4 Fun Facts About Easter and the Week That Follows It

In the East, it is called "Bright Week". Each day of the Octave of Easter is a First Class Feast, so there is no fasting on Easter Friday in either East or West.

From Aleteia

By Philip Kosloski

The week following Easter Sunday continues the glorious celebration of Jesus' resurrection, extending the joy we experience for several days in a row.

Like Christmas, Easter is often celebrated by the secular world in the days leading up to the feast, but not after. This is in contrast to the liturgical celebration of these feasts, which only begins on the day itself and extends for many days and even weeks after.

In particular, "Easter Week" -- known as the Easter Octave -- is a special way the Church continues the celebration of Jesus' resurrection, acting as if each day is Easter itself!

Here are a few fun facts about Easter Week and how we can participate in the joy of the Risen Christ.

Eastern Christians call the days after Easter “Bright Week”

The week following Easter Sunday is called “Bright Week,” by Eastern Christians and refers to the light that Jesus has brought into the world.

In biblical terms, Jesus rose on the “eighth day,” which symbolically represents the new creation and the promise of Heaven. Eastern Christians reflect on this promise of future joy by referring to “Bright Week” as “one continuous day.”

Newly baptized would wear their baptismal garments every day

The St. Andrew Daily Missal further explains the connection the Easter Octave had to the newly baptized members of the Catholic Church.

The Octave of Easter, during which formerly no servile work was done, was one continual feast. Each day the neophytes attended Mass at a [different church in Rome], at which they received Holy Communion. In the evening they went to Saint John Lateran for the Office of Vespers.

Furthermore, the newly baptized would wear their baptismal gowns during the entire octave. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the Second Sunday of Easter “was consequently known as dominica in albis (deponendis), the Sunday of the (laying aside of the) white garments.”

Yes, you can eat meat on Easter Friday!

Canon Law stipulates that this penitential rule does not apply to days in the Church’s calendar that are meant to be days of feasting.

Abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the Episcopal Conference, is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday (Can.  1251).

A solemnity in the Catholic Church is a day in the liturgical calendar that is marked with the highest importance and celebration. It is a day to rejoice! Easter Friday is a solemnity!