On April 16, 2006, Christians around the world will celebrate Easter. Easter commemorates the resurrection of Christ, the son of God. Easter occurs at the end of the 46 day period of Lent, and after the full moon of the vernal equinox. The story of Easter begins with Christ's crucifixion on the Friday before, which is celebrated as Good Friday. The friends and disciples of Christ were devastated by the death of their prophet and the son of God.

Joseph and Nicodemus, friends of Jesus, took Jesus' body, wrapped Him in clean clothes and buried Him in a tomb. The next day, the Pharisees, worried that Jesus might actually rise from the dead, brought a huge stone and put it in front of Jesus' tomb and stationed guards all around. On the very next day, there was a huge earthquake and an angel came down to earth and moved the stone away from the tomb and frightened the guards so much that they fell to the ground in fear.

Mary, Jesus' mother, went to the tomb that morning to see Jesus' body but did not know how they would get past the huge stone and the guards. When they got to the tomb, however, they found the angel sitting outside and Jesus' body was gone: Jesus has risen from the dead.

For more information on the story of Easter, please go to our article on Easter Treats, or visit holidays.net.