In Christian countries Easter is celebrated as the religious holiday

commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

the son of God. But the celebrations of Easter have many customs

and legends that are pagan in origin and have nothing to do with Christianity

Scholars, accepting the derivation proposed by the 8th-century

English scholar St. Bede, believe the name Easter

is thought to come from the Scandinavian "Ostra"

and the Teutonic "Ostern" or "Eastre," both Goddesses of mythology

signifying spring and fertility whose festival

was celebrated on the day of the vernal equinox

Traditions associated with the festival survive in the

Easter rabbit, a symbol of fertility, and in colored easter eggs,

originally painted with bright colors to represent the

sunlight of spring, and used in Easter-egg rolling contests or

given as gifts

The Christian celebration of Easter embodies a number of converging

traditions with emphasis on the relation of Easter

to the Jewish festival of Passover, or Pesach, from which is derived

Pasch, another name used by Europeans for Easter.

Passover is an important feast in the Jewish calendar which is

celebrated for 8 days and commemorates the flight and

freedom of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt

The early Christians, many of whom were of Jewish origin,

were brought up in the Hebrew tradition and regarded Easter

as a new feature of the Passover festival, a commemoration of

the advent of the Messiah as foretold by the prophets.

Easter is observed by the churches of the West on the first

Sunday following the full moon that occurs on or following

the spring equinox (March 2I). So Easter became a "movable" feast

which can occur as early as March 22 or as late as April 25

Christian churches in the East which were closer to the birthplace

of the new religion and in which old traditions

were strong, observe Easter according to the date of the Passover festival

Easter is at the end of the Lenten season, which covers a forty-six-day

period that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends with

Easter. The Lenten season itself comprises forty days, as the six Sundays

in Lent are not actually a part of Lent.

Sundays are considered a commemoration of Easter Sunday and have

always been excluded from the Lenten fast.

The Lenten season is a period of penitence in preparation for the

highest festival of the church year, Easter

Holy Week, the last week of Lent, begins its with the observance of

Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday takes its name from

Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem where the crowds laid palms

at his feet. Holy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper,

which was held the evening before the Crucifixion. Friday in

Holy Week is the anniversary of the Crufixion,

the day that Christ was crucified and died on the cross

Holy week and the Lenten season end with Easter Sunday, the day of resurrection of Jesus Christ

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