Here's why Easter is celebrated
The festival is more than just Easter eggs and parades, it's the celebration of the biggest feast for Christians around the world.
Many people do not know that Easter and not Christmas is the biggest feast for Christians around the world. While Christmas marks the birth of Jesus Christ who Christians regard as the Son of God and the Saviour of the world, Easter celebrates Christ's resurrection from the dead after his crucifixion.
The death of Jesus according to Christianity sets everyone who believes in Jesus free from their sin and his resurrection on the third day ensures eternal life after death.
It includes the days of the Easter Triduum—Maundy Thursday which is also known as Holy Thursday that commemorates the Last Supper and the washing of the disciples feet by Jesus as well as Good Friday which commemorates the crucifixion and death of Jesus.Easter is followed by a fifty-day period called Easter tide or the Easter Season which ends with Pentecost Sunday the feast celebrated as the birth of the Church which commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles.
Easter date and the Full MoonThe date of Easter varies between March 22 and April 25 as it occurs on the Sunday after the Spring Full Moon. The First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD established that the date of Easter should fall on the first Sunday after the full moon also called the Paschal Full Moon following the March equinox.
The equinox is reckoned to be on March 21 though it occurs, astronomically speaking, on March 20 in most years, and the Full Moon is not necessarily the astronomically correct date. Easter is linked to the Jewish Passover that celebrates the freedom the Israelites received from the Egyptians after years of slavery. The two festivals have many symbolic similarities, as well as their position in the calendar is often in the same week.
Easter celebration