For children, Easter is about treasure hunts, eating as many chocolate Easter eggs as possible and basically having loads of fun.
On a more serious note, though, Easter is the greatest festival of the Christian church, commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
It’s a movable feast and is not always held on the same date.
In the year AD 325, the church council of Nicae decided that Easter should be celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon, on or after the vernal equinox of March 21.
Easter can come as early as March 22, or as late as April 25.
In many churches, Easter is preceded by a period of abstinence, prayer and fasting called Lent.
This is observed in memory of the 40-day fast of Christ in the desert.
Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent and inherited its name from the practice, mainly in the Roman Catholic Church, of placing ashes on the foreheads of the faithful to remind them that “man is but dust”.
Palm Sunday is celebrated one week before Easter, commemorating the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Holy Week begins on this day and Holy Thursday or Maundy Thursday, is celebrated in memory of the Last Supper of Christ with his disciples. Good Friday commemorates the crucifixion of Christ.
The name Easter is derived from “Eostre”, who was an ancient Anglo-Saxon goddess, originally of the dawn.
In pagan times an annual spring festival was held in her honour.
Some Easter customs have come from this and other pre-Christian spring festivals.
Others come from the Passover feast of the Jews, observed in memory of their deliverance from Egypt.
Lent may be preceded by a carnival season.
The origin of the word “carnival” is probably from the Latin “carne vale”, meaning “flesh (meat) farewell”. Elaborate pageants often close this season on Shrove Tuesday, the day before the beginning of Lent.
This day is also called by its French name, “Mardi Gras” (Fat Tuesday).
