How Much Do You Know About Easter?

The word Easter comes from the name of the Anglo Saxon goddess, Eostre, who was the goddess of spring and of fertility. References to Eostre date back before 1000 AD.

Easter Sunday is a "moveable feast" and can come as early as March 22 and as late as April 25, depending on when the full moon occurs after the vernal equinox. The calculations determining the date of Easter each year are complicated, and the date for the observance of Easter is usually different for Western Christianity and Eastern Orthodox Christianity.

The Easter season is the holiest season of the Christian Liturgical year. It starts with the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday, and culminates in Holy Week, the week in which Holy Thursday and Good Friday occur. Holy week begins with Palm Sunday, which commemorates the triumphal entry of Christ into the city of Jerusalem. Holy Thursday marks the observance of the Last Supper, where Christ and his apostles celebrated the Passover dinner the night before he died. Roman Catholics believe that he turned the bread and wine at the Passover meal into his body and blood, and believe that every time a Catholic mass is celebrated, the priest turns the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ. Good Friday marks the observance of the crucifixion of Christ. The word "good" relates to the belief that Christ died on that day for the sins of mankind. The next day in Holy Week is Holy Saturday, when Christ lay in the tomb. Christians believe that Christ arose from the dead and left the tomb early on Easter Sunday morning. Many Christian churches hold Easter services at sunrise on Easter morning.

Formerly, the Easter season lasted 40 days, or until Ascension Thursday, when Christ is believed to have ascended bodily into heaven. Now, the Easter season lasts until the feast of Pentecost, which occurs 50 days after Easter. Pentecost, also called Whitsunday, marks the descent of the Holy Ghost, or Holy Spirit, on Christ's apostles, in the form of small flames of fire.

In addition to the religious observance of Easter, many secular traditions such as the Easter Bunny, coloring eggs, and giving baskets full of candy to children have become popular over the years. At one time it was common to dye baby chicks in pastel colors for Easter and display them with baby rabbits in shop windows.

Each year, the President of the United States hosts an Easter egg roll and egg hunt on the white house lawn the day after Easter. This tradition was started by Rutherford B. Hayes in 1878.