Easter Sunday

One of the most important days for Christians, Easter is celebrated all over the world. The day marks the resurrection of Jesus Christ, after he rose from the dead. As per the Bible, Christ was crucified on the day of Good Friday and buried in a grave, after his last supper which is commemorated as Maundy Thursday. On the third day, however, his disciples visited his grave only to find the stone rolled away and the grave to be empty.

Significance of Easter

This day brings an end to the Three Days or Easter Triduum which starts on Thursday evening and ends on Resurrection Sunday or Easter Sunday. The week before Easter is termed as the Holy Week, the Thursday of which marks the beginning of Easter Triduum and the Friday is Good Friday. The Easter Triduum starts from Thursday evening ending on Sunday evening, the day Easter is celebrated.

Generally this day is being hailed as the day when resurrection of Jesus took place, three days after his burial. Hence this day is also referred to as Resurrection Sunday. Even though Easter has a different connotation as this day is also linked to the resurrection of Tammuz and Ishatar as mentioned in the holy books, today it is mostly celebrated as Jesus’ resurrection day by the Christians. It is often held similar with Jewish Passover through the Last Supper, sufferings, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus and also because of the fact that both of these fall around the same time in the calendar.

In Western Christianity, this time is referred to as Eastertide; it begins on Easter Sunday and lasts for seven weeks, ending with the fiftieth day, Pentecost Sunday. This time is also called the Easter Season. Similarly in Orthodoxy, the Pascha season commences on Pascha and ends on the fortieth day, with the Feast of the Ascension.

According to the New Testament, the foundation of Christian faith begins or comes to light with resurrection of Jesus Christ, and this very day is celebrated on Easter. Resurrection is actually proof of the belief that Jesus is the Son of God and he will judge the world in virtue. During the Last Supper, he prepared himself for his death and declared the same to his disciples. He held a glass of wine and identified the wine as his blood and the glass as his body which were soon to be sacrificed. This meal is termed as the Passover meal and the resurrection that followed his crucifixion marked the Easter Season.