Easter is the most important holiday in the Eastern Orthodox calendar, celebrated on the first full moon after the vernal equinox. It replaces Christmas and is preceded by Lent. Easter and Passover are related but celebrated on different days due to the use of the Julian calendar. Easter celebrations include a midnight service, feasting, and the exchange of red eggs.
Easter is the most important holiday in the Eastern Orthodox calendar and is better known to other Christians as Easter or the Feast of the Resurrection of Christ. In Greek and Eastern Orthodox tradition, Easter replaces Christmas and other holidays because it is an affirmation of Christ’s sacrifice and Christ’s holiness. It is preceded by Lent, a period of fasting and reflection for all Christians, and ends with a week of celebration which begins at midnight on Easter day with liturgical services.
The word for Passover comes from the Hebrew Passover, for Passover, because the two holidays are closely related. The Last Supper of Christ and his disciples, for example, is believed to be a Passover Seder. Some Christians would prefer to see Easter also referred to as Easter, because the word for Easter is believed to originate in the name of a pagan goddess, and some Christians dislike this association.
Some people are unaware that although Easter and Passover celebrate the same event, they are celebrated on different days as the Eastern Orthodox sacred calendar is calculated using the Julian calendar, rather than the Gregorian calendar which has been adopted by the rest of the world . To add to the confusion, Gregorian dates are used when referring to Eastern Orthodox holidays, which can make a discussion of the pachalion or how Easter is calculated very difficult to follow.
Basically, according to the Council of Nicaea, held in 326 AD, Easter falls on the first full moon after the vernal equinox. In 326, the vernal equinox was March 20 in the Julian calendar, and this is the date used to calculate Easter. However, March 20 in the Julian calendar is currently April 3 in the Gregorian calendar, due to the drift that has occurred due to the imprecision of the Julian calendar. Consequently, Passover and Passover fall on different days, although they can sometimes coincide. Easter will never happen before April 3, and as time goes on, the festival will spread even more, finally being celebrated in winter.
Easter celebrations begin with a midnight service commemorating Christ’s resurrection and follow with a grand feast on Easter Day itself. Many nations have unique culinary traditions for Easter. Almost all Eastern Orthodox countries participate in the exchange of red eggs, which symbolize the rebirth and blood of Christ. During Easter week, it is traditional for people to greet each other with the greeting “Christ is risen!” “Really, he is risen!” when they meet.
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