When is Easter 2024?
Easter is a moveable feast (takes place on different dates each year) and is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first spring full moon. This year Easter is on Sunday March 31, 2024.
Significance of
Easter 2024
Easter, also known as Resurrection Sunday, is a religious holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and is celebrated by Christians throughout the world.
History of Easter
The history of Easter 2023 is founded in the New Testament of the Bible that states that the resurrection of Jesus, which Easter celebrates, is a foundation of the Christian faith. The resurrection established Jesus as the powerful Son of God and is cited as proof that God will judge the world in righteousness.
As opposed to one single day of observance, Easter is an entire season of the Christian calendar commencing with Lent (a 40 day period) and ending with Easter Sunday. Easter 2023 is related to the Passover and Exodus from Egypt recorded in the Old Testament through the Last Supper, sufferings and crucifixion of Jesus that preceded the resurrection. According to the New Testament, Jesus gave the Passover meal a new meaning, as in the Last Supper he prepared himself and his disciples for his death through crucifixion.
Easter joins two important events with the first being deeply sad and dramatic while the other is just the opposite. The first one is the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ after which his body was placed in the tomb. Three days later he resurrected from death bringing happiness and joy. Resurrection is a triumph of life and even more astonishing than the miracle of his birth.
The name of the holiday, Easter, is founded from the name for a Saxon goddess who was known by the names of Oestre or Eastre. She is a goddess of the dawn and the spring, and her name derives from words for dawn, the shining light arising from the east and therefore finds significance in the rising of Jesus Christ.
Traditions of Easter
Every nation has its own way of celebrating Easter. Some of its traditions are likely linked to pagan traditions and have become commercial symbols for the holiday. In the United States of America, Easter is marked with sunrise church services, a big celebratory dinner or lunch on Easter Sunday, the decorating of Easter eggs, Easter egg hunts and Easter Parades.