TIRANA, March 31 /ATA/ – This Sunday, March 31, Catholics in Albania and around the world celebrate one of the biggest holidays in Christianity – Easter, the day when Christ resurrected.
Easter, also called Pascha or Resurrection Sunday, is a festival and holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred on the third day after His burial following His crucifixion.
Before Easter, Christians observe 40 days of fasting, abstaining from food of animal origin. The fasting, called Lent, begins with the Ash Wednesday and it ends on Palm Sunday, the last Sunday of the solemn season of Lent.
During Lent, faithful think about the days Jesus spent in the desert, His temptation, suffering and fasting.
After observing the annual “Way of Cross” tradition, the Catholic faithful, carrying baskets containing Easter foods, head to church to have their food blessed on Holy Saturday. The basket of Easter food also contains the Easter bread, a bottle of wine, cheese, fresh garlic that symbolize spring, as well as colored eggs that symbolize hope, new life, and Christ rising from His tomb.
The Easter Vigil starts with the large Saturday midnight mass at all Catholic churches and ends with Sunday’s traditional lunch.
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