Theologians describe how Jesus likely aligned his death with the Passover

A look at whether the Last Supper was a Passover Seder meal

Three of the four Gospels describe the Last Supper as a Passover meal, and scholars have cataloged more than a dozen parallels: wine, broken bread, sung hymns, and reclining at the table. But most historians of early Judaism now note that the formal Passover Seder didn't exist as a codified ritual until after 70 CE, decades after Jesus died.

The Easter story in paintings from the National Gallery

Walk through the entire narrative of Holy Week, painting by painting, from the "Agony in the Garden" to the "Supper at Emmaus" from masters like Titian and Caravaggio.

Easter is an uncommon name for Pascha, from the Hebrew 'pesach'

It's often said Easter is derived from pagan rituals. The word "Easter" does stem from a Germanic term for "dawn," but most cultural names for the holiday more clearly point to its Jewish history in the Passover.

Early texts claim Jesus was conceived on the same date of his death

Though celebrations of Jesus’ birth weren’t formalized for several hundred years after he lived, it was more common to commemorate his death. Some early Church writers connected the presumed date of his death—March 25—with his conception, implying a birth date of Dec. 25.

The season celebrates Jesus' birth and anticipates the Second Coming of Christ

The Christian Bible’s New Testament features four gospels, or lives of Jesus, each of which describes the birth of Jesus in different ways (or does not mention it). Historians, both secular and religious, have sought to contextualize the biblical accounts with empirical evidence.

The prominent role of women in the Easter story

In the first century, women's testimony was not legally admissible in Jewish courts—the historian Josephus wrote that their accounts were not admissible based on a prejudiced view of women. Scholars who argue for the historical reliability of the resurrection point to this as counterintuitive evidence: no one fabricating the story would have chosen women as the prime witnesses.

Early Christians viewed the Resurrection as a political claim about authority

Titles like "Son of God," "Lord," and "Savior" were in active circulation as official imperial titles at the time, stamped on Roman coins and carved into public inscriptions about Caesar. Early Christians applied those same words to Jesus, a crucified Jew, as a counter-claim about who actually held authority over the world. (Romans who refused to say "Caesar is Lord" were executed for it.)

The Stations of the Cross reenact Jesus' 'passion,' or suffering

The practice originated with early Christian pilgrims walking the Via Dolorosa—the path Jesus likely look as he walked with his cross to the site of his crucifixion—in Jerusalem and took root in European churches in the fifth century CE as a devotion for those who couldn't travel to the Holy Land. Pope Clement XII fixed the number of stations at 14 in 1731; five of them are based entirely on tradition, rather than scripture.

What is Good Friday, and why is it called 'good'?

Good Friday commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus, the darkest moment in the Christian story (which makes the name a genuine puzzle). Typical explanations say "good" once meant "holy" or "sacred," while other traditions dub it "sorrowful Friday." Christians observe rather than celebrate the day, with services, fasting, and quiet. It's always two days before Easter, sitting between Maundy (or Holy) Thursday and Easter.

What happened during the 'harrowing of hell'

According to theologians, Jesus descended into the realm of the dead between his crucifixion and resurrection. He did this to liberate the "righteous" who died before him, including Adam and Eve. The belief draws on 1 Peter 3:18-20 and the Apostle's Creed phrase "he descended into hell," and is especially vivid in Eastern Orthodox theology and iconography.

The Quartodeciman controversy debated what day to celebrate Easter in the early church

Asian churches marked Easter on the 14th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan (roughly March-April), while Roman churches insisted on Sunday. Polycarp of Smyrna, an associate of the Apostle John (who tradition says wrote one of the four Gospels) traveled to Rome to advocate for the 14th of Nisan. The Nicene Council decided that celebrating on a Sunday would ensure Christian unity and distinguish the observance from Jewish passover.

Traditionally, a glut of unused eggs during Lent would be decorated at Easter

That's how the tradition started, at least in the more orthodox (or strict) branches of Christianity, which didn't eat meat, dairy, or eggs the whole period. By the end, there was more than could be eaten, so decorations ensued.

The earliest depiction of Jesus' crucifixion

The Alexamenos Graffito is widely considered the oldest surviving image of the crucifixion. It was scratched into a plaster wall near Rome's Palatine Hill, probably around 200 CE. It is not devotional art—it shows a donkey-headed figure on a cross alongside the Greek inscription "Alexamenos worships his god," apparently drawn by a student mocking a classmate's Christian faith. No devotional depiction of the crucifixion would be made until the sixth century.

Was the stone that sealed Jesus's tomb round or square?

Archaeologist Amos Kloner's survey of more than 900 Second Temple-era burial caves found only four with round, disk-shaped stones—all belonging to the very wealthy. The other 98-plus percent used square, cork-shaped stones, suggesting the popular image of a wheel rolled away from Jesus's tomb is probably a later artistic invention. The Greek verb translated as "rolled" can also mean "moved."

Hanukkah celebrates the miracle of the oil lamp and the Maccabees' military victory

The annual winter holiday celebrates both events, which ultimately resulted in increased religious freedom for the Jewish people.

Mardi Gras blends pagan celebrations with Christian traditions

The holiday has its roots in pagan celebrations, like ancient Rome's Saturnalian and Lupercalian festivals, which celebrated spring and fertility. Rather than abandoning these traditions, Catholic leaders in Rome incorporated their spirit into a celebration that would expel citizens' debauchery in preparation for the sacrifices they'd endure during the Lenten season. Around the world, this holiday season is called Carnival, though the New Orleans version is usually called Mardi Gras.

For the medievals, the moon was a versatile religious symbol

Within the distinct traditions of Christianity and Islam, the moon became a central metaphor and sign for religious teaching. For Christians, its light was used to explain Jesus' humanity with the light of the sun (divinity). For Muslims, the moon represented a cosmic longing for god.

The archaeology of human sacrifice

Human sacrifice appears in cultures around the globe. But how do we know that to be true? Scientists can tell the difference between ritual sacrifice and mass graves better explained by war and political instability. Learn how in this article about...

Visualizing the spread of five major religions across the world

Every major religion has a story that started in a specific place before growing to reach millions. This quick video depicts an illustrated map over the last 5,000 years, showing how Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam grew from their humble beginnings.

Pompeii’s ruins expose the brutal realities of Rome’s sex trade

Drawing on graffiti, slave collars, brothel art, and the story of “Eutychis, a Greek lass with sweet ways,” this piece reconstructs the violent, coercive world of Pompeii’s enslaved prostitutes—and how their owners controlled, renamed, and exploited them.

The Rosetta Stone helped scholars decipher Egyptian hieroglyphics

With the same verses written in three languages, the stone—discovered during Napoleon's campaign in Egypt—let scholars decipher hieroglyphics for the first time, unlocking the secrets of ancient Egypt. Learn why the task, originally expected to take two weeks, ended up taking 20 years with this fascinating essay.

Scholars trace existential anxiety back to early Hebrew scriptures

Paul Megna, a scholar of literature and philosophy, notes that the existentialist ideas of Kierkegaard (and, to a lesser extent, Sarte and Camus) had their roots in much earlier texts, which posited that "fear of the Lord" was "the beginning of wisdom."

The origins and growth of the Juneteenth holiday

The American holiday of Juneteenth celebrates the emancipation of African American slaves, a process which unfolded over the four years of the Civil War and several months afterward. June 19 took on special significance as the day Union officials proclaimed slaves free in Texas in 1865, the last holdout after the Civil War ended. Roughly 4 million people were freed from slavery as a result of emancipation. Read this brief article summarizing the holiday's development.

Barbara Brown Taylor reflects on the oft-used phrase "spiritual but not religious"

Released on Holy Thursday 2023, this conversation with the Episcopal priest and preacher argues that the human appetite for the sacred is strong, despite declining church membership. Taylor and longtime host of the "On Being" podcast, Krista Tippett, explore wilderness, embodied faith, and what holiness actually feels like when the institution no longer appears to supply it.

El Niño, Spanish for 'the boy,' was named after Jesus Christ because the phenomenon resembled the weather changes observed around Christmastime.

The story of Palestine through the eyes of its people

Issues of identity are crucial to understanding Israel-Palestine. This site weaves individual narratives with key historical moments and common Q&As around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Ordinary people share personal stories about surviving massacres, displacement, and military occupation. And young Palestinians from across the world reflect on their identity, life under occupation, exile, and future aspirations. Explore what it means to be Palestinian through this interactive site by Al Jazeera.

After her fellow cult members tried to kill her with an LSD-infused hamburger, one member of the Manson Family, the murderous cult led by Charles Manson, decided to testify against the group's leader.

The Dracula character, now seen as the vampire archetype, was inspired by a seafood-induced nightmare its creator experienced.

In 2018, 26-year-old missionary John Allen Chau was killed by tribesmen after attempting to reach and evangelize on India's isolated North Sentinel Island

Take a 3D tour of the Hajj, Islam's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, undertaken by over 1.5 million Muslims.

Exploring the Larry Bird punch that almost changed March Madness

See the most iconic photos from four decades of LIFE magazine

Visualize the path of every solar eclipse from 1900 to 2099 and see what each looks like when observed from different locations on Earth.

Volcanic activity may have triggered the Black Death by spewing gases that led to crop failures in Europe, thus forcing the import of grain ships with plague-infested fleas.

Salvador Dalí believed he was his own dead brother, who had died nine months before he was born

Existentialist writer Jean-Paul Sartre coined the famous phrase 'Hell is—other people' in his play 'No Exit'

Explore an interactive map of battles from the American Revolution, along with detailed summaries of each engagement

See how each of the more than two million known species relates to each other—and to common ancestors—in this zoomable tree of life.

Graffiti dates back to at least ancient Pompeii, where citizens scrawled messages to one another on public walls

Georgia O'Keeffe's flower paintings are often assumed to be sexual, though the artist claimed she was simply interested in highlighting the beauty of flowers that most people neglect

Studies suggest when you sleep is as important as how much you get, and syncing with your circadian rhythms may lead to less fatigue and improved long-term health outcomes

See photos of Meteora, a mountainous site in central Greece, home to 14th-century monasteries perched atop soaring outcroppings.

The syncytiotrophoblast is the outer layer of the placenta and the largest human cell, spanning an area about twice that of a king-sized bedsheet.

Tattoos remain visible on your skin thanks to immune cells called macrophages

Abraham Lincoln was almost assassinated weeks before his inauguration as he traveled from Illinois to DC through Baltimore in 1861; it took two independent claims for Lincoln to be convinced the threat was real

The price of gas is a composite made up of several different factors, with the federal gas tax making up less than 20% of what drivers pay at the pump.

How fusion—which releases energy when two lighter atoms combine to form a heavier atom—differs from fission

The Great Salt Lake's distinct dual coloration results from high-salinity organisms that only live in the northern portion and produce a purple protein.

See the evolution of Ebola vaccine and treatment development.

A small portion of The Winstons' 'Amen, Brother,' an obscure '60s gospel record, is the basis for thousands of hip-hop tracks, making it one of the most sampled records ever that's informally known as 'the Amen break.'