The history of Easter

Easter (Greek: Πάσχα, Ethiopic: ፍሲካ, Pascha) is an important annual religious feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to Christian scripture, Jesus was resurrected from the dead three days after his crucifixion. Many Christian denominations celebrate this resurrection on Easter Day or Easter Sunday (also Resurrection Day or Resurrection Sunday), two days after Good Friday. The chronology of his death and resurrection is variously interpreted to be between A.D. 26 and 36.

Easter also refers to the season of the church year called Eastertide or the Easter Season. Traditionally the Easter Season lasted for the forty days from Easter Day until Ascension Day but now officially lasts for the fifty days until Pentecost. The first week of the Easter Season is known as Easter Week or the Octave of Easter. Easter also marks the end of Lent, a season of prayer and penance.

16th century Russian Orthodox icon of the Descent into Hades of Jesus Christ, which is the usual Orthodox icon for Pascha.

Easter is a moveable feast, meaning it is not fixed in relation to the civil calendar. Easter falls at some point between late March and late April each year (early April to early May in Eastern Christianity), following the cycle of the Moon.

After several centuries of disagreement, all churches accepted the computation of the Alexandrian Church (now the Coptic Church) that Easter is the first Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon, which is the first moon whose 14th day (the ecclesiastic "full moon") is on or after March 21 (the ecclesiastic "vernal equinox").
Easter is linked to the Jewish Passover not only for much of its symbolism but also for its position in the calendar.

Cultural elements, such as the Easter Bunny and Easter egg hunts, have become part of the holiday's modern celebrations, and those aspects are often celebrated by many Christians and non-Christians alike. There are also some Christian denominations which do not celebrate Easter.

The article is taken from Wikipedia