Easter - 2

Easter - 2 [∞]

The Bible tells us that Jesus died and rose again around the time of the Jewish holiday of Passover. Passover happens on the first full moon after the spring equinox (when day and night are about the same length). The Last Supper was on the first day of Passover, and Jesus was crucified the next day. That’s why Christians now celebrate "Holy Thursday" and "Good Friday." Easter is celebrated on the Sunday after the first full moon on or after the spring equinox.

The way Easter's date is decided was set in the year 325 A.D. at the First Council of Nicaea. Since the full moon can be on different dates each year, Easter moves around on the calendar. Some people claim that Easter comes from an old pagan celebration of spring, but there’s no evidence of this. In fact, Christians were celebrating Easter as early as the second century, and likely even in the first century. That means Easter was already a Christian holiday before any supposed pagan spring festivals.

The idea that Easter came from a pagan festival started with an 8th-century writer named the Venerable Bede. He said there was a goddess named Eostre, worshiped in April, and that her festival was replaced by Easter. But no other writings from that time mention her, so we can’t be sure she ever existed. Some scholars now think the name "Easter" actually comes from a misunderstanding of the Latin term for "week of albs" (white robes worn at baptisms). Over time, this word was mistaken for a word meaning "dawn," which is how we got "Easter" in English.

Before the fourth century, the holiday was called "Pascha," which is linked to Passover. Many languages still use this name, like French (Pâques), Spanish (Pascua), and Italian (Pasqua).

Some people also claim that Easter eggs and the Easter bunny come from pagan traditions, but there’s no real proof of this either. Many cultures have used eggs as symbols of life, but that doesn’t mean they were borrowed from pagans. The tradition of decorating eggs likely comes from medieval times when people couldn’t eat eggs during Lent. When Easter arrived, they would celebrate by decorating and eating them. The Easter bunny wasn’t part of the holiday until much later.

In the end, Easter has always been about celebrating Jesus’ resurrection. Even if the name "Easter" did come from an unrelated goddess, it doesn’t change the meaning of the holiday. Easter exists because Jesus rose from the dead, and that’s what Christians focus on when they celebrate.