Easter Day

Easter, also known as Pascha or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday that honours the resurrected life of Jesus, who was crucified by the Romans at Calvary in around 30 AD. The resurrection of Jesus is commemorated on the third day after his burial, according to the New Testament.

Significance

One of the central principles of the Christian religion is the supernatural resurrection of Jesus from the dead, which is celebrated on Easter. The fact that Jesus rose from the dead confirmed his status as God’s Son, and also serves as evidence that the world will be judged fairly by God. Death is “swallowed up in victory” for those who believe in Jesus’ death and resurrection, according to Paul. God has given believers “a new birth into a live hope via the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,” according to the First Epistle of Peter. According to Christian theology, those who follow Jesus are spiritually raised with him through faith in the working of God so that they might live a new life and earn eternal salvation. They can also anticipate being physically resurrected to live with him in the Kingdom of Heaven.

With the Last Supper, the sufferings, and the crucifixion of Jesus that came before the resurrection, Easter is connected to Passover and the Exodus from Egypt described in the Old Testament. The three Synoptic Gospels claim that Jesus redefined the Passover dinner by preparing himself and his disciples for death at the Last Supper in the upper room.

He recognised the loaf of bread and the glass of wine as representing his soon-to-be-offered body and blood, respectively. In his First Letter to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul writes, “Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a fresh batch without yeast—as you actually are. Because Christ has been offered up as our Passover lamb. This is a reference to both the symbolism of Jesus as the Paschal lamb and the necessity in Jewish law that Jews remove all chametz, or leavening, from their houses prior to Passover.

Christian Earliest

Jesus and his disciples celebrated the Last Supper. This supper would have been a time of celebration for the early Christians as well to remember Jesus’ death and subsequent resurrection.

The early Christians timed the annual celebration of the resurrections in relation to Passover because the Gospels declare that both Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection occurred during the week of Passover. In the middle of the second century, concrete evidence for a more developed Christian Pascha (Easter) holiday starts to emerge. A Paschal homily attributed to Melito of Sardis from the middle of the second century, which describes Easter as a well-established holiday, is possibly the earliest primary document still in existence mentioning the holiday. Around the same time as the aforementioned homily, evidence for another type of yearly occurring Christian festival, those honouring the martyrs, started to emerge.

The date of Easter was determined using the local Jewish lunisolar calendar, whereas martyrs’ days were observed on set dates in the local solar calendar. This supports the theory that Easter celebrations were introduced into Christianity during its earliest, Jewish phase, but it does not settle the issue.

The church continues to observe Easter, according to the ecclesiastical historian Socrates Scholasticus, “just as many other practises have been developed,” despite neither Jesus nor his apostles having commanded the observation of this or any other festival. He argues that the feast itself is observed worldwide even though he claims that the specifics of the Easter celebration are derived from local custom.

India's Easter celebrations

Easter is widely observed and greatly celebrated in India. The festival’s centrepiece in various states, like Maharashtra, Kerala, Goa, and the region of North East India, is feasting in the form of opulent breakfasts and lunches.

What do Christians in India do on Easter?

In India, the Easter event is fervently celebrated. The Easter season officially begins on Wednesday with the start of Lent and ends on Easter Sunday. On this auspicious day, each Christian goes to church to worship.

How are you observing Easter?

Easter is observed by a large number of Christians around the world with special church services, music, candlelight, flowers, and church bells ringing. Certain nations, including Spain and the Philippines, hold Easter processions. Easter is regarded by many Christians as the most important feast of the year.