I’ll start by saying a couple things. First, my knowledge of Easter was, until recently, limited to hard-boiled eggs and a certain small mammal. Second, you may already know a few of these things—heck, you may know all ten. So what is Easter about? Let’s roll (with Encyclopedia Britannica closely by our side). As a reminder, to help make sense of what is to come, the Orthodox Church formally split from the Catholic Church in 1054, and the Catholic-Protestant rift took hold starting in the 1500s.
1
This you definitely know. Easter is a major holiday in Christianity, marking the Resurrection of Jesus a few days after his death by crucifixion—commemorated by the preceding Good Friday—in around 30 CE. As Jesus is thought to have died for the sins of humanity, his Resurrection suggests that believers, too, can be saved.
2
Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first ecclesiastical full moon that occurs on or after March 21, which is the ecclesiastical approximation of the March equinox. That mouthful ends up being anywhere from March 22 to April 25. In case you’re wondering, ecclesiastical means relating to the Christian Church, and the fixed dates assigned by the Church to certain events don’t always align with actual astronomical dates.
3
Orthodox Christianity typically celebrates Easter later than the rest of the Christian world. Why? Because the Orthodox Church still adheres to the Julian calendar, which is behind the more commonly used Gregorian calendar by 13 days. As such, Orthodox Easter falls anywhere from April 4 to May 8. (Due to complexities that I won’t get into, the exact day is not necessarily 13 days after the non-Orthodox celebration.)
4
Not all denominations of Christianity celebrate Easter. In particular, several Protestant denominations have pointed to the fact that celebration of the holiday is not mentioned in the Bible and may thus be an assimilated pagan ritual. Examples of such groups include Jehovah’s Witnesses and Quakers.
5
The word Easter comes from the Old High German word eostarum, which in turn may have derived from a Latin phrase referring to dawn. In several other languages, the word used for the holiday derives from the Latin and Greek word for Passover, a closely related Jewish holiday. (The Last Supper, the final meal shared by Jesus and his disciples on the day before his crucifixion, may have been a Passover meal.)
6
The connection between lamb and the Easter feast has at least a couple explanations. One is the reference to Jesus in the New Testament—John 1:29 to be exact—with the line Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world. The other is more simply the use of the lamb as a sacrificial animal in ancient Israel. Lambs clearly had no say in this tradition.
7
One potential explanation (among many others) for the whole egg-decorating situation might date to the 13th century, a time when the consumption of eggs during Holy Week (the week preceding Easter) was prohibited. Eggs produced by chickens during that week were decorated instead, becoming a symbol of rebirth (the Resurrection).
8
One potential explanation (among many others) for the Easter Bunny/Rabbit situation dates back to 17th-century Protestant communities that may have been creating traditions separate from the Catholic Church. Regular rabbits don’t actually lay eggs, but apparently the Easter Rabbit not only lays them but also decorates and hides them. In the US, this special creature also gives baskets full of toys and candy to children.
9
In 2021, it was projected that Americans would spend a collective $21.6 billion on Easter celebrations.
10
One of the greatest tunes about Jesus’ Resurrection is Dolly Parton’s version of “He’s Alive” (originally written by Don Francisco). Have a listen—you can jump to about 4:00 for the climax.
And with that, I’ll wish you a Happy Easter, or Felices Pascuas, no matter if, when, or how you choose to interact with the tradition, and assuming, of course, you want such interaction (or lack thereof) to be happy.
