Festival of spring
Easter takes place on the first Sunday after the first full moon of spring. It is a Christian festival and celebrates Jesus Christ's rising from the dead after being crucified on what Christians call Good Friday. But it's hard to say if Easter started as a Christian festival.
Most countries and cultures have a spring festival of some kind. It marks the end of the cold days of winter and of things coming back to life. In many cultures, the egg is a symbol of life. The rabbit is a symbol of fertility. So the Easter eggs and chocolate bunnies we eat may have come from another festival long before the Easter we celebrate today. Even the English name probably comes from pre-Christian times. Easter is thought to come from Eastre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring and fertility.
Passover
For the Jewish people, Passover is one of the important feasts of the year. It celebrates the escape of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Passover starts before Easter and lasts for eight days. Big meals are held. But people are not allowed to eat bread that has puffed up. Flat bread is called unleavened bread.
Easter customs
