Easter is the oldest of all Christian festivals. It embodies the spirit of life for devotees, as they recall the widely believed Christian legend of the resurrection of Christ. Easter honors day and its brightness. It marks the transition from night to day, and from death to life. A time for joy and happiness epitomizing new beginnings, it rejoices at the spring harvest season. According to the Bible, on the Friday after the Passover feast in Jerusalem, Jesus was sentenced to death at the instigation of some Jewish priests. They believed that he was misleading the people by telling them not to pay taxes to the emperor. They also accused him of falsely claiming to be the Messiah. Jesus was tried and crucified along with two criminals. After he was declared dead, a man named Joseph took his body down from the cross, wrapped it in a linen sheet and placed it in a tomb that had been dugout of solid rock. Some women from Galilee saw that the body had been placed in the grave without being anointed with any of the customary spices or perfumes. They went home and prepared the spices and perfumes. The following day was Sabbath, so they rested, in accordance with the decree of the Jewish law. Very early on Sunday morning, the women went to the tomb with the spices. They saw that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance of the tomb, but they could not find the body of Jesus inside. Suddenly, they saw two men in bright shinning clothes standing beside them. The men, who were angels, asked the women why they were looking for the body of a man who had been raised and was alive. The women ran to tell their families and the good news spread like wildfire. People rejoiced at the return of the son of god. As it is believed that the resurrection took place on a Sunday, the feast too is celebrated on a Sunday on varying dates between March 22and April 25 and is therefore called a movable feast. In India, Easter is observed on the first Sunday after the full moon following the vernal equinox. The origin of the word Easter is unknown. Some link it to Easter, the Anglo-Saxon Teutonic goddess of spring and fertility, to whose worship a month corresponding to April was dedicated. Her festival was celebrated on the day of the vernal equinox. Past, another name for Easter, suggests a relation with the Peso festival of the Jews. The early Christians, many of whom were of Jewish origin and brought up in that tradition, regarded Easter as a new feature of the Passover festival. They celebrated it to commemorate the advent of the Messiah as foretold by the Prophets. Many popular customs are a part of the festivities of the Easter week. An outdoor sunrise service, to welcome the earlier sunrise of spring, is a ritual. The night of the Easter vigil was the favored time for baptisms. The candidates initiated into Christianity were supposed to mirror the new life won by Christ from the darkness of death. During this nocturnal ceremony, their new life was symbolized by light and they lit long candles to symbolize this new beginning. It was called the night of illumination. The custom of lighting candles originated from this. People light long candles in churches and homes on Easter. Many also light oil lamps, like the Hindus at Diwali. It is also traditional to wear new clothes on Easter Sunday and show them off by walking around town. Called the Easter parade, this custom may have emerged from the newly baptized Christians going up and down, visiting each other in their new white clothes. People visit friends and relatives and exchange decorated eggs. The egg symbolizes new life breaking through the captivity of the hard egg shell. Probably a pre-Christian symbol, it was adapted to illustrate the release of Christ from his tomb. Earlier these eggs were painted at home. The designs were remarkably similar to the traditional Hindu alpana motifs. But now these eggs are made of chocolates and filled with sweets. They are readily available at confectioneries during Easter. The Easter bunny or rabbit is also very popular. The rabbit is an extraordinarily fertile creature and therefore represented spring. Some also distribute and exchange laddoos and rasagullas instead of western fare. At home, people come together to participate in the ceremonial Easter feast. The most significant Easter food is lamb. The main dish of the meal, it symbolizes Christ, the lamb of god. There may be minor variations in the rituals observed by various peoples. But the spirit of joy and hope is universal.