The Las Vegas Easter Guide will be updated through Easter day.  This year Easter is on April 7th.

 

Easter is  the most important day on the Christian calender and celebrates Christ rising from the dead.  Easter is not a fixed date and varies year to year depending upon when the first Sunday after the Paschal full moon occurs.  This is maybe or may not be an actual full moon but refers to 14th day of the lunar month.  Thus, Easter falls between March 22 to April 25 because of this.  In Eastern Orthodox churches which use the Gregorian calendar, Easter falls between April 4th and May 8th. It is called Pascha in the Eastern Orthodox churches.

 

Easter is linked to the Passover because Jesus gave the Passover supper a new meaning when he stated that the bread was he body and the wine was his blood which he would soon shed.  Christ would died on Friday which became known as Good Friday and he would rise from the dead on Sunday which became known as Easter Sunday.

 

In terms of Christians, Jesus resurrection from the dead symbolizes and enable our own spirtual resurrection from the dead and into our new life in heaven.

 

In Western Christianity, it marks the end of the lenten season which begins on Ash Wednesday. 

 

Ethel's M. Chocolates is located at 2 Cactus Garden Drive, Henderson, NV 89014 and will have Spring Spectacular Weekend April 6-8 which includes Easter activities including photos with Easter bunny.  Additionally, they have Easter Egg Collections available.

 

Sugar Factory is located at 3655 S. Las Vegas Boulevard, Las Vegas, NV 89109 and offers Easter candy and plush animals.

 

                                                         Las Vegas Mardi Gras Guide

 

Prior to Ash Wednesday,there is the Mardi Gras.  Mardi Gras refers to Carnival celebration which occur shortly after the Epiphany. Mardi Gras actually means in French "Fat Tuesday".  Fat Tuesday is the day when the parties are at their peak.  While in the USA, New Orleans is the city most people associate with Mardi Gras, it has become more common for other city to celebrate this festival including Las Vegas. 

 

Frisco Market Buffet is located at Arizona Charlie's Decatur Casino and Hotel, 740 S. Decatur Boulevard, Las Vegas, Nevada 89107 and will offer a Mardi Gras buffet.  The Mardi Gras buffet has traditional jambalaya, seafood étouffée, blackened salmon, boiled crawfish, dirty rice, black-eyed peas and chicken gumbo soup.  Lunch is from 11am to 3:30pm and cost $7.49 and dinner from 4pm to 8pm and cost $8.99.

 

Sourdough Cafe is located in the Arizona Charlie's Boulder Casino Hotel and RV Park, 4575 Boulder Hwy., Las Vegas, Nevada 89121  and will offer a dinner on Fat Tuesday.  The  Mardi Gras menu has Muffuletta sandwich with Genoa salami, hot soppresata, cooked ham and Provolone cheese served on Italian bread with a dressing of mayonnaise, mustard, chopped kalamata olives, roasted red peppers, diced red onions, chopped parsley, and fresh oregano which cost $6.99 and Cajun seafood pasta with Andouille sausage which has shrimps, scallops and crawfish, sautéed with peppers, onions and Andouille sausage, seasoned with Cajun spices and folded into a Sherry cream sauce served over linguine which cost $6.99.

 

Sourdough Cafe is located at Arizona Charlie's Decatur Casino and Hotel, 740 S. Decatur Boulevard, Las Vegas, Nevada 89107 and will offer a Mardi Gras dinner from 11 am to 10 pm.  The Mardi Gras menu has traditional jambalaya served over rice or blackened salmon with choice of potato, vegetables, rolls and butter. Both served with choice of chicken gumbo soup or house salad.  The cost is $9.99 per person.

 

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the lenten season and occurs 46 days before Easter Sunday.  It occurs somewhere between February 4th and March 10th.   Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Jesus stay in the desert where fasted and repented.

 

Ash Wednesday is an important part of many Christian faiths.  The ritual involves the use of ashes rub on the forehead as a way of showing repentance to God.  The ashes are usually from the previous years Palm Sunday of which the palms have been burned.  In this cases anyone who wants the ashes can receive them whether or not they are a member of that church.  In the Catholic church, it require not to eat meat on that day and only have one meal.  Seafood and fish are allowed.  Also, many people give up something for lent so this marks the first day whatever they pledged; they must stop doing that.  It is normally sometype of food.