Introduction to Easter, Year A

The Resurrection of Christ Jesus is such an important event in the Gospel Story, that one day is not enough to adequately celebrate it. Thus, in the Church Calendar, Easter is a 50-day season that begins on Easter Sunday and culminates on Pentecost.

The Season of Easter is otherwise known as Eastertide which helps differentiate between the season of Easter and Easter Sunday which is also often referred to merely as Easter.

Eastertide traditionally lasted 40 days to commemorate the resurrected Jesus’ time on earth before departing at his ascension. The season has however been extended to 50 days in modern churches to conclude on Pentecost Sunday.

There are several Eastertide customs across the world. Many churches will host a sunrise service on Easter Sunday in addition to their regular daytime and evening services. Christians will often greet each other with the Paschal greeting during Easter, both inside and outside of worship services. One greets another person with “Christ is Risen!” and the expected response is “He is risen indeed!”

Many churches participate in traditional Easter activities such as egg hunting, eating special Easter foods (often mirroring the Jewish Passover feast), watching Easter parades and decorating Easter Eggs, which are a symbol of the empty tomb.

Some Christians choose to attend a Passover Seder during Eastertide. As Christians, we should be extremely careful about how this is done. Passover is a sacred Jewish feast. The Passover Seder that is practiced by Jewish people today was only started many years after Jesus’ crucifixion and is thus not the same Passover meal that Jesus would have shared with his disciples. Christianity has a rich culture and sacred practices of our own and we should not appropriate sacred Jewish feasts for our own purposes. Therefore, if Christians would like to share in the Passover Seder, it would be best to do so alongside and guided by a committed Jewish family or Rabbi.

Ascension Day, the day that the resurrected Jesus ascended from earth is celebrated on the 40th day of Eastertide. Most churches will host a special Ascension Day service on the Thursday that this day falls on.

The liturgical colours for Easter are white or gold to celebrate the resurrection. These colours are used throughout the Season of Easter until Pentecost.

The last Sunday of Eastertide is the Day of Pentecost. The liturgical colour for Pentecost is red. Pentecost is traditionally celebrated as the coming of the Holy Spirit to the apostles and all people, but many churches also honour this day as the inauguration of the Church of Christ in the world. Pentecost Sunday is based off of the events described in Acts 2. Pentecost (meaning fiftieth) refers to the Jewish festival of Shavuot which is celebrated on the fiftieth day after Passover. Pentecost is also known as Whit Sunday in some parts of the world.