“Eastertide,” as it was once commonly referred to, lasts 50 days, making it the longest season on the Church’s liturgical calendar.

Get acquainted with some time-honored Easter traditions:

Feast. During the ultimate celebration and Feast of Feasts, there is no fasting. “They are days devoted exclusively to joy,” explains The Liturgical Year by Benedictine Abbot Dom Guéranger.

Pray the Stations of Light. The Stations of Light or Stations of the Resurrection (Via Lucis) recall 14 events after the Resurrection all the way through the Church’s birthday on Pentecost. As the Vatican’s Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy explains: “Using the metaphor of a journey, the Via Lucis moves from the experience of suffering, which in God’s plan is part of life, to the hope of arriving at man’s true end: liberation, joy and peace, which are essentially Paschal values.” (Learn more here.)

Enjoy Easter flowers. Keep fresh blooms in your home, especially lilies. “Easter lilies, the flower most associated with this holy season, are symbols of purity and hope. Some have speculated that they symbolize the Resurrection of Jesus because they look like trumpets announcing that Jesus has risen from the dead,” explains EWTN.com.

Focus on Mary. May, which is often included in Eastertide, is dedicated to the Blessed Mother. The Church honors Mary as the principal Resurrection witness. “It is not only a pious opinion that the Risen Savior first appeared to His Mother Mary on Easter Sunday,” Servant of God John Hardon reflected. “No less than six Doctors of the Church, including Sts. Ambrose, Anselm and Albert the Great, held that Our Lady was the first witness of the Resurrection.”

In all of Eastertide, a Marian prayer, the Regina Caeli, replaces the Angelus. 

Queen of Heaven

V. Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia. 

R. For He whom you did merit to bear, alleluia. 

V. Has risen, as he said, alleluia. 

R. Pray for us to God, alleluia.

V. Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia. 

R. For the Lord has truly risen, alleluia.

Let us pray. O God, who gave joy to the world through the resurrection of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, grant we beseech Thee, that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, His Mother, we may obtain the joys of everlasting life. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

Celebrate the Church’s birthday! Eastertide concludes on Pentecost Sunday. Wear red to Mass, as the liturgical color represents the tongues of fire that descended upon Mary and the apostles. In Italy, rose petals representing the tongues of fire are traditionally dropped from church ceilings. Your family can celebrate with roses, too. And don’t forget the birthday cake!

“The Resurrection is our hope.” | EWTN foundress Mother Angelica
(1923-2016)

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