Easter 2023: Date of Easter Holidays This Year

Easter 2023 will take place on April 9. Easter, also called as Resurrection Sunday, is a major Christian festival that marks the day of resurrection of Jesus. Jesus Christ, who was crucified and buried on Good Friday, resurrected from the dead on the third day, known as Easter.

The festival is observed by both Christians and some non-Christians and some famous non-traditional festivities include Easter Parades and egg hunting. The date for Easter is not fixed and keeps varying each year as it is calculated on the basis of a luni-solar calendar. In Greek and Latin, it is also called as Pascha. Check out some more details about this Christian festival from this article below.

Easter 2023 Overview

Festival	Easter 2023
Western Date	April 9, 2023
Eastern Date	April 16, 2023
Easter 2024 Western Date	March 31, 2024
2024 Eastern Date	May 5, 2024

Easter 2023 Date

It is a moveable feast and do not fall on a fixed date. The date for Easter is calculated based on a luni-solar calendar and therefore the date keeps varying every year. In the year 2023, the festival will be celebrated on April 9 (Western) and April 16 (Eastern).

In countries with large population of Christians, Easter Monday is celebrated as a public holiday, since the festival is always observed on a Sunday.

Significance

The festival commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead that established Him as the Son of God.

The resurrection symbolizes the birth of a new hope and it is believed that those who have faith in Jesus and follow Him will walk in a new way of life and receive eternal salvation.

Celebration

A week preceding the Easter, the Holy week begins. Three days before the festival are called the days of the Easter Triduum which includes Maundy Thursday, commemorating the Maundy and Last Supper, Good Friday, commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus, and then the Holi Saturday that commemorates the Harrowing of Hell while Jesus Christ’s body lay in the tomb. The next day is Easter, the day of resurrection of Christ from the dead.

The festival is celebrated with complete enthusiasm by the Christians of India and worldwide. Many people visit church and offer prayers to Jesus Christ. Decorating Easter Eggs and Easter Baskets has also become a famous practice of Easter festival. In many places like Goa and Mizoram, folk dances, street plays can also be seen as a part of Easter celebration. Traditional Easter food is also prepared that varies from one place to another.

Festivities Related to Easter

Easter is associated with some very famous non-traditional practices like Easter Parade, Easter Bunny, Easter Basket, Easter Eggs and Egg Hunt. Let us know a little bit details about these traditions.

1. Easter Parade– Festive processions are carried out in the streets called as the Easter Parade and people participates in these processions wearing the finest of their clothes. There is not much religious significance of these parades and can be a formal or informal event.
2. Easter Bunny- Easter Bunny is a Bunny carrying Easter Eggs which is actually the symbol of Easter. The Easter Bunny shows similarity to Santa Claus and brings toys, colored eggs and candies for the good children, the night before Easter. The Easter Bunny is also called as the Easter Rabbit or Easter Hare.
3. Easter Basket- Baskets are decorated with different color and decorative items and are filled with Easter eggs, food, toys and other gifts. This basket is called as Easter Basket has become a famous practice related to the Easter festival. According to an Easter tradition, it is said that the Easter basket full of Easter eggs, gifts and candies is dropped of by the Easter Bunny for good children the night before Easter.
4. Easter Eggs– Colored and decorative eggs are placed in the Easter Basket that are called as Easter Eggs or Egg of Easter. The Easter eggs symbolize the empty tomb of Jesus Christ from which He resurrected.
5. Egg Hunt– In many countries, children play a game of Egg Hunt in which they have to find all the Easter Eggs hidden in their homes and fill them in their Easter Basket. Prizes may also be given to those who collects the largest number of eggs.
6. Lamb– On Easter Sunday, the traditional lamb meat for is served as dinner in many places. It symbolizes the sacrifice made by a lamb during the Jewish Passover, and therefore lamb is eaten on Easter to remember this sacrifice.

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