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Easter Sunday

The day of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ
In Christianity, the Easter celebration is held to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus, which Christians believe happened three days after he was buried, having been crucified by Roman authorities just outside of Jerusalem. The resurrection is one of the fundamental principles and beliefs of Christianity. It is believed that Jesus died for their sin on the Cross on Good Friday, that he was buried on Friday and rose from death on Sunday. Christians believe only Jesus can give eternal life, because He overcame death.

Christ's resurrection guarantees there will be a Last Judgment (Acts 17:31), and that there is a heaven and a hell (Revelation 1:18). Yet this Risen Christ offers the forgiveness of sins and everlasting salvation for whoever believes in Him (John 11:25,6, Romans 4:24,25). Everyone is inescapably affected by these implications.

Easter takes place around the same time as Jewish Passover and, as such, is not a fixed date on the calendar but instead moves around. Because of its connection to Passover, Easter is also sometimes referred to as Pascha, a word that appears in both Latin and Greek but comes from the Hebrew Pesah, or Passover.

Pagan Influences: The "Easter Bunny"

The Easter Bunny: derives from the worship of the Anglo-Saxon goddess of fertility Eastre (hence the name Easter) whose natural symbol was the rabbit. Use of the Easter Bunny was brought to America by German immigrants - non-German Christians ignored the rabbit until some time after the Civil War when the celebration of Easter became more widespread.


Easter Eggs: Pagan groups long exchanged eggs at some point near the beginning of Spring as symbol of fertility and the hope that the coming summer crops would be good. These eggs were also often painted with bright colors to represent the colors of spring, from the blooming flowers and the bright sun (remember that in the northern regions there is much less sunlight during the winter). Different cultures today color their eggs in different ways. For example, in Greece it is common to exchange eggs which have been colored crimson to represent the blood of Christ. Slavic countries tend to decorate their eggs with gold and silver and in parts of Germany and Austria, people exchange green eggs on Holy Thursday.

Sources: About.com, ChristianAnswers