What is the true meaning of Easter?
373132
Please read all it's well worth it.\n\n\nThe Origin of Easter\n\nThe name Easter, used in many lands, is not found in the Bible. The book Medieval Holidays and Festivals tells us that “the holiday is named after the pagan Goddess of the Dawn and of Spring, Eostre.” And who was this goddess? “Eostre it was who, according to the legend, opened the portals of Valhalla to receive Baldur, called the White God, because of his purity and also the Sun God, because his brow supplied light to mankind,” answers The American Book of Days. It adds: “There is no doubt that the Church in its early days adopted the old pagan customs and gave a Christian meaning to them. As the festival of Eostre was in celebration of the renewal of life in the spring it was easy to make it a celebration of the resurrection from the dead of Jesus, whose gospel they preached.”\n\nThis adoption explains how in certain lands the Easter customs, such as Easter eggs, the Easter rabbit, and hot cross buns, came about. Concerning the custom of making hot cross buns, “with their shiny brown tops marked by a . . . cross,” the book Easter and Its Customs states: “The cross was a pagan symbol long before it acquired everlasting significance from the events of the first Good Friday, and bread and cakes were sometimes marked with it in pre-Christian times.”\n\nNowhere in Scripture do we find mention of these things, nor is there any evidence that the early disciples of Jesus gave them any credence. In fact, the apostle Peter tells us to “form a longing for the unadulterated milk belonging to the word, that through it [we] may grow to salvation.” (1 Peter 2:2) So why did the churches of Christendom adopt such obviously pagan symbols into their beliefs and practices?\n\nThe book Curiosities of Popular Customs answers: “It was the invariable policy of the early Church to give a Christian significance to such of the extant pagan ceremonies as could not be rooted out. In the case of Easter the conversion was peculiarly easy. Joy at the rising of the natural sun, and at the awakening of nature from the death of winter, became joy at the rising of the Sun of righteousness, at the resurrection of Christ from the grave. Some of the pagan observances which took place about the 1st of May were also shifted to correspond with the celebration of Easter.” Rather than steer clear of popular pagan customs and magical rites, the religious leaders condoned them and gave them “Christian significance.”\n\n‘But is there any harm in that?’ you may wonder. Some think not. “When a religion such as Christianity comes to a people from outside, it adopts and ‘baptizes’ some of the folk customs which derive from older religions,” said Alan W. Watts, an Episcopal chaplain, in his book Easter—Its Story and Meaning. “It selects and weaves into the liturgy folk observances which seem to signify the same eternal principles taught by the Church.” To many, the fact that their church sanctioned these observances and treated them as holy is reason enough to accept them. But important questions are being overlooked. How does God feel about these customs? Has he given us any guidelines to follow in the matter?\n\nGetting God’s Viewpoint\n\n“Easter Day, the Feast of the Resurrection of Our Lord, is the greatest of all the festivals of the Christian Church,” said Christina Hole in her book Easter and Its Customs. Other writers concur. “No holy day or festival in the Christian year can compare in importance with Easter Sunday,” notes Robert J. Myers in the book Celebrations. That, however, raises some questions. If celebrating Easter is so important, why is there no specific command in the Bible to do so? Is there any record of Jesus’ early disciples observing Easter Sunday?\n\nIt is not that the Bible fails to give guidelines as to what should or should not be celebrated. God was very specific in this to the ancient nation of Israel, and as note
398880
In the days of the early Christian church, only Easter Sunday was celebrated as a holy day.  By the fourth century, each day of the week preceding Easter were established as holy days including Good Friday.  To most Christians, Good Friday is really a misnomer in that it was a "bad" Friday—the crucifixion day of Jesus.  Some believe the term "Good" evolved from "God" or God's Friday.  Others believe "good" represents the good gift of salvation brought forth by the martyrdom.  Regardless, it is a holy day throughout the Christian world.\n\nCeremonial worship of the holiday follows closely to the events described in the scriptures.  Some congregations still hold a three hour service on Friday representing the three hours He hanged on the cross.  A typical service includes seven distinct elements representative of Christ's seven utterances while on the cross.
986226
My mom was raised by a Presbyterian minister and she was always taught the true meaning of each holiday. We decorate our house with advent calanders and manger scenes, stars and books about the true meaning of Christmas. Despite that, my sister and I always recieved gifts and we understood that those gifts were because it was Jesus' birthday and we were celebrating. We had Santa Claus every year and we had a tree but we knew that we would go to church on Christmas Eve and we would hear the story of the baby born in a manger on that night in Bethlehem. We were even in the Christmas plays every year. Easter was never very commercialized for us because we went to church and, yes, while we still had Easter egg hunts and got Easter baskets, it was more in the fun of Spring than offensive to our beliefs. I think that these holidays are overly commericalized but all we can do is remember the real reasons we have these holidays in the first place. We can teach others about Jesus and why we truly celebrate on these days. As I'm writing this answer I can't help but thinking that maybe the holidays, which are very grown up in a theological sense, were given those little fun things that we all enjoy for the children and to bring out the children in us. As long as we never forget the true meaning to the season, we can celebrate in any way we see fit.
