Christ chose to suffer death on the cross to save humanity from its sin, and Christ’s victory over death fulfilled the promise of redemption. As the name suggests, Easter celebrates the rising of the sun of life from the dark night of the grave. Christian tradition teaches that when a group of myrrh-bearing women and then the Apostles went to Jesus’ tomb on the third day after the crucifixion, they found the grave empty. Enemies of the early Christians argued that Jesus’ followers had taken his body away to give credence to his predictions that he would rise from the dead. New Testament accounts in the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles narrate a number of post-resurrection appearances in which Jesus visited his disciples and spoke with them. The Eastern Christian year is organized entirely around Easter in three segments: ten weeks prior to Easter, fifty days after Easter, and a more generic “remainder of the year.” Western churches generally accord the Christmas season a liturgical and spiritual importance equal to that of Easter.