More than chocolate eggs? 

One week since Easter, have you got any Easter eggs left? Is Easter over for you? Or are you still celebrating? For the church, Easter is our biggest festival so we keep celebrating it for 50 days!  In this article we share more on the festival of Easter.
 
Easter follows Lent and Holy Week. They are an important part of the Christian calendar.
 
Lent
The season of Lent lasts for forty days (not including Sundays). It is a time when Christians reflect and prepare for the celebrations of Easter. Some people fast, eat frugally or give up treats following the example of Jesus, who fasted for forty days in the wilderness. People also give to charity, set aside time to study the Bible and meet with other Christians to reflect on Jesus' life and prepare for the events of Holy Week and Easter.
 
Holy Week
Holy Week is the name given to the week beginning on Palm Sunday and ending on Easter Sunday. On Palm Sunday Jesus arrived in Jerusalem to crowds and cheers. His triumphant entry into Jerusalem has been celebrated on the Sunday before Easter since the first centuries of Christianity. The crowds waved palm branches and covered his path with them. Churches remember this with crosses made from palm leaves and hold processions like the one that Jesus experienced - sometimes with a donkey, too!
 
Maundy Thursday
Later in the week, Maundy Thursday is the day when we remember Jesus sharing the Last Supper with his disciples before his death. Maundy Thursday gets its name from the Latin word mandare meaning to command. We remember Jesus' command: 'Love one another as I have loved you'.
 
At the Last Supper Jesus washed the disciples' feet. Some churches recreate this act of service at special services and events. This is not only an important reminder of the nature of Jesus, who we serve, but also the kind of service we are meant to demonstrate in our love for one another.
 
Good Friday
Good Friday is the day when Christians remember the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ. It is a sombre day. Usually, churches meet, pray and reflect on the sacrifice Jesus willingly paid for all our sins.
 
Easter Vigil
The Easter Vigil is the first service of Easter and begins sometime on the evening of Holy Saturday (the day before Easter Day). It begins with a symbolic expectant waiting (usually outdoors around a fire) for the resurrection of Jesus on Easter morning, and this is represented visually by a large Easter candle, which is lit from the fire and brought into a darkened church. This depiction of new life and light represents Jesus’ resurrection on the first Easter morning. The congregation then light their own candles from the Easter candle, representing their own new life as followers of Jesus. The service will contain a number of readings from the Bible, and also an opportunity for all the participants to renew the promises made at their baptism. The Easter Vigil is usually a quiet and thoughtful service, but one full of joy.
 
Easter Day
On Easter Sunday, churches celebrate because Jesus died for our sins and then rose again. Defeating death once and for all. On the third day after being crucified, Jesus' tomb was found to be empty. He had risen from the dead. Life triumphs over death! The joy of resurrection is possible only because Christ endured death and conquered it.
 
Some churches celebrate Jesus' bringing life from death by making and blessing an Easter garden. Throughout Lent, churches are kept stark and bare but on Easter Sunday, the churches are decorated with flowers – traditionally lilies as the trumpet-shaped flower is a symbol of hope and peace. In addition, the sombre purple of Lent is replaced with celebratory white or gold. There is a real party feel to many services with uplifting music and repeated alleluias (an exclamation of joyful praise).
 
Easter Day marks the beginning of 50 days of celebrating Jesus' resurrection. The final 10 days begin on Ascension day where we celebrate Jesus' ascension into heaven. Finally, at the end of the 50 days, we celebrate Pentecost (sometimes called Whitsun) when Jesus' disciples received the gift of the Holy Spirit. This is often referred to as the birthday of the Church and is celebrated with parties and Whit walks (processions through town).
 
During the season of Easter, we will hear about Jesus appearing to the disciples and others, along with the early days of the Church. Join us each Sunday at 9am or 10:30am to hear more about these stories and what they mean for us today.
 
Information taken from: https://www.churchofengland.org/our-faith/what-we-believe/lent-holy-week-and-easter