Easter
Easter is the Christian celebration of Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead. It is observed on a Sunday whose date varies each year.
Resurrection of Jesus: The Christian belief that Jesus rose bodily from the dead after his crucifixion. Easter commemorates this event as its central claim.
Computus: The calculation of the date of Easter and related movable Christian feasts. It supplies the rules used to determine Easter’s date.
Passover: The Jewish festival commemorating the Israelites’ liberation from slavery in Egypt. The Gospel accounts place Jesus’ final days in the setting of Passover.
Orthodox Easter: The celebration of Christ’s resurrection in Eastern Orthodox churches, often dated using the Julian calendar. Different calendar calculations can separate its date from Western Easter.
Paschal Mystery: The Christian understanding of Jesus’ suffering, death, resurrection, and glorification as one saving work. Easter celebrates the resurrection within this larger account of salvation.
Paschal full moon: The ecclesiastical full moon used in calculating the date of Easter. Easter’s calendar rule places the feast after this calculated moon.
Gospel of Mark: The earliest surviving canonical Gospel, narrating Jesus’ ministry, death, and the discovery of his empty tomb. Its ending preserves an early account of the women finding the tomb empty.
Western Christianity: The Christian traditions that developed chiefly in western Europe, including Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. Most Western churches share a common Easter date calculated by the Gregorian system.
Easter Vigil: A Christian liturgy held after nightfall before Easter Sunday, especially prominent in Catholic and Orthodox churches. Its readings, baptism, and light rites announce Easter’s passage from death to life.
Gregorian calendar: The civil calendar introduced in 1582 to correct drift in the Julian calendar. Most Western churches calculate Easter using this calendar’s solar dates.