Page 7 - April NEwsletter 2023

What is Easter?

Easter is one of the central holidays, or Holy Days, of Christian-
ity. It honors the Resurrection of Jesus three days after
His death by crucifixion. For many Christian churches, Easter is
the joyful conclusion to the Lenten season of devoted prayer,
fasting and penitence.

Along with the Nativity of Christ, Easter is one of the most im-
portant celebrations in the Christian calendar. It is when Chris-
tians glorify and give thanks for the Resurrection of Jesus
Christ. After His crucifixion, death, and burial, Christ rose from
the grave three days later. By this, He conquered death and
redeemed us from sin.

As we'll explore in this article, the Easter holy day did coincide
with some pagan holidays. Because the church didn't celebrate
Easter until a certain point, owing to the persecution the
church experienced for the first few centuries, the Christian
creation of the holiday did happen around the same time as
another pagan celebration was in full swing. Nevertheless, we
strive to celebrate God's victory over the grave on this holiday.
In this article, we'll explore the meaning of the word Easter, pa-
gan associations of the holiday, and what the holiday means
for Christians today.

Definition of Easter

According to dictionary.com, Easter is “an annual Christian fes-
tival in commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ob-
served on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the
vernal equinox, as calculated according to tables based in
Western churches on the Gregorian calendar and in Orthodox
churches on the Julian calendar. Also called Easter Sunday. the
day on which this festival is celebrated.”