It came to my attention – just this year in fact – that Easter is not a day. Easter is actually a 50 day season of the church calendar starting at sundown on Holy Saturday (starting at the Easter Vigil) and ending at the day of Pentecost, when the church remembers and celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit. This year Eastertide lasts until Sunday May 11th (Pentecost).
It seems right to me that Easter should be longer than a day. It is (or should be) the central focus of our Christian walk. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! And with Him we are risen as well from death to life – not just in the age to come but in the here and now. We were dead but now we live. We were lost but now are found. We have life and hope that cannot be taken from us. Our God is not dead and buried – He is alive and well and active in our lives. And remembering that and choosing to live in that should create joy. Thus, the season of Easter should be a time of celebration, a time of feasting, a time of pure joy.
May the coming days of Eastertide be days of joy for you. May they be days filled with play and celebration and laughter and delight in knowing that God delights in you, He has given you life – life to the full! May each day of Eastertide build on the day before until we come together to Pentecost and with equal joy remember that God is with us, that He has given us His very Spirit and has sent us out with purpose and mission.
Rejoicing in the journey –
Beth Stedman
Photograph by Beth Stedman
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Beth Stedman. wife. mommy. daughter. friend. homemaker. sinner. believer. writer. cook. dreamer. artist. yogi. photographer. 
Hi Beth. After you have finished the year studying the Church’s holy days, you might find it interesting to study the Jewish holy days and feasts and how they symbolically speak of the coming of the Messiah. For instance, we celebrate “The Feast of Firstfruits” in our home. Three days after the Passover, God commanded Israel to celebrate this feast, and it looked forward to the time when Jesus would be the “first fruits” of those that will rise from the dead. “But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor. 15:20) If you are interested, you can read the book The Feasts of the Lord, by Marvin Rosenthal. He is a Jewish Christian. Happy Feast of Firstfruits to you!
Rita, Thanks for the book recommendation. I have always thought that it would be interesting to study the Jewish festivals and feasts – maybe next year