easter traditions and symbols are abundant. but what are the origins of these easter traditions? learn the history of easter traditions here.
the easter season
easter is not only a holiday but a season unto itself. to many religious people, it marks a time of miracles and a reaffirming of faith. to those with a more secular view of the world, it is a celebration of the end of winter, a time to look toward the warmth of the coming summer and a chance to shed the heavy clothing of the winter for the bright colors of spring.
the date of easter
goddess of the spring
easter is a movable holiday, which is calculated as the first sunday after the full moon that occurs on or after the vernal equinox. if the full moon falls on a sunday, then easter is the following sunday. the holiday can occur anywhere between march 22 and april 25. this year easter is april 16, 2008.
the pagan oigins of easter
long before easter became the holiday it is today, the spring festival was celebrated by the people around the world. the celebration was originally based on the lunar calendar. the name easter is derived from the saxon eostre (which is synonymous with the name of the phoenician goddess of the moon, astartephoto), a germanic goddess of spring and the deity who measured time.
Easter is the most important religious feast in the Christian liturgical year. Christians believe that Jesus was resurrected from the dead two days after his crucifixion, and celebrate this resurrection on Easter Sunday, two days after Good Friday. The year of this resurrection is variously estimated between the years 26 and 36 AD (see also Chronology of Jesus). Many non-sectarian cultural elements, such as the Easter Bunny, have become part of the holiday‘s modern celebrations, and those aspects are often celebrated by many Christians and non-Christians alike.