Easter 2024: Date, History, Traditions, Celebrations, Easter Eggs, Bunny, and More

Eater is a Christian Holiday which celebrates rebirth of Jesus, arrival or spring and renewal of nature. It is celebrated on the last day of Holy week. It is believed that on this day Jesus was reborn. According to the New Testament of the Bible Jesus’s resurrection happened after his crucifixion on Black Friday or Good friday. Jesus resurrected 3 days after his crucifixion in roughly 30 AD and around 2000 years ago. The festivities begin with the Lent which is a 40 day period of fasting and prayer which is also called Passion of Christ. The last week of Lent is celebrated as the Holy Week. Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday and the last day of Holy week is celebrated as Easter. It is also called the great week in the Greek and Roman ancient books because God did great deeds during this week.  The different days of Holy week are named as Palm Sunday, Holy Monday, Holy Tuesday, Spy Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday. Each day holds its own significance and way to celebrate. Easter is a part of the Paschal Triduum in which Jesus’s Trial, his Death and Resurrection is included. In today’s world Easter is one of the main festivals of christians however many traditions that are followed during this Holy week are linked with Easter from pagan or pre-christian times. 

 

Why Is Easter Called ‘Easter’?

The English word Easter derived from Eostre or Eostre which means the Anglo-Saxon deity of fertility and spring according to St. Bede the venerable, a 6th century writer of the book Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum. According to some other historians, the Easter word comes from in albis which is a Latin term. Albis is plural for alba which means dawn. In old high German which is a predecessor of modern English eostarum means dawn. It all shows Easter is highly connected with the spring or dawn. Easter is celebrated as Christian Holiday but its roots are linked mainly with early christian or pagan celebrations and their goddess Eostre and also with Jewish Passover holiday. 

 

When Is Easter 2024?

Easter 2024 is on Sunday, 31st March. Easter comes on a different date every year. It is called a Movable Feast. According to the Gregorian calendar followed by Western christians Easter is observed on Sunday between 22nd March and 25th April. However Eastern Orthodox Christians stick to the Julian calendar, that’s why Easter according to them falls on a Sunday between 4th April and 8th May every year. It is called Orthodox Easter. To determine the exact date of Easter, the Paschal full moon is tracked. Easter comes after the full moon on the first sunday. The PAschal full moon day falls on or after the Spring or March equinox. In some sections of Protestant Christians, Easter marks the arrival of Easter Season or Eastertide. Easter Season ends on Pentecost Sunday, the 50th day after Easter. A festival called Feast of Ascension is celebrated after the 40 days of Easter in some Eastern Orthodox Christians branches. These 40 days after Easter are known as the season of Pascha or Passover (Greek).

 

 

Easter Dates:

Year	Easter Sunday  (Gregorian calendar)	Eastern Orthodox Church  (Julian calendar date converted to Gregorian)
2024	March 31	May 5
2025	April 20	April 20
2026	April 5	April 12
2027	March 28	May 2

 

Easter Traditions

The period before Easter holds great significance for the western Christian sects involving Protestants and Roman Catholics. This period is called Lent. The Lent period holds a great significance in spiritual and religious aspects. This period is for fasting and remorse for the Lord’s sacrifice. The period begins on Ash Wednesday and ends after 40 days excluding Sundays. To symbolise death and repentance people wear ashes. During this period people show mourning and repentance for their sins, because Jesus died for them to take away their sins and misery. The Palm Sunday spotting beginning of Holy week marks Jesus’s arrival in Jerusalem (the capital of modern day Israel and a site of major importance for the christians). On Palm Sunday to welcome Jesus in Jerusalem people decorated roads with palm leaves. A religious service named Easter Vigil starts on the night of Holy Saturday to begin Easter. Eastern Orthodox Christians observe these days differently. The Great Lent starts on the clean Monday, 40 days before Easter. The last week of Great Lent is called Palm Week and ends with Lazarus Saturday. After it Palm Sunday comes and Holy Week begins and in conclusion Easter comes. 

 

Religious Tradition of Easter and The Legend

As per New Testament of Bible the Roman authorities arrested Jesus mainly due to his claims that he is the Son of God. However many historians believe Roman authorities feared his popularity among people and they viewed him as a danger for the Roman Empire. After getting arrested Jesus’ trial happened. He was brought in front of high priest Joseph Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin (Jewish supreme governing court and council). It is said that Joseph Caiaphas tore his own clothes to show terror (a custom among self-righteous Jews). And then a death sentence was given immediately to Jesus. After it people hit him and they spat in his face. Pontius Pilate  Jesus’ death sentence by crucifixion that is marked by Good Friday. It is believed that 3 days after his crucifixion Jesus resurrected and proved that he was God’s living son. It is written in the books of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) that people who believe in the resurrection of Jesus are given the present of eternal life. It means those people who have faith in Jesus and his sacrifice will be able to go to the Kingdom of heaven after their death. 

 

Passover and Easter

As per old Testament Easter is linked with the Jewish Holiday, Passover and exodus of Jews from Egypt. These associations can be seen in the Last Supper. The Last Supper was the final meal of Jesus with his disciples the night before his arrest and crucifixion. The Last supper was basically a Passover formal feast. However as per New Testament the last supper wasn’t a Passover meal but it was a feast shared with his 12 disciples in which bread and wine was served. Jesus told them that one of the two disciples who made the meal is going to betray him. Jesus told all of them to enjoy the wine as his blood and the matzah or bread as his body. The rituals associated with the last supper symbolise Jesus’s sacrifice and his sufferings for human beings. It all is a basis of the Holy Communion, the basic part of christian religious practices. 

Easter Eggs

Irrespective of various sects of Christianity, there are numerous traditional practices which are rooted in the pagan and non christian religious celebrations. Most non-christians celebrate this day with old traditions and not with religious traditions and aspects. One of the examples of non-christians Easter traditions are Easter eggs, egg decorating and egg rolling. 

Egg represents birth and fertility in some pagan traditions. Now egg decoration has become a huge part of Easter celebration with the religious significance of Easter that is Jesus’s rebirth or resurrection. People link these two as equal by joining the rebirth of Jesus with the fertility of eggs. People participate in different activities like egg hunts, egg decoration, and much more. In egg hunts people need to find the decorated eggs with given hints. The most eminent Easter tradition is White House Easter Egg Roll. In this tradition people roll Easter eggs in Capitol hill. 

 

Easter Bunny

During Easter morning some people dressed as a character named Easter Bunny go to some households to give chocolate eggs and candies to children. They bring Easter baskets with them to bring Chocolate eggs and candies. However the origins are unknown of these traditions but it is believed that German immigrants who came in 1700s to America brought this tradition. In some cultures rabbits are seen as energetic procreators. That’s why the arrival of baby rabbits is seen as a symbol of renewal and birth in springtime meadows. 

Easter Foods are famous too during Easter celebrations. People eat special cuisines like lamb, eggs, ham, spring peas, asparagus, sweet bread, hot cross buns and carrot cake. Easter Lamb dinner has become a tradition because of its linkage with the Last Supper. It is said that lamb is seen as a sacrificial animal in Jews and it is eaten in the Passover traditions. Jesus is linked with the Lamb with the phrase the Lamb of God showing his sacrificial nature for his people. Nowadays people celebrate Easter with their friends and families with large meals and outings. People give each other greeting cards, candies and other gifts. 

 

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