What Is Easter?
Today, Easter Sunday is celebrated all around the world. Some do it with hot cross buns, some celebrate with dyed Easter eggs, and some gorge themselves on Easter candy. While we know that this is the day the Easter Bunny hops around, leaving us treasured eggs for us to hunt down, and some of us may have lost the traditional reason behind celebrating Easter somewhere along the way.
Despite all of the frivolous candies and sweets, Easter is actually one of the most revered and important holidays in the Christian faith. Many different denominations of Christianity celebrate this as the day Jesus Christ rose from the dead three days after his crucifixion to absolve the world from its sins. This was done as a symbol of sacrifice so followers could live an eternal life in Christ after their own passing, thus being eternally resurrected.
Before this joyous day, many Christians follow the 40 days of Lent, which is begins on the holy day of Ash Wednesday. Most practicing Christians will sacrifice something for 40 days as a symbol of devotion and thanks to Christ for his ultimate sacrifice. Christians give up meat every Friday during Lent as a sacrifice as well. Easter weekend technically begins on Holy Thursday, when Jesus held the Last Supper, which is honored in most Christian masses through the practice of the Eucharist. The following day is Good Friday, when the actual crucifixion occurred on Calvary. Jesus was said to have risen three days later and walked the earth for 40 more days until he ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of his father.
The reason why the date changes so frequently is because the forefathers of Christianity wanted it to be in line the Jewish holiday, Passover. Since Passover is celebrated according to lunar cycles, it changes each year. To help you begin planning your celebration, we'll show you everything from boiled egg ideas, to what to do with the leftovers. We'll wake you up with delicious Easter brunch menus and inspire you with easy and tasty Easter dinner ideas. And don't worry, we won't forget to include Easter desserts to really wow your guests on Easter Sunday! Heck, we can even help you get your table décor down, help you plan a great Easter egg hunt, and show you cool ways to decorate Easter eggs as well.
And if you want to be proactive and schedule in the dates for upcoming Easters so you're in the know for years ahead, take five minutes to note these Easter dates in your calendar!
● Celebrate Easter: April 20, 2014
● Celebrate Easter: April 5, 2015
● Celebrate Easter: March 27, 2016
● Celebrate Easter: April 16, 2017
● Celebrate Easter: April 1, 2018
● Celebrate Easter: April 21, 2019
● Celebrate Easter: April 12, 2020
From Easter menus and party ideas to the best Easter dinner, dessert, and cocktail recipes, we've got you covered. Find all this and more on The Daily Meal's Easter Recipes & Menus Page