Easter is regarded as the most important holy day by Christians, and the Easter season in the UK traditionally includes the 40 days of lent and Holy week culminating in Easter Sunday – also known as Resurrection Sunday.
Easter is observed with a holiday across the UK on Good Friday as well as a holiday on Easter Monday everywhere except Scotland. The date of Easter changes each year based on a centuries-old calculations that determine the Christian Ecclesiastical Calendar, such that the date of Easter Sunday can be anytime between 22 March and 25 April.
Easter, one of the oldest Christian traditions, is the celebration of the last week of Jesus’ life, his death, and his resurrection. For Christians, Easter symbolises the dawn of a new life and the high point of the Christian calendar.
While defined as a Christian holiday, Easter has many of its roots in the traditions and rituals of the pagan people who inhabited the United Kingdom before its wide spread conversion to the Christian faith. Scholars believe that Easter was named for “Eostre”, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of the spring.
