When you think of Easter, you probably think of the Easter Bunny, colored eggs and lots of candy... but to Christians around the world it is much, much more. Easter is the most important Christian holiday of the year.
Easter Day is the day Christians remember Jesus rising from the dead. After his brutal
crucifixion, a large stone was rolled over his tomb. But shortly after his death when followers went back to honor Jesus, the stone had mysteriously been moved and only the cloth that wrapped Jesus' body was laying there. As the story goes, Jesus' body was no longer in the tomb and he had in fact risen from his death in order to save us all. An angel nearby this tomb told his followers of the miracle that had taken place.
The resurrection, as described in the Bible, means that at the very moment Jesus rose from the dead, was the very moment we would be given everlasting life. Christians would now receive new life after death. The Easter holiday celebrates this belief. Easter is therefore the last day celebrated during a 40 day Easter season.
The season begins with Lent, a 40-day period before Easter Sunday. During Lent, Christians prepare for Easter. Lent is considered a time for penance, a time to show sorrow for sins and to seek forgiveness.
One way many Christians show their sorrow is by fasting, which limits the kinds and amounts of food that are eaten. Christians may also give something up during this 40 week period as patronage to the suffering of Jesus. While not all Christians fast during Lent, those that do pattern their behavior after Jesus who prayed and fasted in the wilderness before his death on the cross.
