What is Easter?
The Easter festival, the oldest and most important festival in the Christian calendar, culminates in the celebration that is Easter Sunday, which today is a time when most of us get together with our families, share a meal and of course eat lots of chocolate! Most people know that it was on this day that Jesus was said to come to life after being crucified, visiting his friends and followers once more, but aside from that our knowledge of Easter can be patchy. Even if you're not a Christian you may be interested to know a little bit more about the Easter story, and the timeline of events that are described in the Christian gospels. Whether you believe in God or not, the Easter story does provide an interesting historical insight into what life was like some 2000 years ago.
At Easter time Christians remember the last week of Jesus' life, or 'Holy Week'. It signals the end of Lent, the traditional time of fasting in the Christian calendar, and starts with:
Palm Sunday
On Palm Sunday (the Sunday before Easter Sunday) Jesus went to Jerusalem to celebrate the Jewish festival of Passover. Many people gathered on the streets to catch a glimpse of Jesus, waving palm branches as he rode by. Because it was Passover, an important celebration, there would have been lots of excitement in the air. For those who believed that Jesus was the Son of God, it was an important moment - they shouted 'Hosanna' which means 'Save us now'.
However, it's important to remember that Jesus was a controversial figure for many sectors of his immediate community and people further afield. Some people, in particular the authorities, were extremely suspicious of his teachings and claims - today they would have regarded him as a bit of a political agitator. So although many people welcomed Jesus as he rode into the city on the back of a donkey (a signal of peace to the assembled crowds) there would have been some in the crowd who were not so sure about him - these same people could certainly have been amongst those shouting for his execution just days later.
Today people remember Palm Sunday by decorating churches with palm branches, and giving palms out to the congregation, in some cases fashioned into the shape of a cross (in remembrance of Jesus dying on a cross).
Maundy Thursday
Jesus understands his time on Earth is nearly over. He gathers his friends and followers (his 12 Disciples, including figures such as the saints John, Matthew, Mark and Simon - the men who went on to describe their experiences with Jesus in the four gospels, which feature in the New Testamentthe Bible) together to share a final meal with them - the 'Last Supper'. According to the gospels, Jesus passed round bread (which he told his disciples was 'his body') and wine (his 'blood'); his way of explaining to them that he would soon die. He also told his friends they should love one another - the 'mandate' or command from which the term Maundy is derived. It was on this night that Jesus was later betrayed by Judas. Judas identified Jesus to soldiers working for opposing religious authorities (the 'High Priests') in return for a bag of money - those authorities then passed Jesus over to the Roman soldiers who were to eventually execute him.
The ceremony of eating bread and drinking wine in remembrance of Jesus' life is practiced today in Christian churches in the form of the Eucharist or communion.
Good Friday
The Roman soldiers who arrested Jesus took him to Pontius Pilate, who was in charge of the province at the time. On Good Friday, Jesus' fate was sealed Pilate decided to ask a crowd of people outside whether Jesus should be put to death for making claims about being the son of God. They said he should. The method of his execution was one of the most brutal known to man death by crucifixion or being nailed to a cross. This is why the cross has such great significance to Christians and is behind the tradition of eating hot cross buns on Good Friday.
The gospels describe some truly harrowing last experiences before Jesus died. He was flogged and whipped many times, and was made to wear a crown of sharp thorns while the soldiers in charge of him taunted him. Exhausted after his various ordeals he was then made to carry his own cross to the spot of his execution, a hill overlooking the city. Here he was nailed to the cross and placed alongside two criminals. A sign was placed above Jesus' cross which read 'The King of the Jews'.
Unfortunately Jesus would have experienced a very slow and agonizing death. The Bible tells that one of the criminals next to Jesus repented for his sins before he died and that suddenly, just before Jesus took his last breath, the sky turned black. He was removed from the cross and buried in a tomb.
Christians today often commemorate Good Friday by attending a 'Stations of the Cross' service, where Jesus' last hours on earth are retraced. As Good Friday is seen as a day of mourning, services are very solemn; churches are