Christians the world over believe in Jesus' Resurrection, and celebrate Easter to mark the event. Belief in the Resurrection is central to the Christian faith, and Easter is the most important celebration in the calendar of the Christian Church.

Easter occurs on only one particular Sunday. But Christians remember the events of the last few days in the life of Christ in their observance of Lent and of Holy Week.

Lent is the period of forty days (not counting Sundays) immediately preceding Easter Sunday. The forty days of Lent are symbolic of the forty days that Jesus spent in the desert, fasting and praying, and preparing himself to take the message of God to the people.

The first day of Lent is Ash Wednesday. In Rome this was the beginning of a period of public penance - penitents would be sprinkled with ashes and dressed in sackcloth, and would remain apart from the Christian community till Maundy Thursday, the Thursday immediately before Easter Sunday. Today, in the Roman Catholic Church, a worshipper receives a cross on the forehead of ashes obtained from burning palm leaves. Lent concludes with Holy Saturday, the day before Easter.

The period of Lent includes Holy Week, the week immediately before Easter Sunday. Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday, which commemorates Jesus' entry into Jerusalem to celebrate Passover.

Maundy Thursday is the day that Jesus celebrated the feast of the Passover with his twelve disciples, his Last Supper, and when Judas left to betray him. It is observed in commemoration of Jesus Christ's institution of the Eucharist, his sharing of the bread and wine among his disciples. The name 'Maundy Thursday' derives from an anthem sung in Roman Catholic Churches on that day: 'Mandatum novum do vobis' - 'a new Commandment I give you'.

Good Friday is commemorates the passion and death of Jesus.

Holy Saturday ends the Lenten season. On this day Jesus was buried. The evening service on Holy Saturday, the Easter Vigil, begins in darkness. Lights are brought into the Church only after the Easter candle is lit. The lighting of candles symbolizes the passing of Jesus from death into life. Church bells are rung to signify the end of Lent.

Easter Sunday celebrates Jesus' Resurrection.

The Story of Easter
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See also:  The Story of Passover