According to the New Testament, Christ was crucified on the eve of Jewish festival of Passover and shortly afterward rose again from his death. Thus the Easter festival commemorated Christ's resurrection.

In AD 325 the church council of Nicaea decided that Easter should be celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the vernal equinox of March 21. So, the principle feast of the Christian year is celebrated on a Sunday on varying dates between March 22 and April 25 and is therefore called a movable feast. The happy Easter day, which is also known as the Easter Sunday, will be celebrated on April, 16th 2006.

The origin of the name of the holy festival is unknown but there are many stories and legends behind it. The most accepted story is the derivation proposed by the 8th-century English scholar St. Bede. According to the story, the name "Easter" comes from the name of the Teutonic goddess of spring and fertility, "Easter", to whom was dedicated a month corresponding to April. Traditions associated with the festival survive in the Easter rabbit, a symbol of fertility and in colored Easter eggs, originally painted with bright colors to represent the sunlight of spring.