 Easter
- remembering the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ...
Easter is a time when Christians remember the cruel crucifixion of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ on Good Friday. This was the day after He celebrated the Last Supper, the Passover, with His disciples.
But Easter is also the celebration of the victory that Christ had over death and the grave when He rose from the dead three days later. As Christians, we celebrate that on Easter Sunday.
Over time, various traditions and practices have arisen. Some of these have originated from earlier pagan customs and dates. See 'Easter Traditions' section below.
The most important thing for Christians is to celebrate at Easter time is the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and the salvation He offers.
Some resources:
Articles by Andrew Lansdown
Andrew is a writer and pastor from WA who works with Life Ministries.
* The travail of His soul - 2009 - This article helps us reflect on the meaning of Easter.
* An Easter Song - Andrew Lansdown
Of First Importance - The Cross and Resurrection at the Center
By R. Albert Mohler, Jr.| Christian Post Guest Columnist - Sat, Apr. 23 2011
"The Christian faith is not a mere collection of doctrines - a bag of truths. Christianity is a comprehensive truth claim that encompasses every aspect of revealed doctrine, but is centered in the gospel of Jesus Christ. And, as the apostolic preaching makes clear, the gospel is the priority. . . "
'Profile of a Savior'
Greg Koukl was a popular speaker at Summit 2008. He is President of Stand to Reason in the USA.
 For Easter 2008, he wrote a short piece titled 'Profile of a Saviour' - a timely article reflecting on who Jesus is and His death and resurrection.
A longer and more detailed version is on the STR website - click here.
STR also posted a number of Bible Studies for Easter Week on The Life of Christ:
* Jesus' Passion Week
* A Great Debt
* The Crucifixion
* The Resurrection
The Importance of Easter
Why we should not Passover Easter
By Nick Sayers
Nick explains that the early church did not debate whether they should remember the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, but only when they should do so...
Easter Traditions
Around the world a range of 'traditions' are practiced at Easter time.
Some have an obvious religious significance. Others have an overtly pagan origin - some of them may have been adapted to have a 'spiritual meaning'.
As always, we should be cautious about the traditions we adopt and follow.
Are they focused on remembering the real message of Easter - the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ?
The time at which we celebrate Easter
The equinox occurs each year on March 20, 21 or 22. Christians celebrate Easter on the Sunday on or after the next full moon after the equinox. The Eastern Orthodox churches follow a different calculation, with their Easter often being weeks later. Source
Farrell Brown has written a helpful article:
Why does Easter's date wander?
Farrell Brown, Christianity Today.
He relates the history of the early Christian church in deciding when the celebration of Easter should occur. Farrell also explains why the Orthodox church celebrates Easter at a different time.
In 2008 it was almost the earliest Easter -
You'll never live to see another Easter this early
By Bill Ellis - Special to ASSIST News Service - Wednesday March 5, 2008
SCOTT DEPOT, WV(ANS) -- Easter cannot be any earlier than March 22 or any later than April 25. The last time Easter was as early as March 23 was in 1913. . ."
Side-by-side calendar for Easter dates for the 21st century
Table of dates for Orthodox and Western Christian Easter.
Calendar and Easter History
Interesting article about dates and times and calendar changes etc...
The word 'Easter'
Nick Sayers, in the article above, notes that most languages have the same word for Passover and Easter and discusses the Hebrew word for Passover, 'Pesach', and the Greek word 'Pascha'. This includes a very enlightening analysis of translation.... and highlights the importance of celebrating Easter.
Some other interpretations link the word for Easter to varying pagan traditions. The important thing, even if reading and being aware of these, is to note and claim the Christian events, namely the death and resurrection of Christ....
The Venerable Bede, (672-735 CE.) a Christian scholar, said in his book De Ratione Temporum that Easter was named after Eostre - the Great Mother Goddess of the Saxon people in Northern Europe. Others say the "Teutonic dawn goddess of fertility [was] known variously as Ostare, Ostara, Ostern, Eostra, Eostre, Eostur, Eastra, Eastur, Austron and Ausos." This name was derived from "eastre", the ancient word for the season of 'Spring'. [Source: Religious Tolerance ]
Click herefor Wikipedia discussion on the name 'Easter'.
Easter Eggs
There are more than 5 million results on Google when searching for 'Easter eggs'. The Christian meaning of the 'egg' is said to be that of 'new life'. Others say that eggs are a sign of fertility.
Painted eggs are an old tradition, with recent times seeing chocolate eggs as substitutes.
Source: Click here.
Easter Bunny
The 'bunny' was originally thought to be a hare, which was associated with fertility and large litters - also associations with 'life'. Wikipedia says "The Easter Bunny is a mythological rabbit character who brings gifts and candy to children on the Easter holiday".
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