The date of the event is unique each year. In 2024, it falls on May 5th. Christ is Risen! Indeed, He is Risen! The Bright Resurrection of Christ is the greatest and most joyous Christian festival. This holiday is also called the Pascha of Christ, representing the day on which our passage from death to life and from earth to Heaven was accomplished. Easter is the oldest and most important feast of the liturgical year. The essence of Easter in the New Testament is eternal life through faith in the Resurrection of the Savior. The Holy Scripture states, "If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so too will God bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus." This is the hope for all believers in the resurrection. Christ is Risen! - and for all creation, a true spring has begun, a bright, joyous morning of new life. The Resurrection of the Lord Jesus is the first real victory of life over death. Here's how it happened: After the Sabbath, during the night, on the third day after His suffering and death, the Lord Jesus Christ revived by the power of His Divinity, that is, He rose from the dead. His human body was transformed. He exited the tomb without moving the stone, without breaking the Sanhedrin's seal, and unseen by the guards. From that moment, the soldiers, unknowingly, guarded an empty tomb. Suddenly there was a great earthquake; the Angel of the Lord descended from heaven. He approached, rolled back the stone from the Lord's tomb's door, and sat upon it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. The guards standing watch at the tomb trembled and became like dead men, and then, awakening from fear, scattered. On that day (the first day of the week), as soon as the Sabbath rest ended, very early at dawn, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Joanna, Salome, and other women, having prepared fragrant oils, went to Jesus Christ’s tomb to anoint His body, as they had not managed to do so at the burial (these women are referred to by the Church as the Myrrh-bearers). They were not aware that a guard had been placed at Christ's tomb and the entrance to the cave sealed. Hence, they did not expect to meet anyone there and discussed among themselves: "Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb for us?". The stone was very large. Mary Magdalene, arriving first at the tomb before the other myrrh-bearing women, saw that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb and it was still dark. Seeing that the stone had been rolled away, she immediately ran to Peter and John and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put Him." Hearing such words, Peter and John immediately ran to the tomb. Mary Magdalene followed them. At that time, the other women who had come with Mary Magdalene reached the tomb and saw that the stone had been rolled away. And when they stopped, suddenly they saw a radiant Angel sitting on the stone. The Angel, addressing them, said: "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen, as He said while still with you. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. Then go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead." They entered the tomb (cave) and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. But, looking, they saw an Angel in white clothing, sitting on the right side of the place where the Lord had been laid; they were seized with terror. The Angel said to them, "Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen. He is not here. See the place where He was laid. But go, tell His disciples and Peter (who had fallen away from the disciples by his denial) that He will meet you in Galilee; there you will see Him, as He told you." When the women stood puzzled, suddenly again, two Angels in shining garments appeared before them. The women, in fear, bowed their faces to the ground. The angels said to them: "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here: He has risen; remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified, and on the third day rise again." Soon, first the myrrh-bearing women, then His close disciples met Him alive. Thus, the Paschal exclamation was first sounded - what was passed from mouth to mouth initially by the Apostles, then by the inhabitants of Jerusalem: "Christ is Risen!" The Paschal service starts at midnight from Saturday to Sunday; the entire service is filled with spiritual joy and rejoicing. The entire service is a solemn hymn to the Bright Resurrection of Christ, the reconciliation of God and man, the victory of life over death. On the festival of Easter, the breaking of the fast begins after the prolonged Great Lent, and the main attributes of the festive table are painted eggs, kulich (a tall bread made from sweet yeast dough), and paskha (a sweet dish made from cottage cheese with raisins). The painted egg (formerly only red eggs) is a symbol of peace, stained with the blood of Jesus Christ and thereby reborn to new life. Kulich is a symbol of the Lord's body, which the faithful are to partake in. By the way, all this Easter food is blessed in the church on the eve - on Holy Saturday. The festival of Easter is celebrated every year on different dates of the month and its celebration "moves" by date, but it always falls on a Sunday. All holidays that are calendrically related to Easter (such as Palm Sunday, Antipascha, Ascension, and Trinity) also change their date and are called moveable or shifting. Other major feasts (Christmas, Theophany, Candlemas, and others) have a fixed date and are called fixed or immovable.