Kazakhstan celebrates Easter

Easter also called the Pasch or Pascha or Resurrection Sunday, is a festival and holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred three days after his crucifixion at Calvary. It is the culmination of the Passion of Christ, preceded by Lent, a forty-day period of fasting, prayer, and penance. It is a moveable feast, meaning it is not fixed in relation to the civil calendar. The First Council of Nicaea (325) established the date of Easter as the first Sunday after the full moon (the Paschal Full Moon) following the March equinox. Ecclesiastically, the equinox is reckoned to be on 21 March (although the astronomical equinox occurs on 20 March in most years), and the "Full Moon" is not necessarily on the astronomically correct date. The date of Easter therefore varies from 22 March to 25 April inclusive. Many churches hold special services on Easter Sunday, which celebrate the Jesus Christ's resurrection after his crucifixion. People celebrate Easter with an Easter breakfast or Easter meal. Easter foods include kulich (Russian Easter bread), paskha (a dish made from cheese and other ingredients, usually formed into the shape of a pyramid), eggs, and other foods. Sometimes the food is blessed by the church before being eaten. Eggs may be cracked with nails as a reminder of Christ. Additionally, one egg may be cut into pieces - one piece for each family member at the Easter table.