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Origins, meanings, and practices of Easter

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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.

Easter is not celebrated on the actual anniversary of the resurrection. Among Christians in the West it may fall on any date between MAR-22 and APR-25. Eastern Christianity uses the Julian Calendar which is currently delayed by 13 days from the Gregorian Calendar that Western Christians use. Easter is observed in the East between APR-04 and MAY-08. There have been efforts to have all Christians observe Easter on the same day, and other efforts to hold it on the same day each year. However, these have not been successful.

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 "full moon" is not the actual astronomical event; it is set at the 14th day of the month according to a lunar calendar.

Topics discussed in this section:

	The Pagan origins of Easter Pagan and Neopagan celebrations at or near the Spring Equinox
	The Christian origins of Easter How and when Easter is celebrated today. Rabbits, eggs and other Easter traditions The names for Easter in various languages Past disputes over the date of Easter Attempts to find a common date for Easter Was Jesus executed on a Wednesday and resurrected on a Saturday? Beliefs about Jesus' resurrection

Some links to other web sites:

Easter cards: 101 Easter offers Ecards, recipes, jokes, a history of Easter, and other information. See: http://www.101easter.com/   123Greetings is a premier electronic greeting card website that features Easter greeting cards during the Easter season. The 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/ GoodFridayCards has a broad range of Christian cards for Easter and other events, including some for children. See: http://www.goodfridayecards.com/

Other topics: Holiday Spot has many essays on the history, icons and symbols of Easter. See: http://www.theholidayspot.com/easter/ Easter-Art sells decorated Easter eggs featuring traditional Slavic folk art and craftsmanship. See: http://www.easter-art.com/ Easteri.com maintains a list of links to websites covering a wide range of Easter topics. See: http://easteri.com/easter/ Happy Easter covers a wide range of topics related to Easter, including cards, songs, poems, crafts and decorations, etc. See: http://www.happyeaster.org.uk/ KidMagnet.com has a group of links to articles on Easter: its history, origins, traditions, etc. See: http://www.kidmagnet.com/

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Related essays on this web site:

	The Shroud of Turin - relic, icon, artifact, fraud?
	Other essays about Yeshua of Nazareth/Jesus Christ.

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Copyright 1999 to 2013 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2013-MAR-31
Author: B.A. Robinson

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