Easter
From Good Friday’s silence to Sunday’s bells — the resurrection at the heart of the faith.
Why is Easter celebrated?
Easter is Christianity’s central festival — the resurrection of Jesus on the third day after crucifixion, the victory of life over death that everything else in the faith rests on. It arrives after Lent’s forty days of fasting and Good Friday’s mourning, which is why Easter morning’s joy — bells, lilies, white vestments — lands with such force.
The story behind Easter
Condemned by Pilate, Jesus was crucified on Friday and laid in a rock tomb. On Sunday’s dawn, women who came with spices found the stone rolled away and the tomb empty — "He is not here; He is risen." The forty days after hold his appearances to disciples, until the Ascension.
How Easter is celebrated
Holy Week runs Palm Sunday (palm processions), Maundy Thursday, Good Friday services of the Passion — fasting, the veneration of the cross, hot cross buns — Holy Saturday’s Easter Vigil with the new fire and lit candles, and Easter Sunday’s festive mass, egg hunts and family lunches.
Easter across India
Goa combines solemn Holy Week processions with festive Sunday balls; Kerala’s Syrian Christians keep the Pesaha (Passover) bread tradition on Maundy Thursday; the Northeast holds sunrise services on hillsides.
Easter in housing societies
Societies host an Easter egg hunt for children on the lawn — an all-faith crowd-pleaser needing only chocolate eggs and clue cards — alongside greetings to Christian neighbours after Sunday service. During Good Friday, keeping amplified events off the calendar is the respectful move.
Frequently asked questions
Why does Easter’s date move?
It follows the moon: the Sunday after the first full moon on or after the spring equinox — so it lands anywhere from late March to late April.
What is Good Friday?
The day of the crucifixion — solemn, fasting, services of the Passion. "Good" in the old sense of holy. Celebratory greetings are for Easter Sunday, not Friday.
What is an Easter egg hunt?
Eggs — symbols of the empty tomb and new life — hidden for children to find on Easter morning; the society lawn version has become a beloved community tradition.