The main difference between Orthodox observances and other Christian Easter observances is the day on which it is celebrated.

Orthodox Easter, which is actually called Pascha, is calculated using the Julian calendar and falls on the first Sunday after the Jewish feast of Passover. “Holy Week is the central period for the church here,” said Father Walter Smith of Holy Trinity Orthodox Church. “We have services every day during Holy Week, three services on Good Friday, one Saturday morning and a midnight vigil service Saturday where we enter into the feast day, Easter Sunday.”

A large meal in the wee hours of Orthodox Easter Sunday ends Lenten fasting and often includes lamb and dairy for members of the Greek Orthodox church, and pascha or babka bread, perogies and cabbage rolls for those belonging to the Eastern European Orthodox church. There is also an afternoon service on Sunday. This year, Orthodox Easter falls on April 27.

Easter’s Date > The date on which Easter Sunday falls differs from year to year because it is calculated based on the lunar calendar, using a formula created by the Council of Nicaea in AD 325. In this system, Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox, the day when the sun’s path crosses the equator, making days and nights equal length. Depending on the lunar cycle, Easter Sunday be anytime between March 22 and April 25.
Related Links > www.crivoice.org

Replacing ancient festivals > More than a thousand years before Jesus’s birth, pagans in the ancient world had a celebration of new life, renewal and fertility after the long days of winter. “Christian celebrations often replaced pagan feast days,” said Father Walter Smith of Holy Trinity Orthodox Church in Moose Jaw. “The same is true for Easter. It replaced the pagan spring festival.”

Pagan fertility festivals at the time of the spring equinox were common, as it was believed that at this time of year, when day and night were of equal length, male and female energies were in balance. The word “Easter” is even derived from the name of the Pagan goddesses of spring and renewal, Oestar (Scandinavian), Ishtar (Babylonian) and Astarte (Phoenician), who were honoured during this time.
Many pagan symbols, including rabbits and eggs, have been included in both religious and non-secular Easter celebrations. The sacred animal of Saxon fertility goddess Ostara was a hare, while eggs represented fertility, rebirth and abundance and were part of festivals for numerous gods.
Related Links > www.religionfacts.com, www.religioustolerance.org, www.altreligion.about.com