The Easter Season

In the English-speaking world, the feast of the Lord’s Resurrection is referred to as “Easter.” In the 8^th century, the Venerable Bede held that the word derived from Eostre or Eostrae, an Anglo-Saxon goddess associated with spring and fertility. However, there is now widespread consensus that the word derives from the Old German term, “eostarum” meaning “dawn.”  
 
The Easter Season runs from the Sunday of the Resurrection to Pentecost Sunday. The first eight days of the season form the Easter Octave and are celebrated as Solemnities. The acclamation “Alleluia! Alleluia” is added to the dismissal of the Mass.  
 
The Paschal Candle, a symbol of the presence of the Risen Christ among the people of God, remains in the sanctuary  throughout the Easter Season of fifty days.
 
During the Sundays of Easter, the first reading is taken from the Acts of the Apostles not from the Old Testament.