Easter
Americannoun
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an annual Christian festival in commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, observed on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox, as calculated according to tables based in Western churches on the Gregorian calendar and in Orthodox churches on the Julian calendar.
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Also called Easter Sunday. the day on which this festival is celebrated.
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the Easter season; the week following Easter.
noun
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the most important festival of the Christian Church, commemorating the Resurrection of Christ: falls on the Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox
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Also called: Easter Sunday. Easter Day. the day on which this festival is celebrated
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the period between Good Friday and Easter Monday
Usage
What is Easter? Easter is the holiday on which Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus following his crucifixion and death (observed on Good Friday). It is considered the most important Christian holiday.Easter is also widely observed in secular (nonreligious) ways and is often associated with rebirth and the start of springtime.Easter always occurs on a Sunday, and the day is sometimes called Easter Sunday.In religious contexts, Easter can also refer to the Easter season. Sometimes, this is considered to consist of Easter Sunday and the week after. Some branches of Christianity consider the Easter season to last for 50 days, until the day of Pentecost.
Other Word Forms
- post-Easter adjective
- pre-Easter noun
Etymology
Origin of Easter
First recorded before 900; Middle English ester, Old English ēastre; cognate with German Ostern; originally the name of a goddess and her festival; akin to east
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They will likely travel to Celtic Park and Edinburgh rivals Hibernian's Easter Road after the split and host Rangers, who beat them at Ibrox earlier this month.
From BBC
Throughout the year, the tavern hosts crafts fairs, cooking classes, folk concerts and an annual Easter egg hunt.
"What we need is the truth behind the Easter attacks. We want to see justice for all the victims," church spokesman Father Cyril Gamini Fernando told AFP.
From Barron's
"The first thing he became known for was baking cinnamon rolls. He also made great Easter cakes," his mother said.
From Barron's
"Not just dogs - we have donkeys, ponies, every Easter we have the ducks and chickens come in. So penguins, why not? It was great."
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
