HAPPY EASTER!

Easter is a Christian holiday that celebrates the belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Easter falls on a different date each year, typically the first Sunday after the first full moon occurring on or after the spring equinox. This year, E aster is on Sunday, April 17th. Easter concludes the “Passion of Christ,” a series of events and holidays that begins with Lent, a 40-day period of fasting, prayer and sacrifice that starts on Ash Wednesday and ends with Holy Week. Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday, the Sunday immediately before Easter, and includes Holy Thursday (the celebration of Jesus’ Last Supper with his 12 Apostles, also known as “Maundy Thursday”), Good Friday (on which Jesus’ crucifixion is observed) and Easter Sunday. According to the New Testament, Jesus was arrested by Roman authorities because he claimed to be the “Son of God” and was sentenced to death by Pontius Pilate, the Roman prefect in the province of Judea from 26 to 36 A.D. Jesus’ death by crucifixion, marked by the Christian holiday Good Friday (the Friday before Easter), and subsequent resurrection three days later is said, by the authors of the gospels, to prove that he was the living son of God. Today, Easter includes both religious and non-religious traditions, such as making Easter eggs, participating in Easter egg hunts and related games, such egg rolling and delivering candy in Easter baskets from the Easter Bunny. May this Easter Sunday inspire you to new hope, happiness, prosperity, and abundance. HAPPY EASTER!