What is Easter?

Easter is the celebration of Jesus Christ’s rising from the dead (His Resurrection) after His crucifixion which took place on what we now term Good Friday.
Easter is usually celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon following the Vernal or Spring Equinox on March 21st. This can be any Sunday between March 22nd and April 25th. It is the most sacred of all the Christian holidays or celebrations.

Easter festival celebrations probably embody a number of other traditions occuring at around the same time. Most scholars speak of the relationship of Easter to the Jewish festival of Passover, or Pesach in Hebrew. The Passover celebrates the safe flight of the Israelites out of Egypt and across the Red Sea, lead of course by Moses, and as described in the Book of Exodus.

At this time Jews remember how the children of Israel left slavery behind them when they left Egypt. The Israelites had been under the rule of Pharaoh, the King of Egypt, until Moses led them out over 3,000 years ago.

Source: Kiddy House

Easter in India

Christians in India have unique way of celebrating the holiday. For instance, in the state of Goa, Christians would celebrate with street carnivals, dances & songs. The people would also exchange gifts such as colourful lanterns, chocolates and flowers.

Easter Egg

Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are sometimes decorated. They are usually used as gifts on the occasion of Easter. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest tradition is to use dyed and painted chicken eggs, but a modern custom is to substitute chocolate eggs wrapped in colored foil, hand-carved wooden eggs, or plastic eggs filled with confectionery such as chocolate.

How did Easter get its name?

The English name “Easter” is much newer. Before Christianity in early England, the people celebrated the vernal equinox with a feast honoring Eostre, the Pagan goddess of spring. When the early English Christians wanted others to accept Christianity, they decided to use the name Easter for this holiday so that it would match the name of the old spring celebration. This made it more comfortable for other people to accept Christianity. Some believed that the word Easter came from an early German word “eostarun”, meaning dawn and white. Newly baptized Christians wore white clothes as a sign of their new life on Easter.

Source: Kiddy House