Easter Sunday is one of the most celebrated festive events among Christians worldwide. It commemorates Jesus Christ’s resurrection from death, and Christians worldwide celebrate Easter with special church services, music, candlelight, flowers and the ringing of church bells.
Easter eggs and the Easter Bunny are both fertility symbols, holdovers from the feast of Eostara. Other symbolic parallels include the pagan joy in the rising sun of spring, which coincides with Christians’ joy in the rising Son of God, and the lighting of candles in churches, which corresponds to the pagan bonfires.
The symbol of the cross and images of Jesus Christ, through paintings or statues, are remembered on Easter Day.
This year Easter takes place from Good Friday on March 30, 2018 until Easter Monday on April 2, 2018 - making Easter Sunday to fall on April 1, which is also April Fool's day.
The death of Jesus occurred around the Jewish Passover, which is traditionally held on first full moon following the vernal equinox. As the full moon can vary in each time zone, the Church said that they would use the 14th day of the lunar month instead – the Paschal Full Moon – and host Easter Day on the following Sunday.
Once the date of the moon is known, Easter Day and the Easter holidays can be determined. Christians celebrate Easter on a Sunday as it was the day Jesus rose from the dead, following being crucified on a Friday two days before.
Centuries ago in the year 325, it was determined by a council of Christian bishops that Easter Day would always be on a Sunday to commemorate the happy occasion.
In western Christianity, Easter Sunday must always fall on the next full moon after Spring Equinox. Easter can fall as early as March and as late as April or May, depending on the year and calendar used.
Christians in the east who use the Julian calendar instead of the Gregorian calendar may have a different date. The date of Easter changes because the full moon can fall on different days in different time zones.