624107
It amuses me at how many people will justify celebrating a pagan holiday and still claim to be christian.\n\nThe Easter egg has nothing to do with the death of Jesus but was a fertility symbol.\n\nJesus was not born in December but end of September start of October.\n\nEven the stories that the churches teach regarding the birth of Jesus are not accurate. The wise man did not turn up on the night Jesus was born but some time after.\n\nA true christian would not celebrate anything to do with false religion.
315125
Easter is the first Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon and the Paschcal full moon is determined by the date of the first actual full moon that occurs after the vernal equinox (the first day of spirng).\n\nThe date of the Paschal Full Moon can differ from the date of the actual full moon by up to 2 days but will always occur between March 21 and April 18 and so Easter Sunday will fall on or between March 22 and April 19.\n\nThese are the dates for Western Easter Sunday (WES), Orthodox Easter Sunday (OES) can fall on different dates.\n\nThis year WES is on April 16th and OES is on April 23rd, next year it will be 8th April for both WES and OES.
300985
Easter Sunday on the 16th April\nBlack Saturday on the 15th April\nGood Friday    on the 14th April\nMaunday Thursday on the 13th April
301096
In the Western churches, the date of Easter is set (more or less) as the first Sunday after the first full moon that occurs next after the vernal equinox.  The vernal equinox, of course, is the event that begins spring, on or around March 21 each year.\n\nI say "more or less" because there are some other minor considerations for which church officials over the centuries have actually spent a great deal of time and effort in drawing up rules, tables, pronouncements, etc.  For most years, however, the above statement is the rule.
306254
Easter has nothing to do with Jesus christ. It was made up by false religions. It's a lie.\n\n\nEaster was “originally the spring festival in honor of the Teutonic goddess of light and spring known in Anglo-Saxon as Eastre.” (The Westminster Dictionary of the Bible) “There is no indication of the observance of the Easter festival in the New Testament.”
147093
Easter is the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus, If Jesus has not resurrected our faith would be vain.
408751
Easter comes from a pagan celebration for the coming of spring.(early christians adopted the celebration so more pagans would become christian).  the rabbit symbolized fertility along with eggs.  I have no clue where the whole chocolate thing came from.
314658
I'll tell you what i was taught\n\nan egg represents birth and is tied into jesus ressurection\n\na rabbit symbolizes fertility and thus more life\n\nnow i read that easter was actually a pagan holiday to begin with (much like christmas) and christians changed it around to be apart of the bible.\n\nso I'm sure the rabbit and the eggs may stem from that, but that's what i was taught and what i teach
1090149
Easter will be on April 8 in 2007.
475204
IN THE SPRING, MOST CULTURES CELEBRATE FERTILITY.  WE KNOW THAT BUNNIES PRODUCE PRODIGIOUSLY, AND EGGS REPRESENT NEW LIFE.  IN MAKING CHRISTIANY UNDERSTANDABLE TO PAGAN CULTURES, MISSIONARIES USED THE PAGAN SYMBOLS TO ASSIST IN TEACHING CHRISTIAN TRUTH.  EASTER IS CELEBRATED IN THE SPRING.  THUS IT WAS IMPORTANT TO HARMOMIZE THE LIFE AND TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN MESSAGE TO THE SPRING CELEBRATIONS OF FERTILITY & NEW LIFE IN OTHER CULTURES.
444055
Yes, I firmly believe Jesus died and rose from the dead.  I believe also that this is why we celebrate Easter.  The bunny and egg thing just came around to entertain the kiddos.
853152
We celebrate it because it is the birth of Jesus Christ. We (Christians) also celebrate Easter because it was then that Jesus awoke from the dead, three days after He was crucified.
348118
The Easter bunny is a symbol of fertility and rebirth, so I'm told. And a similar line of thought is also applied to the symbolism of Easter eggs. \n\nThe Easter bunny as an entity of itself does not exist, but it is a way to get kids interested in the holiday of Easter and as they get a little older (7+ or so), the real meaning of Easter can be introduced and comprehended by the child. \n\nI do have a vision of what I pictured the Easter bunny to look like when I was little, and it was something along the lines of the man in the Easter bunny costume that I saw at the mall. \n\nI have a lot of awesome Easter memories from my childhood. It did not hurt me to believe in both the Resurrection of Christ AND the Easter bunny. One I outgrew, the other is still with me. Happy Easter to you and your family!
172968
Your man there has it wrong. Both "is risen" and "has risen" are correct, depending on the tense you want to use.\n\nIf you are stressing the idea that Jesus defeated death once and for all through His resurrection, "the Lord is risen." "Jesus Christ is risen today" is a major theme for Easter Sunday sermons.\n\nIf you are stressing the idea that this happened 2,000 years ago, "The Lord has risen" is what you want. \n\nFrom the Book of Luke, Chapter 24: 5In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6He is not here; he has risen!...\n...34and saying, "It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon." \n\nSee the Catholic Globe bulletin (link below) for how "is risen" is used.