A Movable Feast
Easter, the greatest festival of the Christian church, commemorates the resurrection of Jesus. It is a movable feast; that is, it is

not always held on the same

date. In AD 325 the church council of Nicaea decided that it should be celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the vernal equinox of Mar. 21. Easter can come as early as Mar. 22 or as late as Apr. 25; this year it falls on March 23 for the western church.

In many churches Easter is preceded by a season of prayer, abstinence, and fasting called Lent. This is observed in memory of the 40 days' fast of Jesus in the desert. In Eastern Orthodox churches Lent is 50 days. In Western Christendom Lent is observed for six weeks and four days. Lent may be preceded by a carnival season. The origin of the word carnival is probably from the Latin carne vale, meaning "flesh (meat), farewell." Elaborate pageants often close this season on Shrove Tuesday, the day before the beginning of Lent. This day is also called by its French name, Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday).

Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, gets its name from the practice, mainly in the Roman Catholic church, of putting ashes on the foreheads of the faithful to remind them that "man is but dust." Palm Sunday, one week before Easter, celebrates the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Holy Week begins on this day. Holy Thursday, or Maundy Thursday, is in memory of the Last Supper of Jesus with his disciples. Good Friday commemorates the crucifixion.

Many Easter customs come from the Old World. The white lily, the symbol of the resurrection, is the special Easter flower. Rabbits and colored eggs have come from pagan antiquity as symbols of new life. Easter Monday egg rolling, a custom of European origin, has become a tradition on the lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C.

The name Easter comes from Eostre, an ancient Anglo-Saxon goddess, originally of the dawn. In pagan times an annual spring festival was held in her honor. Some Easter customs have come from this and other pre- Christian spring festivals. Others come from the Passover feast of the Jews, observed in memory of their deliverance from Egypt.

The word paschal comes from a

Latin word that means "belonging

to Passover or to Easter."

Formerly, Easter and the

Passover were

closely associated. The resurrection

of

Jesus took

place during the

Passover. Christians of the

Eastern church initially

celebrated both holidays

together. But the Passover can fall on any day of the week, and

Christians of the Western church

preferred to celebrate Easter on Sunday, the day of the resurrection.