Short answer
No. Easter is a Christian religious festival celebrating the belief that Jesus died on the cross and rose again, which the Quran denies, so the Hanafi school and the other three do not allow Muslims to celebrate it. You can still be kind to Christian family and neighbours, accept a gift of chocolate and enjoy the public holiday, without joining the religious side.
Celebrating Easter, joining its services or rites, or congratulating people on it as a religious occasion is not permissible, and doing so to honour the festival endangers one's faith. Accepting an ordinary gift, sharing halal food with family and keeping good relations are allowed.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
Easter is the most important day of the Christian year: it marks the belief that Jesus was crucified on Good Friday and rose from the dead on Sunday. Muslims love Jesus, but the Quran says plainly that "they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him". Celebrating Easter would mean celebrating a belief Islam rejects, which is why the four schools agree it is not for Muslims. See what happened to Jesus in Islam.
The Prophet ﷺ said every people has its festival and the Eids are ours. The Hanafi books treat joining or honouring the religious festivals of other faiths as a serious matter, and the same rules apply as for Christmas.
- Happy Easter: avoid congratulating people on the festival. A kind reply such as "I hope you have a lovely time with your family" is fine.
- Chocolate eggs: accepting a gift is fine if the chocolate is halal. Do not hold egg hunts or decorate eggs as an Easter custom at home.
- Family lunch: converts may join Christian parents for a halal meal on the day, as an act of family kindness, without prayers, grace in Jesus' name or rites.
- Church service: do not take part in the worship.
- The bank holiday: rest, visit family or do something good.
Instead, Muslims celebrate Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, and honour Jesus all year by following what he taught: worship of the one God. See what holidays do Muslims celebrate?
The evidence
Quran, Surah An-Nisaa 4:157
وَقَوْلِهِمْ إِنَّا قَتَلْنَا ٱلْمَسِيحَ عِيسَى ٱبْنَ مَرْيَمَ رَسُولَ ٱللَّهِ وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ وَمَا صَلَبُوهُ وَلَٰكِن شُبِّهَ لَهُمْ ۚ وَإِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱخْتَلَفُوا۟ فِيهِ لَفِى شَكٍّۢ مِّنْهُ ۚ مَا لَهُم بِهِۦ مِنْ عِلْمٍ إِلَّا ٱتِّبَاعَ ٱلظَّنِّ ۚ وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ يَقِينًۢا ﴿١٥٧﴾
And [for] their saying, "Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah." And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them. And indeed, those who differ over it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him, for certain.
The core belief behind Easter is denied by the Quran.
Quran, Surah Al-Furqaan 25:72
وَٱلَّذِينَ لَا يَشْهَدُونَ ٱلزُّورَ وَإِذَا مَرُّوا۟ بِٱللَّغْوِ مَرُّوا۟ كِرَامًۭا ﴿٧٢﴾
And [they are] those who do not testify to falsehood, and when they pass near ill speech, they pass by with dignity.
Early scholars explained this as not attending the festivals of other faiths.
Quran, Surah Al-Mumtahana 60:8
لَّا يَنْهَىٰكُمُ ٱللَّهُ عَنِ ٱلَّذِينَ لَمْ يُقَٰتِلُوكُمْ فِى ٱلدِّينِ وَلَمْ يُخْرِجُوكُم مِّن دِيَٰرِكُمْ أَن تَبَرُّوهُمْ وَتُقْسِطُوٓا۟ إِلَيْهِمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُقْسِطِينَ ﴿٨﴾
Allah does not forbid you from those who do not fight you because of religion and do not expel you from your homes - from being righteous toward them and acting justly toward them. Indeed, Allah loves those who act justly.
Kindness to Christian family and neighbours continues on their holidays.
Sahih al-Bukhari 952
Sahih... إن لكل قوم عيدا وهذا عيدنا ...
"Every people has its festival, and this is our festival."
Muslims have their own festivals and do not take on those of other faiths.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Bahr al-Ra'iq, Kitab al-Siyar, Bab Ahkam al-Murtaddin. Warns that honouring a festival of non-Muslims, for example by gifts given for the day, endangers faith.
- al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya, Kitab al-Siyar, the chapter on the rulings of apostates, words of kufr about the festivals of non-Muslims. Records the Hanafi rulings on joining non-Muslim festivals.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.