Easter, the principal festival of the Christian church year, celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his Crucifixion. Easter history begins with Christianity, and it is probably the oldest Christian observance after the Sabbath (originally observed on Saturday, later on Sunday). Later, the Sabbath subsequently came to be regarded as the weekly celebration of the Resurrection.

Easter history crosses the pagan world as well. According to historians, Easter owes its name to Eostre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring, to whom the month of April was dedicated. The festival of Eostre was celebrated at the vernal equinox, when the day and night gets an equal share of the day.

When the early English Christians wanted others to accept Christianity, they decided to use the name Easter for this holiday so that it would match the name of the old spring celebration. This made it more comfortable for other people to accept Christianity.

Easter history goes back to ancient times and crosses many cultures. Its many customs were taken from all of them, such as the Easter bunny and the tradition of hiding Easter eggs. Click on the following link for details on the history of the Easter bunny. And if you want to know where the tradition of Easter eggs comes from, browse our Easter eggs special section. Easter eggs are used today for Easter decorations, for making Easter candies or for planning kid party games.

Traditions coming from other cultures have been incorporated to this celebration, such as the party pinata. How about hitting an Easter pinata at your party?