1. If it is Pascha in Latin and Pascha in Greek, what is it in English?
2. What does the festival of Easter celebrate?
3. What four-lettered word describes the period of penitential preparation that begins on Ash Wednesday, six-and-a-half weeks before Easter?
4. How is the date to observe Easter calculated?
5. Which small mammal, belonging to the Order Lagomorpha and family Leporidae, is associated with Easter?
6. In the Christian calendar, what are the three days that form the Easter Triduum called?
7. Rapa Nui is a Polynesian island under the sovereignty of Chile. What is the more common name for this UNESCO World Heritage Site?
8. Name the light, toasted fruit cake, with layers of almond paste or marzipan, consumed during the Easter period in the U.K. and many other countries.
9. What notion came about because the church prohibited the eating of eggs during Holy Week but chickens continued to lay eggs during that time?
10. Where is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, one of the most visited places during the Holy Week, located?
11. Name the spiced sweet bun marked with a cross on the top that is traditionally eaten on Good Friday?
12. To ensure celebrating Easter on a proper day across the Christian world, what major innovation did the Pope introduce in 1582?
13. What event connects a famous mural at the Convent of Santa Maria della Grazie in Milan with Maundy Thursday?
14. Which goldsmith produced the bejewelled eggs for the Tsars of Russia that were popular gifts at Easter?
15. Which street in NYC is famous for its Easter parade?
Answers: 1. Easter; 2. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his Crucifixion; 3. Lent; 4. It should be observed on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox. Easter, therefore, can fall on any Sunday between March 22 and April 25; 5. Rabbit (as in Easter Bunny); 6. Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Saturday; 7. Easter Island; 8. Simnel Cake; 9. The notion of identifying those eggs as ‘Holy Week’ eggs by decorating them and this led to the tradition of ‘Easter Eggs’; 10. Jerusalem; 11. Hot Cross Bun; 12. The Gregorian calendar; 13. ‘The Last Supper’; 14. Faberge; 15. Fifth Avenue.
