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The Christian
festival of Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The spring festival has its roots in the Jewish Passover, which
commemorates Israel's deliverance from the bondage of Egypt, and
in the Christian reinterpretation of its meaning after the
crucifixion of Jesus during the Passover of AD c.30 and the
proclamation of his resurrection three days later.
Early
Christians observed Easter on the same day as Passover (14-15
Nisan, a date governed by a lunar calendar). In the 2d century,
the Christian celebration was transferred to the Sunday
following the 14-15 Nisan, if that day fell on a weekday.
Originally, the Christian Easter was a unitive celebration, but
in the 4th century Good Friday became a separate commemoration
of the death of Christ, and Easter was thereafter devoted
exclusively to the resurrection. According to the Venerable Bede,
the name Easter is derived from the pagan spring festival of the
Anglo- Saxon goddess Eostre, and many folk customs associated
with Easter (for example, Easter eggs) are of pagan origin.
Easter Day is currently determined as the first Sunday after the
full moon on or after March 21. The Eastern Orthodox churches,
however, follow the Julian rather than the Gregorian calendar,
so their celebration usually falls several weeks later than the
Western Easter. Easter is preceded by the period of preparation
called Lent.
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Western Easter and
Eastern Orthodox Easter from 326 to 4099 |
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Oudin-Tondering |
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