What’s the Difference Between Easter and Orthodox Easter?
Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter later than most Christians in the western world because the churches calculate the holiday by different calendars.
Known as Pascha, the Greek word for “passover,” Easter in the Orthodox Church celebrates “the eternal Passover from death to life from earth heaven.” Great Lent, the church’s strictest time of fasting, takes place for 40 days, ending eight days before Easter on Lazarus Saturday—when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, according to Eastern orthodoxy. Palm Sunday and Holy Week follow, with continued fasting until Easter. Orthodox Easter always follows the Jewish holiday of Passover.
As with many Christian holidays, some Easter traditions can be traced to pagan celebrations. Decorating eggs, which symbolize new life, dates back to the 13th century when the church disallowed eating eggs during Holy Week, and they were decorated instead.
The Easter Bunny, meanwhile, is believed to have been brought to the U.S. by German immigrants in the 1700s, although some historians trace the character to rabbits being symbolic of fertility.
Both Orthodox Christians and non-Orthodox Christians celebrate the Easter holiday with joyous church services, often punctuated with white lilies, followed by family meals and gatherings. Eastern Orthodox churches often hold a Paschal Vigil on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter, and a candlelight procession may be held that night, with Easter services and celebrations beginning at midnight.
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