Easter Sunday

Easter, the "solemnity of solemnities," commemorates Christ's victory over sin, death and the devil. It celebrates the paschal sacrifice of Calvary culminating in glory, and at the Easter Vigil converts are baptized and welcomed into full communion. It is a holy day of obligation.

Why we celebrate

Easter commemorates Christ's victory over sin, death and the devil. His Resurrection is the cornerstone of the faith and the source of our hope. Easter celebrates the paschal sacrifice of Calvary, which culminated in everlasting glory in the heavenly sanctuary. Catechumens pass from death to new life through baptism, "the gateway to the Christian life," and they and others are welcomed into full communion, sharing Christ's body and blood, soul and divinity in the Eucharist (1 Corinthians 10:14-22; see John 6:51-58). Easter is a holy day of obligation, and the Easter Vigil fulfills it.

The road to Easter

On Palm Sunday Jesus fulfilled the prophecy of the humble king riding on a colt (Zechariah 9:9; cf. Matthew 21:5). Good Friday focuses on the Cross and his redemptive sacrifice, the sign that God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that the world might be saved through him (John 3:16-17).

Why the date moves

Unlike Christmas, Easter is a moveable feast. Following the Jewish lunar method, it falls on the first Sunday after the paschal full moon, the first full moon on or after March 21, the Church's fixed date for the spring equinox. Ash Wednesday, the Ascension, Pentecost, Corpus Christi and other feasts shift with it. Orthodox Easter usually falls on a different date because the Orthodox calculate it with the older Julian calendar; the dispute sadly still divides Catholics and Orthodox.

Is the Easter Bunny pagan?

No. There is no evidence that rabbits were associated with the goddess Ishtar or the supposed Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre; the only ancient reference to Eostre, from St. Bede, says nothing about rabbits. The Easter Bunny comes from German Lutherans, whose "Easter Hare" was a kind of springtime Santa.

Easter eggs

Because eggs were once forbidden during Lent, they became a festive Easter food, often dyed red for joy and the Resurrection. The custom spread in East and West and gave rise to egg-gifting, egg-picking and egg-rolling. The Catholic Encyclopedia notes that the custom may also have absorbed pagan spring customs, the egg being an emblem of the new life of early spring.