The origins of Easter and why it is a movable feast

Sunday April 21 sees the celebration of the Christian festival of Easter. Although chocolate eggs and the Easter Bunny may be the prevalent images we see in stores at this time of year, Easter is a time when Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

However, as with many Christian festivals, the origin and timing of Easter owes much to Pagan celebrations. For a start, there is nothing in the Bible which hints at the date or time of year that the resurrection happened. However, it is thought that spring was adopted as the best time of year to celebrate the resurrection as it was then that we see plants and flowers ‘reborn’ after the winter.

Spring has always been characterized by new life and that obviously seemed like the fitting time to mark Jesus rising from the dead.

But why is Easter on a different date every year?

Again, we have to look at Pagan traditions. Easter generally falls in late March or early April, around the time of the vernal equinox, which is the time of year when there is an equal amount of light and darkness.

The fixing of Easter Sunday each year is decided based on when the first full moon occurs following the vernal – or spring – equinox. Easter Sunday is the first Sunday which falls after that first full moon.

The name Easter is thought to have been derived from the name of a pre-Christian goddess in England called Eostre whose feast was celebrated at the start of spring. Scholars recorded that early English Christians would celebrate the resurrection of Jesus in ‘Eostre’ time and the name eventually became Easter.

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Ash Wednesday: The day Christians begin Lent

Ash Wednesday marks the official start of the Holy season of Lent for many Christians around the world. It is estimated that there are over 2 billion Christians in the world today, divided into a number of different denominations. The largest Christian denomination is Catholicism, with around 1.25 billion followers while just under 1 billion are part of some form of Protestant denomination.

Most Christian denominations observe Ash Wednesday and Catholics and some other Christian denominations will attend services at which they will have ashes placed on their foreheads, usually in the shape of a cross. It is believed that this practice was established by Pope Gregory I who was pope between 540 and 604 AD.

The ashes used in Ash Wednesday are usually made by burning the palm leaves from the previous year’s Palm Sunday services.

Christians are also urged to either fast on Ash Wednesday or refrain from eating meat and abstaining from certain luxuries.

Ash Wednesday marks the start of the season of Lent, a six-week period which leads up to Easter. During Lent, many Christians may abstain from things such as alcohol, sweet foods or other things they consider luxuries.

Christians are also encouraged to perform alms giving, which means giving money to the poor, and praying regularly during Lent in preparation for Easter.

Due to the fact that Easter is at a different time each year, the date of Ash Wednesday moves too and in 2019 falls on March 6 but in some years can fall as early as the first Wednesday in February.

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