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Easter, also called Pascha’ or ‘Resurrection Sunday’ is a period on the calendar of Christians, where they commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Founder of Christianity, from the dead.

The New Testament of the Holy Bible, states that the resurrection of Christ occurred on the third day after his crucifixion and burial.

Easter is the culmination of the passion of Jesus, preceded by Lent, a 40-day period of fasting, praying, and penance for Christians. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Good Friday, the day of Christ’ crucifixion.

The 40-day period was established by Pope Gregory the Great using the 40-day pattern of Israel, Moses and Elijah; and the time Jesus spent in the wilderness.

Easter, though religious period, has a cultural touch with a variety of activities such as all-night vigils, church services with Christians usually dressed in black or white, festive family meals, and sharing of gifts.

The week before Easter is often referred to as the Holy or Passion Week by Christians, and it usually entails the days of the Easter Triduum, including ‘Maundy Thursday thus the Last Supper’, ‘Good Friday, commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ and ‘Easter Sunday’, the resurrection of the Christ.

Easter was a prophesy fulfilled about a Messiah, who was to be born, persecuted and die for sins of the world and rise on the third day (Isaiah 53).

Christians during this period reflect on their lives and renew their minds with a commitment to emerge victorious over sin, while strengthening their faith that Jesus, the son of God, has given the gift of eternal life in Heaven to those who believe in Him.

The earliest Christians celebrated the resurrection on the fourteenth of Nisan (March-April), the date of the Jewish Passover. Jewish days were calculated from evening to evening, so Jesus had celebrated His last supper the evening to the Passover and was crucified on the day of the Passover.

On Good Friday, usually a number of churches with the aim of remembering the passion of Christ, organise activities like drama portraying step-by-step, how Jesus was maltreated and led to his crucifixion.

Easter has a number of symbols, like the Easter Eggs, Easter Lamb, Easter Bunny and Easter lily. On Easter lily, painters and sculptors throughout the year, use the white Madonna lily to symbolize purity, and innocence, frequently referring to Mary, the mother of Jesus.

The Easter Lamb, on the other hand, which is the most popular and significant, comes from the Jewish Passover, where each family killed a lamb for sacrifice. When Christ became the Passover lamb for everyone, the lamb became a symbol for His sacrifice.

John 1: 29 says: “The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world’.

Some Christians often wear new clothes on Easter. The new clothes are associated with the idea of newness and fresh beginning and began with the early Christians wearing new white robes for baptism during Easter vigil services.

However, the custom later expanded to everyone wearing new clothes in celebration of his or her new life in Christ.
The 2020 Easter falls on Sunday April 12, following the first full moon, the paschal full moon, after the vernal equinox.

However, the celebration would be different this year as most of the rituals performed and symbols used would not be operationalized in many countries as a result of the rise in recording confirmed cases of the novel Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, which had led to a total or partial lockdown of many countries.

However, some Christian religious leaders, like the Most Reverend John Bonaventure Kwofie, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra and Most Reverend Dr Paul Kwabena Boafo, the Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church, Ghana, have called on Christians to observe the celebration within their homes, while reflecting on the death and resurrection of Christ as well as the good things that come with it.

In Ghana, leaders of some churches would lead their congregation to commemorate the festivity on traditional and social media networks, as there is a suspension of social gatherings including church activities, as part of measures to control the spread of COVID-19.