A Time Called…Easter Season

Easter is a “moveable feast” which, unlike Christmas with its set date, falls on the Sunday after the full moon following March 21.  But what happens after Easter Sunday? It is easy to fall back into “life as normal” after Easter. But, the season of Easter – 40 days – offers us a special time to learn about the events following Easter Sunday.

Historical Roots of Easter Season
The Easter Season – or Eastertide – is the seven weeks after Easter. It seems likely that Eastertide was modelled after the Jewish festival of Shavuot, The Festival of Weeks, which was seven weeks long and ended with the celebration of Shavuot on the 50th day. In Christian tradition, the Easter season leads us to celebrate Pentecost, the gift of God’s Holy Spirit on the 50th day.

Finding Meaning in the Tradition
During the Easter Season, the Gospel readings will continue with the events and sightings of Jesus after his resurrection.  We learn about the many appearances of Jesus to the disciples, as well as the doubts and belief of Thomas and Jesus’ promise of an advocate through the Holy Spirit.   The Ascension of Jesus is celebrated on the 40th day of Eastertide (a Thursday), or on the following Sunday.  The Easter Season ends on the Sunday of Pentecost, with the arrival of the Holy Spirit.

Spring is arriving and during the Easter Season we celebrate growth and new life as we watch the world around us return to a time of growth and abundance!

In the church, we learn about the budding faith community in Jesus’ time as well as  learning about how we, today, can move forward in growing our faith, both personally and as a community.