Photostory: Orthodox Christians prepare for Easter

Hand decorated Easter eggs at a farmers market in Belgrade, Serbia as Orthodox Christians prepare to celebrate Easter, also called Pascha, on 28 April 2019, according to the Julian calendar. For millions of people around the world, Easter falls on Sunday 28 April 2019. Orthodox Christians in Europe, Africa and the Middle East celebrate Easter later than most in the western world.

It’s because they use a different calendar to work out what day Easter should fall on. In Western Christianity, the date of Easter is based on the Gregorian calendar and can fall between March 22 and April 25. The Eastern Christian tradition bases its calculations of Orthodox Easter on the Julian calendar, which differs from the Gregorian calendar by 13 days. However, both Western and Eastern churches agree that Easter should be celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox.

Also in the eastern Orthodox Church, Easter must happen after the Jewish festival of Passover. The Passover ends on 27 April.

(Photos: EPA-EFE/ANDREJ CUKIC)