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Easter 2016: All you need to know about the festival

The Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter.

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Pope Francis carries the Paschal candle as he leads the Ceremony of the Light during the Holy Saturday Easter vigil mass at St. Peter's Basilica on March 30, 2013.
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What is Easter?

Easter is celebrated by Christians as the day when Jesus Christ was resurrected. Christians believe that Jesus Christ, the son of God, was sent to Earth to redeem mankind from its sins. According to the Bible, Christ spread the Word of God during his time on Earth. God sacrificed his only son for the sins of man.

Easter is preceded by two days of mourning which begins on Good Friday.

The period of Lent 

Lent lasts for 40 days, without counting the Sundays that fall within this period. This is a period of fast for Christians marked by giving up a particular vice. In India, Christians usually give up eating meat during this period as part of the fast. The fasting is meant to commemorate the 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness while being tempted by the Devil.

The first day of Lent is marked by Ash Wednesday, which was observed on February 10 this year. The ashes used to mark people's foreheads during this Mass are made from the Palm leaves burned from the previous year's Palm Sunday.

The Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday, which is the Sunday before Easter. It marks the day Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem, greeted by large crowds holding palm leaves in their hands.


A statue of Jesus Christ is pictured during a Good Friday procession in Germany. -Reuters

On Maundy Thursday, Christians commemorate the Last Supper, the final meal Jesus had before his crucifixion, with his 12 disciples. This is followed by Good Friday when Christians observe the crucifixion of Jesus. Friday and Saturday are days of mourning before Easter celebration on Sunday.

Why isn't there a fixed date for Easter?

Unlike Christmas, Easter does not have a fixed date, it changes every year.

The First Council of Nicea was held in AD 325 by Roman Emporer Constantine where a council of Christian bishops got together to decide on what the Catholic Church would teach.  Among other things, the council decided that Easter would be celebrated on the first full moon after the Spring Equinox. The Spring Equinox takes place around March 21.

Unlike the Gregorian or Julian calendars, which follow the cycle of the sun, the date for Easter is based on the lunar calendar. So Easter always falls between March 22 and April 25 of the year.

However, for Orthodox Christians, Easter comes later because they set the date according to the Julian calendar. This year they will celebrate Easter on May 1.

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