Easter 2021 – The Prominent Christian Festival
Easter, 2021, just passed. Easter is one of the most prominent festivals of Christians all over the world. We all enjoyed a long weekend. Let us quickly understand why and how Easter is celebrated.
What is Easter?
Easter is a festival to commemorate the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ which mark the victory of good over evil. There is no fixed date for Easter. The dates depend on the moon. The first Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon, the first full moon after the vertical equinox is Easter. This year 4th of April we are celebrating Easter, 2021.
It is a prolonged celebration of the Holy Week.
The significant days are:
‘Holy Thursday' or ‘Maundy Thursday' commemorates the “Last Supper”. It is on this day in 30 A.D., Jesus washed the feet of his apostles and had the last supper with them before his crucifixion.
‘Good Friday' is the Friday when Jesus was crucified. He died on the cross at Calvary. It is a holiday almost all over the world. We celebrated Good Friday of Easter, 2021, on 2nd April.
‘Hallelujah Saturday' or ‘Black Saturday' is Easter Eve which marks the day Jesus' body lay in the tomb and the Harrowing of Hell.
‘Easter Sunday', also called ‘Resurrection Sunday', is the day Jesus rose from the dead, from the burial. This is the end of the Holy week and the 40 days of Lent.
How do we celebrate Easter?
Prayer Services
Churches all over the world have special prayer services. There is music, hymns, choirs and church bells and flowers and candle lights all over. Easter Vigil is a holy mass at the night of Easter Eve. On Sunday the ‘Feast of Pentecost' is celebrated. Often religious procession is seen.
However, the celebrations of Easter, 2021, have scaled-down due to the pandemic. Some Churches are conducting virtual prayer services and prayer meetings.
Celebrations
Easter celebrations are all about family, food, fun, gifts and games. The festival means family dining and sweet tooth. Easter eggs (mostly made of chocolates), Easter candies (jelly beans) and wine are the must-haves for Easter Celebrations. Easter Bunny, carrots and Cakes also play a major role in Easter menus. Playing treasure hunt is a common practice among children. The Easter bunny is a symbol of fertility and new life. The stone which guarded the tomb of Christ was egg-shaped. As Jesus is often referred to as ‘The Lamb of God', lamb dishes are traditional Easter food. In Easter, 2021, we witnessed smaller gatherings and minimalistic celebrations.
Easter Gifts
Easter gift baskets comprise loads of chocolates and candies. They are mostly colourful Easter candies, jelly beans, different kinds of Chocolate eggs even with various fillings. Mousse and chocolate Easter bunnies are also common. Decorative showpieces in the shape of an egg or a bunny are also good gifts. Easter lilies are beautiful as a gift and are used extensively for Easter decorations. They symbolize the purity of Christ and also his rebirth and resurrection. Treasure hunt gift cards set is another gift idea. Wine and Easter special wine accessories are not bad gifts for adults either. Easter, 2021, shopping has mostly been online.
Christians all over the world wait for Easter. Most of us wait for the long weekend and the celebrations. However, I feel Easter is extremely metaphoric for everyone. Resurrection is the promise of hope, belief, love and life. It tells us to fight against the darkness and rise with triumph towards the path of light.
Author
Dipannita
A versatile writer and travel freak, discovering the world in her own casual way. Loves to immerse into the core of Mother Nature and extract her inherent beauty.
I recently heard about Easter Monday which was something new to me. I always find this to be interesting. It is good to learn new things.
Happy Easter! God will always find his way to show how he loves his children. Its also a time for reflection for us.
A lot of people look forward to the Holy Week. It is not just a long weekend for rest but to make some reflections as well.
Happy Easter 🙂
Thank you for such vital information on Easter. Had a great time reading it.
Thank you for sharing this information about Easter. if we are too familiar with an event, such as Easter, our tendency is to take it for granted and accept it as it is without really trying to discover its significance.
That is awesome! I love Easter! What we ended up doing is coloring eggs and we then went on a egg hunt with the kids, was so much fun…
Thanks for reminding us a little bit about the history and background of this festival while we are celebrating it. – Knycx Journeying
We don’t celebrate Easter in my family so this post actually taught me a lot!
It’s always nice to read background on holiday posts. I enjoyed this one as Easter is one of my most favored holidays.
I love to read about Easter. We enjoy the holiday for many reasons, including the religious significance.
I love Easter Sunday. It’s one of my favorite holidays. It’s so fun and there’s so much history behind it.
Did not know the details but it looks cool. I loved the story!
Never been there but when i can travel again, I will def put it on my list ,thanks for sharing.
Very insightful topic on the subject.
Had little idea about Easter prior coming across this article.
Keep up the good work . . .