Easter 2020
Easter is an important Christian festival to mark the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The holiday falls on April 12 this year and will be celebrated across the globe. Easter is also called as Pascha.
The Christian community celebrates Easter as per the New Testament that denotes the rebirth of Jesus on the third day after his crucifixion. This is one of the important festivals of the Christian faith. The meaning of Easter is Jesus Christ’s victory over death.
Easter is generally a three days celebration that starts with Good Friday. Various churches begin the celebration in the late hours of Saturday through a religious service called Easter Vigil. The following Sunday is called Palm Sunday which marks the arrival of Jesus in Jerusalem.
Dates and History:
There are variations in the date of Easter as per the Eastern, Western and Non-Christian churches, where the history goes back 300 years ago. According to that, Easter always falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox. Hence this year, Easter will be celebrated on April 12.
As per the Gregorian calendar, Easter always falls on a Sunday between 22 March and 25 April, within about seven days after the astronomical full moon, however, Easter, therefore, varies between 4 April and 8 May in the Gregorian calendar. Easter is the third Sunday in the paschal lunar month, or, in other words, the Sunday after the paschal lunar month’s 14th day.
Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity faiths follow different calculations, traditions, and history about celebrating Easter. In Western churches, it is preceded by Lent, and a period of fasting and remorse is observers for Easter. The week before Easter is known as Holy Week which is very special in the Western Christian tradition.
In Eastern Christianity church, the preparation for Easter begins with Great Lent, which starts on Clean Monday and lasts for 40 continuous days (including Sundays). The last week of Great Lent (following the fifth Sunday of Great Lent) is called Palm Week.
Traditions and Symbols
Easter is a celebration like Christmas which has lots of customs and traditions, preparing some special dishes that are passed from generations across all streams of Christianity. The celebration includes sunrise prayer, exclaiming the Paschal greeting, clipping the church and decorating Easter eggs, egg hunting, the Easter Bunny, and Easter parades and a feast of various traditional Easter foods that vary regionally.
The egg is a symbol of new life and rebirth. In Christianity, it became associated with Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. The older times chicken eggs were dyed, however, in modern times it is replaced by decorated chocolates or plastic eggs filled with candies and jellybeans.
Eggs are dyed or painted as a special tradition all over the world to mark Easter. The egg symbolizes Resurrection as well as a new life emerging from an eggshell, just like Jesus rose from the tomb.
Happy Easter to you and your loved ones! Let’s celebrate this festival this year rejoicing a resurrection of life after the Corona Pandemic and mark a new beginning which is the core essence of Easter.
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