Easter commemorates the resurrection of Jesus after his crucifixion. It is a moveable feast that does not fall on a fixed date, as it is based on a lunar calendar. The week before Easter includes Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday commemorating the Last Supper, and Good Friday commemorating Jesus' crucifixion. Traditions vary by country but include Easter eggs, which may have merged into celebrations from the end of Lent's privations. In 2011, the Easter dates matched for both Western and Eastern Christian churches.

1. Easter
One of the holiest
festivals of Christians
Easter commemorates
the Resurrection of Jesus
after his Crucifixion. Like
the origin of the festival,
the precise date of Easter
Sunday too has been a
matter of contention.
Easter and the holidays
that are related to it are
moveable feasts, in that
they do not fall on a fixed
date in the Gregorian or
Julian calendars (which
follow the motion of the sun and the seasons). Instead, they are based on a lunar
calendar. Early Christians celebrated Easter on different days of the week. Easter
also characterizes the end of Lent season, a period for fasting, prayer and
penance. Celebration for Easter starts from days in advance. The last week of Lent
observes Palm Sunday, which signifies Lord Jesus' successful entry to Jerusalem.
On this day, the crowd at Jerusalem laid palm leaves at His feet, thereby acquiring
the name as Palm Sunday. Holy Thursday or Maundy Thursday refers to the Last
Supper, which was held in the evening, before the Crucifixion. Good Friday
commemorates the anniversary of the Crucifixion, the day when Christ was
crucified and died on the cross.
While the religious observations of the festival follow the Christian church, the
basic contours of Easter celebration may vary in different countries due to
regional influences. In 2011, the Easter date i.e. on April 24th,

2. not only stand for
western calendar
(Catholic and
Protestant
Churches), but
also for the
Eastern
Orthodox
Church.
Surprisingly
unusual, there
are a few years in
every century when the
Easter dates for both the groups match completely. So, Easter in 2011 would
surely be an extra special festival, doubling up the grandeur and magnificence!!
The Easter egg tradition may also have merged into the celebration of the end of
the privations of Lent in the West. Historically, it was traditional to use up all of
the household's eggs before Lent began. Eggs were originally forbidden during
Lent as well as on other traditional fast days in Western Christianity (this tradition
still continues among the Eastern Christian Churches). Likewise, in Eastern
Christianity, both meat and dairy are prohibited during the Lenten fast, and eggs
are seen as ""dairy"" (a foodstuff that could be taken from an animal without
shedding its blood)[citation needed]. This established the tradition of Pancake
Day being celebrated on Shrove Tuesday. This day, the Tuesday before Ash
Wednesday Lent begins is also known as Mardi Gras, a French phrase which
translates as ""Fat Tuesday"" to mark the last consumption of eggs and dairy
before Lent begins.