Easter Bank Holidays 2016
| England and Wales | Scotland | Nothern Ireland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easter Friday | Friday, 25 March 2016 | Friday, 25 March 2016 | Friday, 25 March 2016 |
| Easter Monday | Monday, 28 March 2016 | Monday, 28 March 2016 |
Why Easter Date Changes?
The calendar dates we use every day calculated based on the Earth's orbit round the sun, whereas Jewish festivals are worked out using the cycles of the moon. The cycles of the Earth round the sun and the moon round the Earth are not synchronized, so any given calendar date will fall at varying points within the lunar cycle from year to year. This is why the Easter date varies every year
Easter
Easter is the most important Christian festival and the story of Easter is at the heart of Christianity Religion. This day celebrates Jesus Christ's resurrection from the dead, three days after he was executed.
On Good Friday, Jesus Christ was executed and his body was taken down from the cross, and later buried in a cave. The tomb was guarded and an enormous stone was put over the entrance, so that no-one could steal the body.
On the following Sunday, some women visited the grave and found that the stone had been moved, and that the tomb was empty. On this day and days afterwards Jesus himself was seen. Since then his followers realised that God had raised Jesus form the dead.