Easter (?ostre (Old English); lang-el????? Paskha, from Hebrew (Hebrew language): ?????? Pesakh,/Passover) is the central religious feast in the Christian (Christianity) liturgical year. According to Christian scripture, Jesus was resurrected (Resurrection of Jesus) from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion (Crucifixion of Jesus). Some Christians celebrate this resurrection on Easter Day or Easter Sunday (also Resurrection Day or Resurrection Sunday), two days after Good Friday and three days after Maundy Thursday. The chronology (chronology of Jesus) of his death and resurrection (Resurrection of Jesus) is variously interpreted to be between AD 26 and AD 36. Easter also refers to the season (Easter season) of the church year called Eastertide or the Easter Season (Easter season). Traditionally the Easter Season lasted for the forty days from Easter Day until Ascension (Ascension of Jesus Christ) Day but now officially Citation neededdate=June 2010all Xn churches agreed on this? lasts for the fifty days until Pentecost. The first week of the Easter Season is known as Easter Week or the Octave of Easter. Easter also marks the end of Lent, a season of fasting, prayer, and penance.

Easter is a moveable feast, meaning it is not fixed in relation to the civil calendar. The First Council of Nicaea (325) established the date of Easter as the first Sunday after the full moon (the Paschal Full Moon) following the northern hemispheres vernal equinox. Ecclesiastically, the equinox is reckoned to be on March 21 (regardless of the astronomically correct date), and the "Full Moon" is not necessarily the astronomically correct date. The date of Easter therefore varies between March 22 and April 25. Eastern Christianity bases its calculations on the Julian Calendar whose March 21 corresponds, during the twenty-first century, to April 3 in the Gregorian Calendar, in which calendar their celebration of Easter therefore varies between April 4 and May 8.

Easter is linked to the Jewish Passover by much of its symbolism, as well as by its position in the calendar. In most European languages the feast called Easter in English is termed by the words for passover in those languages and in the older English versions of the Bible the term Easter was the term used to translate passover.

Relatively newerCitation neededdate=April 2010 elements such as the Easter Bunny and Easter egg hunts have become part of the holidays modern celebrations, and those aspects are often celebrated by many Christians and non-Christians alike. There are also some Christian denominations who do not celebrate Easter.

Popular modern depictions of Easter can be viewed as a celebration of spring (spring (season)).