Kirill Kudryavtsev / AFP - Getty Images
Russian Orthodox believers celebrate Easter at the Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow on April 14.
The Orthodox church follows the Julian calendar rather than the Gregorian calendar, which is why the date of celebration differs.
Abir Sultan / EPA
Around the world, Christians celebrate the holiest week of the year.
Win Mcnamee / Getty Images
President Barack Obama acts out a part of the story while reading from the book "Where the Wild Things Are" with first lady Michelle Obama (L) and his daughter Sasha (R) during the White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House on April 9 in Washington, D.C.
Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
President Obama smiles at the Easter Bunny during the 2012 White House Easter Egg Roll on April 9 on the South Lawn
Larry Downing / Reuters
First lady Michelle Obama (R) and her children, Sasha (C) and Malia cheer at the 2012 White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on April 9 in Washington D.C.
Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA
Visitors participate in the 2012 White House Annual Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House on April 9. More than 35,000 people are expected at the event.
Brendan Smialowski / AFP - Getty Images
President Obama does pushups during basketball shooting drills during the White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn on April 9. The annual event includes sporting activities and games along with the traditional easter egg roll.
Samuel Kubani / AFP - Getty Images
Young Slovaks dressed in traditional costumes throw a bucket of water at a girl as part of Easter celebrations in the village of Trencianska Tepla, 145 km north of Bratislava on April 9. Slovakia's men splash women with water and hit them with a willow to symbolize youth, strength and beauty for the upcoming spring season.
Radovan Stoklasa / Reuters
A Slovak youth dressed in traditional costume throws a bucket of water at a girl as part of Easter celebrations in the village of Trencianska Tepla, 145 km (90 miles) north of Bratislava April 9. Girls are doused with water and whipped in a custom believed to ensure a woman's fertility and beauty.
Radovan Stoklasa / Reuters
Slovak youths dressed in traditional costumes throw a girl into a creek as part of Easter celebrations in the village of Trencianska Tepla, 145 km (90 miles) north of Bratislava April 9. Girls are doused with water and whipped in a custom believed to ensure a woman's fertility and beauty.
Radovan Stoklasa / Reuters
A Slovak youth dressed in traditional costume throws a bucket of water at a woman on a bicycle as part of Easter celebrations in the village of Trencianska Tepla, 145 km (90 miles) north of Bratislava April 9. Girls are doused with water and whipped in a custom believed to ensure a woman's fertility and beauty.
Angelika Warmuth / AFP - Getty Images
A person wearing an Easter bunny costume makes a wakeboard jump during a promotional event in Hamburg, Germany, April 8.
Related content: Christians mark Easter Sunday at ancient holy site; Pope calls for peace in Syria
Abir Sultan / EPA
Around the world, Christians celebrate the holiest week of the year.
K.M. Chaudary / AP
Pakistani Christians hold candles during an Easter vigil Mass in a church in Lahore, Pakistan, April 7.
As Christians took part in celebrations in Pakistan and other parts of the world, Pope Benedict XVI presided over services at the Vatican:
Pope Benedict, leading the world's Catholics into Easter, said on Saturday that technological progress, in the absence of awareness of God and moral values, is a threat to the world.
-- Reported by msnbc.com news services
Around the world, Christians celebrate the holiest week of the year.
Julio Cortez / AP
A full moon rises behind the New York City skyline seen from Eagle Rock Reservation in West Orange, N.J., Friday, April 6, 2012. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Space.com reports: Traditionally, the April full moon is known as "the Pink Moon," supposedly as a tribute to the grass pink or wild ground phlox, considered one of the earliest widespread flowers of the spring. Other monikers include the Full Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon and, among coastal Native American tribes, the Full Fish Moon, for when the shad came upstream to spawn.
(Traditional names for the full moons of the year are found in some publications, such as the Farmers' Almanac. We also published the complete list of full moon names here on Space.com. The origins of these names have been traced back to Native America, though they may also have evolved from old England or, as Guy Ottewell, editor of the annual publication Astronomical Calendar, suggests, "writer's fancy.")
Gabriel Bouys / AFP - Getty Images
Pope Benedict XVI is shown at the Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) procession on April 6 in Rome. Christians mark the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Friday in a series of ceremonies culminating on Sunday, when they celebrate Christ's resurrection.
