Easter
Easter, also called Easter Sunday or Easter Day, is one of the most important holidays in Christianity. All Christians believe that Easter is the day when Jesus Christ resurrected two days after his crucifixion. For the church, whether Catholic or Orthodox, Easter is the most important day of the liturgical year. Today the specific date when Easter is celebrated is moving, that means that it doesn't have any specific date in the usual calendar but is calculated according to the lunisolar calendar.
Practically all Easter traditions emerged in divine service. Even the scope of people's celebrations and festivities is connected with the first meal after the Great Fast – the time of the great abstention when all celebrations, including the family ones, are postponed to the day of Easter. The symbols of Easter in different types of Christianity are largely the same: everything that reflects renewal (Easter streams), light (Easter fire), life (eggs and rabbits).
On the day of Easter as the most important day of the liturgical year a special divine service is held. It originated in the first years of Christianity as a baptismal service. The majority of people announced after a preparatory fast were baptized on this special day. Usually a rich feast takes place on this day. The obligatory meals that should be on the table on Easter are Easter cakes, eggs, paskhas etc. (everything is supposed to be sanctified in the church beforehand). Besides the Easter meals the table is usually decorated with candles and spring flowers.