In 2024, the main Christian holiday, Easter, will be late, since Easter Sunday will be celebrated on May 5th. We offer you to understand in more detail the features of the Orthodox calendar and the intricacies of determining the dates of the passing Christian holidays, as well as find out what traditions are associated with the biggest celebration of Christianity and what you can’t do on Easter day.
The essence of the holiday
Easter (Bright Sunday of Christ) is the most important day in the Christian calendar, set in honor of the day of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who atoned for human sins.
Old Testament Easter, which became the prototype of the modern holiday, was celebrated as a symbol of the liberation of the Jewish people from Egyptian captivity. The word "Easter" itself has Greek roots and in the original sounds like "Pesach" (translated as "pass by" ).
Interpreting modern tradition, they say: "Just as the Jews were freed by the Lord from slavery, so Christians are freed from the slavery of their sins through the death and resurrection of Christ."
The symbols with which the holiday of Holy Sunday of Christ is inextricably linked in 2024 are also not accidental. They carry a deep meaning, close to every believer:
- red wine symbolizes the innocently shed blood of Christ;
- bread is his long-suffering body (which is why it is not customary to cut bread or Easter cake on Christ's Sunday);
- grateful fire - hope for salvation and resurrection;
- colored eggs - a symbol of a miracle that took place in earthly life;
- sweet cake - spiritual food that gives the believer eternal life.
Celebration date
To find out what date Easter will be in 2024, you should look at the Church calendar, compiled according to all the canons of the Orthodox Church.
In 2024, Orthodox Easter falls on May 5, and Catholic Easter falls on March 31.
The day when the church will celebrate the great holiday is determined by the lunisolar calendar. The Orthodox and Catholic calendar determines the date according to a single rule - Easter falls on the first Sunday after the onset of the spring full moon. But due to the fact that representatives of different faiths have different Paschals, dates of church full moons, and even solar calendars, Catholics and Orthodox celebrate holidays on different days.
Interesting fact! If we compare the dates of the celebration of Pesach (Jewish Passover) and the Orthodox holiday, then the correct sequence from the point of view of biblical events will always be observed. At the same time, the Catholic holiday can sometimes be ahead of Pesach according to the calendar (sometimes by a whole month) or even coincide with it. So in 2024, the Jewish Passover falls on the period from the evening of April 22 to the evening of April 30.
Associated Holidays
The following events are inextricably linked with the Bright Sunday of Christ in the calendar:
| Event | Date |
| Lent | 18.03.24 - 04.05.24 |
| Lazarus Saturday | 27.04.24 |
| Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday) | 28.04.24 |
| Easter (Bright Sunday of Christ) | 05.05.24 |
| Anti-Easter | 12.05.24 |
| Ascension of the Lord | 13.06.24 |
| Pentecost | 23.06.24 |
Also, the dates of all the rolling holidays of 2024 depend on what date Orthodox Easter will be celebrated.
Traditions
Christians start preparing for such an important holiday as Easter long before the date itself - knowing what date the calendar sets the beginning of strict fasting, every believer tries to follow the basic rules of this 40-day period, purifying spiritually.
The most active preparations for Easter fall on the 7th week of Lent (the last week before the holiday). During this period, it is customary to clean up the house, as well as prepare a hearty treat (on the holiday itself, it is not customary to stand at the stove).
The most famous Easter tradition, which even those who are far from faith are happy to observe, is the preparation of Easter cakes and “krashenka” (multi-colored eggs). Traditionally, this is done on a clean Thursday, but always after they put things in order in the house. Eggs can be dyed in different shades, but red is considered traditional, since this was the egg presented to Tiberius by Mary Magdalene.Hence the tradition of exchanging "krashenki" on the day of the holiday.
It is not customary to work on Friday, so do not postpone preparations or postpone any other important matters to this day. If for some reason it is not possible to cook everything on Thursday, you can do everything in advance (on Wednesday) or already on Saturday.
On the eve of the celebration of Christ's Resurrection, everyone is waiting for the appearance of the Holy Fire, which, after a special service, is taken out of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem on Holy Saturday (in 2024, the event should occur on 05/04/24).
The appearance of the "True Light" and its removal from the Holy Sepulcher symbolizes the resurrection of Jesus. It is this fire that they rush to deliver to all the Orthodox Churches of the world by the beginning of the Sunday service, in order to pass it on to the laity. Hence the tradition to bring home a candle lit in the Church, because in this way you fill the house with the Holy Fire.
On the night from Saturday to Sunday, a solemn service is held in the Temples, and with the first rays of the sun, a rite of consecration of the products that the laity will put on the festive table.
Instead of the traditional greeting on Bright Sunday, it is customary to say "Christ is risen!" and answer - "Truly risen!" . On this holy day, you can’t work, but you need to visit relatives and friends, share cooked treats, and do good deeds.
What not to do on Easter
There is also a list of what is extremely undesirable to do on the Bright day of Christ's Sunday. Banned for:
- any hard work;
- cleaning, laundry and household chores;
- work in the garden;
- gambling;
- excessive drinking;
- overeating (especially if the person was fasting);
- quarrels and foul language;
- travel and extreme entertainment;
- you can't throw away consecrated food from the festive table (it's better to share it with animals);
There is an opinion that it is forbidden to visit cemeteries on this day, but there is no official ban. Moreover, different regions have their own peculiarities of celebrating Easter. In some, it is customary to visit the cemetery after dinner, because it has long been believed in Rus' that on this special day “heavens open” so that the souls of deceased relatives can celebrate the celebration together with the living.
