cards during the Easter season.
bulletThe Easter-eCards website has an extensive selection of free Easter cards with themes such as: religious, for friends, for family, flowers, birthday, etc. See: http://www.easter-ecards.com/
bulletGoodFridayCards has a broad range of Christian cards for Easter and other events, including some for children. See: http://www.goodfridayecards.com/
 
bullet

Other topics:

bulletDate of Easter 2006 links to many sites on this topic. See: http://www.easter4u.com/
bulletEaster-Art sells decorated Easter eggs featuring traditional Slavic folk art and craftsmanship. See: http://www.easter-art.com/
bulletEasteri.com maintains a list of links to websites covering a wide range of Easter topics. See: http://easteri.com/easter/
bulletHappy Easter covers a wide range of topics related to Easter, including cards, songs, poems, crafts and decorations, etc. See: http://www.happyeaster.org.uk/
bulletKidMagnet.com has a group of links to articles on Easter: its history, origins, traditions, etc. See: http://www.kidmagnet.com/

horizontal rule

Sponsored links:

horizontal rule

Related essays on this web site:

bulletThe Shroud of Turin - relic, icon, artifact, fraud?
 
bulletOther essays about Jeshua of Nazareth/Jesus Christ.

horizontal rule

Site navigation:

Home page > Christianity > Practices > Holy days > here

Home page > Christianity > Christian personalitiesJesus > here

or Home page > Religious information > GodJesus > here

or Home page > Spirituality > GodJesus > here

horizontal rule

Copyright 1999 to 2000 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2000-FEB-21
Author: B.A. Robinson

line.gif (538 bytes)
Sponsored link

horizontal rule

Go to the previous page, or return to the Christian Holy Days menu, or choose:

  • Google
    Web ReligiousTolerance.org
    Go to home page  We would really appreciate your help

    E-mail us about errors, etc.  Purchase a CD of this web site

    FreeFind search, lists of new essays...  Having problems printing our essays?

  •  

    Sponsored link: