Påsken er den viktigste av de kristne høytidene, og feires til minne om Jesu Kristi død og oppstandelse. Forut for påsken markeres fastetiden og den stille uke, og etter påskesøndag kommer påsketiden, som varer fram til pinse. Ordet påske er en forvanskning av navnet på den jødiske høytiden pesach. Jødene har feiret påske lenger enn kristendommen. De feiret utvandringen fra fangenskapet i Egypt.

Påskedag faller på første søndag etter første fullmåne etter vårjevndøgn, og datoen varierer dermed innenfor perioden 22. mars (1818 og 2285) til 25. april (1943 og 2038). Påskedag faller på 12. april i 2009, og på 4. april i 2010. For andre år, se artikkelen om bevegelige merkedager. Tidspunktet for påskehøytiden blir beregnet etter påskeformelen.

  Easter (Greek:  ¬ÃDZ, Pascha) is the most important religious feast in the Christian liturgical year.[1] Christians believe that Jesus was resurrected from the dead three days[2] after his crucifixion, and celebrate this resurrection on Easter Day or Easter Sunday[3] (also Resurrection Day or Resurrection Sunday), two days after Good Friday. The chronology of his death and resurrection is variously estimated between the years 26 and 36 A.D.

Easter also refers to the season of the church year called Eastertide or the Easter Season. Traditionally the Easter Season lasted for the forty days from Easter Day until Ascension Day but now officially lasts for the fifty days until Pentecost. The first week of the Easter Season is known as Easter Week or the Octave of Easter. Easter also marks the end of Lent, a season of prayer and penance.

Easter is a moveable feast, meaning it is not fixed in relation to the civil calendar. Easter falls at some point between late March and late April each year (early April to early May in Eastern Christianity), following the cycle of the moon. After several centuries of disagreement, all churches accepted the computation of the Alexandrian Church (now the Coptic Church) that Easter is the first Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon, which is the first moon whose 14th day (the ecclesiastic "full moon") is on or after March 21 (the ecclesiastic "vernal equinox").

Easter is linked to the Jewish Passover not only for much of its symbolism but also for its position in the calendar.

Many cultural elements, such as the Easter Bunny, have become part of the holiday's modern celebrations, and those aspects are often celebrated by many Christians and non-Christians alike.