Easter has evolved. Many people celebrate its religious origins, while others love the fun egg-related activities.
There are certain rules for when Easter will take place. It is considered a “moveable feast.” For the Gregorian calendar, Easter happens between March 22 and April 25, but for the Eastern Orthodox Church, it happens between April 4 and May 8. Easter Sunday always occurs after the Paschal Full Moon though, which is the full moon after the Spring Equinox.
Easter is originally a Christian holiday that celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is said Christ died on Good Friday and rose on Easter Sunday.
Many Christian traditions for Easter start a lot earlier than Easter Sunday. Lent is the preceding event, which focuses on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. It starts on Ash Wednesdays and lasts 40 days. People will fast during those 40 days, but the fast does exclude Sundays and people cannot eat meat on Fridays. Then, the week after that is Holy Week that starts on Palm Sunday and ends on Easter Sunday.
The most popular traditions are decorating eggs, egg hunts, and the Easter Bunny. Easter eggs are said to represent Jesus’ reemergence. One explanation for decorating the eggs was that they were a forbidden food during Lent, so people would decorate them and then eat them on Easter Sunday.
Egg hunts originate from Germany where Protestant Martin Luther would have men hide eggs for women and children to find, then when German immigrants came to America, the tradition continued. Similarly, the Easter Bunny came from German immigrants. The Easter Bunny came from the Lutheran denomination. The German Easter Bunny, called the “Easter Hare”, would have colored eggs and hide them around the house for the children to find.
“I loved the Easter egg hunts! I have not done one in a while, but they were my favorite tradition when I was younger,” James Knoflicek (‘24) reminisced.
“I went down to my grandparents house; we celebrated birthdays instead of Easter,” Lilly Kennedy Gregg (‘24) explained.
A custom for Easter is going to church. On Holy Saturday, there is an Easter Vigil. Normally, the Easter Vigil is a quiet but joyful service. Then, Easter Sunday is very celebratory with jovial decorations and sermons.
“We went to church for Easter Sunday, it was pretty far but worth it. My nephew was dedicated into the church,” Rian Jacobs (‘24) said.
Easter can be celebrated in many different ways. It does not have to be a religious holiday, it is a very flexible holiday that suits many people.
