Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday
Name	Easter Sunday
Type	Christian holiday
Observedby	Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Anglicanism, Lutheranism, Methodism, Baptists
Significance	Celebration of the resurrection of Jesus
Date	movable; first Sunday after the paschal full moon following the vernal equinox
Frequency	Annual

Easter Sunday Easter Sunday is the principal feast in Christianity commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead according to the canonical Gospel of Matthew, Gospel of Mark, Gospel of Luke and Gospel of John. It concludes the Paschal Triduum alongside Holy Thursday and Good Friday and inaugurates the Eastertide season observed by Roman Rite, Byzantine Rite, Ambrosian Rite and other liturgical traditions. The observance influences calendars, public holidays and cultural practices across Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.

Naming and date

The English name derives from the Old English Ēastre, linked by Bede to the Eostre festival and tied to pre-Christian observances in Anglo-Saxon England, while Latin Pascha reflects Greek Πάσχα, itself from Hebrew פֶּסַח (Pesach, Passover). The date is determined by the ecclesiastical approximation of the vernal equinox promulgated at the Council of Nicaea (325), calculated using the Alexandrian calendar and later refined in computations associated with the Gregorian calendar reform of 1582 under Pope Gregory XIII. Western churches use the Gregorian calendar and Eastern churches frequently follow the Julian calendar, producing divergent observance dates that affect Orthodox and Catholic Church calendars.

Religious significance

Easter Sunday is central to Christian theology because it affirms core doctrines articulated in ecumenical councils such as Nicaea I and reflected in creeds like the Nicene Creed and Apostles' Creed. It is the culmination of Holy Week, completing the salvific narrative beginning with the Incarnation and the events of Palm Sunday and Good Friday. The resurrection is invoked in theological works by figures including Augustine of Hippo, Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, and John Calvin, and is commemorated in liturgical texts like the Roman Missal, Book of Common Prayer, Divine Liturgy of John Chrysostom, and hymnody associated with Handel and Charles Wesley.

Liturgical observances and customs

Liturgies for Easter Sunday vary across rites: Easter Vigil services in the Roman Rite feature the blessing of the Paschal candle and readings from Genesis, Exodus, Isaiah, and Acts of the Apostles, while the Byzantine Rite begins with the Paschal Matins sung by chanters in the tradition of John of Damascus. Clerical vestments shift from penitential colors to white or gold as prescribed by the General Instruction of the Roman Missal and rubrics of the Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar. Rituals include the proclamation "Christ is risen" used in patristic liturgical formulas, the exchange of the kiss of peace in various communions, and sacraments such as Eucharist and Baptism that are often administered during the Easter Vigil and Easter morning services in cathedral and parish settings.

Cultural traditions and secular celebrations

Easter Sunday spawns secular customs including egg-decorating traditions like Pysanka from Ukraine and egg-rolling events held on grounds of institutions such as White House and local municipal parks. Popular cultural artifacts include Easter Bunny folklore widespread in Germany, United States, and United Kingdom, and confections produced by manufacturers such as Cadbury, Lindt, and Ferrero SpA. Community events often involve parades like those in New Orleans and Seville, family meals with dishes rooted in regional cuisines of Italy, Greece, Poland, and Mexico, and television broadcasts of sacred music performances such as Handel's Messiah and organ recitals in venues including St Paul's Cathedral and Notre-Dame de Paris.

History and origins

Scholars trace the origins of Easter Sunday observance through interactions among Second Temple Judaism, Hellenistic culture, and nascent Christianity in the first century CE, with polemical and theological developments recorded in Pauline epistles and contested in later debates like the Quartodeciman controversy resolved at synods influenced by authorities from Antioch, Rome, and Alexandria. Medieval practices were shaped by monasticism from founders such as Benedict of Nursia and by liturgical standardization under Gregory the Great. Reformation movements led by Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Ulrich Zwingli produced diverse eucharistic and Easter emphases in Protestant regions, while Eastern Orthodox Church maintained traditions codified in Byzantine liturgical books and synodal decrees.

Symbols and iconography

Visual and material culture associated with Easter Sunday includes the Paschal candle, icons of the Resurrection, and liturgical colors white and gold linked to triumphal themes found in artworks by Giotto, Piero della Francesca, and Sandro Botticelli. Animal symbolism features the lamb as in Agnus Dei imagery rooted in John the Baptist's identification and sacrificial typology from Isaac and Passover lamb motifs. Eggs appear in Christian art and folk customs across Eastern Europe, Middle East, and the British Isles, while musical repertoire includes compositions by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Johann Sebastian Bach, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, and modern sacred composers performed in venues like Westminster Abbey and La Scala.

Category:Christian holy days