Read about the Pope's remarks from the event
Daniel Ochoa De Olza / AP
Penitents from 'Jesus Yacente' brotherhood take part in a procession in Zamora, Spain, in the early hours of Friday, April 6. Hundreds of processions take place throughout Spain during the Easter Holy Week.
Jim Gold, msnbc.com reports: Religious observances intersect this year for two major faiths. As Christians around the world continue their Holy Week with Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday, Jews will begin Passover on Friday at sunset. The confluence comes as the Jewish lunar-based calendar makes the 15th of the Hebrew month of Nisan fall on Good Friday.
Around the world, Christians celebrate the holiest week of the year.
Dani Pozo / AFP - Getty Images
Penitents leave San Pedro church carrying a statue depicting "Jesus the Poor" during a Holy Week procession on April 5, 2012 in Madrid, Spain. Christian believers around the world mark the Holy Week of Easter in celebration of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Erik De Castro / Reuters
A boy looks at the palm of a penitent nailed on a wooden cross during a reenactment of Jesus Christ's crucifixion on Good Friday in Barangay Cutud, San Fernando, Pampanga in northern Philippines, April 6, 2012.
Dean Lewins / EPA
Hundreds of people follow 'Jesus' played by Paul Cattanach as he drags a cross through Pitt Street Mall as part of the Wesley Mission's Good Friday, Way of the Cross Procession in Sydney, Australia, on April 6, 2012.
Related content:
Sebastian Scheiner / AP
Catholic priests carry palm fronds at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, traditionally believed by many to be the site of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus Christ, in Jerusalem's Old city, April 1. Palm Sunday marks for Christians Jesus Christ's entrance into Jerusalem when his followers laid palm branches in his path, prior to his crucifixion.
"It's the holiest place in the world for Christians and it's important for me to come here at least once in my lifetime," said Etienne Chevremont, 49, a visitor from Paris who attended the Jerusalem Mass.
-- Reported by the Associated Press
Vasily Fedosenko / Reuters
A woman prays on a hill with wooden crosses after a procession celebrating Palm Sunday in the town of Oshmiany, 88 miles northwest of Minsk, Belarus, April 1.
Kacper Pempel / Reuters
Women hold palm fronds as they take part in a Mass celebrating Catholic Palm Sunday at Saint Anna church in Warsaw, Poland, April 1.
Vincenzo Pinto / AFP - Getty Images
Pope Benedict XVI leaves after celebrating the Palm Sunday mass in St Peter's square at the Vatican, on April 1. Palm Sunday marks the start of the holy week of Easter in celebration of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Jon Nazca / Reuters
Spanish actor and director Antonio Banderas, center, sings a song to the Virgin inside a church as he takes part as a penitent in the "Lagrimas and Favores" brotherhood in a Palm Sunday procession at the start of Holy Week in Malaga, southern Spain, April 1. Hundreds of processions take place around the clock in Spain during Holy Week, drawing thousands of visitors.
Stefan Thomas / EPA
Volker Kraft decorates his Easter egg tree in Saalfeld, Germany on Wednesday, March 21, 2012. It takes the family around two weeks to hang the 10,000 hand painted eggs into the tree.
Charles Dharapak / AP
Miranda Husband, 11, center, and Issac Husband, 9, third left, of Greencastle, Pa., roll Easter eggs on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, on Monday, April 25, at the White House Easter Egg Roll hosted by President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama. Thousands of children will participate in the event, which dates back to 1878, and is named for races where children push colored eggs across the grass using wooden spoons.
Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
First Lady Michelle Obama watches as TV personalities Kelly Ripa and Al Roker share a crepe at the annual Easter Egg Roll on Monday.
Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
President Barack Obama, left, and first lady Michelle Obama read a book titled "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" to children during the annual Easter Egg Roll on Monday. Daughters Sasha, second right, and Malia, right, are seen on the right as they listen on with their dog Bo.
J. Scott Applewhite / AP
The White House Easter Egg Roll takes place on the South Lawn of the White House on Monday.
Michael Reynolds / EPA
President Barack Obama greets children during the annual Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House on Monday.
Related content:
Full story: Obamas host annual White House Easter Egg Roll
Photos: Celebrating the White House Easter Egg Roll
Behind-the-scenes pics of Al Roker from White House Easter Egg Roll
Easter observances on PhotoBlog
Thousands of kids and their parents packed the White House grounds for the annual tradition of rolling Easter eggs across the South Lawn. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.
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