The origins of Easter

1. The origins of Easter - 8th April 2017
“Andif Christhas notbeen raised,our preachingis uselessand sois your faith.”(1Corinthians15:14).
The originsof Easter are obscure.Itis oftenassumedthatthe name Eastercomesfrom a pagan figure
calledEastre (orEostre) whowas celebratedasthe goddessof springbythe Saxonsof NorthernEurope.
Accordingto the theory,Eastre was the “goddessof the east(fromwhere the sunrises),”hersymbol
was the hare (a symbol of fertility),andafestival calledEastre washeldduringthe springequinox bythe
Saxonsto honorher.Thistheoryon the originof Easter ishighlyproblematic,however.
In the nineteenthcentury,the GermanfolkloristJakobGrimmresearchedthe originsof the German
name for Easter, Ostern,whichinOldHigh Germanwas Ostarâ.Bothwordsare relatedtothe German
wordfor “east,”ost.Grimm, while admittingthathe couldfindnosolidlinkbetweenEasterandpagan
celebrations,made the assumptionthat Ostara wasprobablythe name of a German goddess.Like
Eastre,the goddessOstara wasbasedentirelyonsuppositionandconjecture;before Grimm’s Deustche
Mythologie(1835), there wasno mentionof the goddessinanywritings.
ChristianscelebrateEasterasthe resurrectionof Christonthe third dayafterHis crucifixion.Itisthe
oldestChristianholidayandthe mostimportantdayof the churchyear because of the significance of
the crucifixionand resurrectionof JesusChrist,the eventsuponwhichChristianityisbased.We can
learnfrom1 Corinthians15:14, “AndifChrist hasnot been raised, our preachingisuseless andso is
your faith.” Insome Christiantraditions,Easterisprecededbythe seasonof Lent,a 40-day periodof
fastingandrepentance culminatinginHolyWeekandfollowedbya50-day Easterseasonthat stretches
fromEaster to Pentecost.
Biblicallyspeaking,there isabsolutelynoconnectionbetweenthe resurrectionof JesusChristandthe
commonmoderntraditionsrelatedtoEasterSunday.Essentially,whatoccurredisthatin orderto make
Christianitymore attractive tonon-Christians,the ancientRomanCatholicChurchmixedthe celebration
of Jesus'resurrectionwithcelebrationsthatinvolvedspringfertilityrituals.These springfertilityrituals
are the source of the eggand bunnytraditions.
Because of the commercializationandpossiblepaganoriginsof Easter,manychurchesprefertocall it
“ResurrectionSunday.” The rationale isthat,the more we focuson ChristandHis workon our behalf,
the better.Paul saysthat withoutthe resurrectionof Christourfaithisfutile asPaul saidin 1
Corinthians15:17, “AndifChrist hasnot been raised, your faithisfutile; youare still inyour sins.”
What more wonderful reasoncouldwe have tocelebrate!Whetherwe call it“Easter”or “Resurrection
Sunday,”whatis importantisthe reasonforour celebration,whichisthatChristisalive,makingit
possible forustohave eternal life aswe can learnfrom Romans6:4,“We were therefore buriedwith
himthrough baptismintodeath in order that, justas Christwas raised fromthe dead throughthe
gloryof the Father,we too maylive a new life.”
AnotherquestionthatChristiansencounteriswhetherwe shouldwe celebrate Easterorallow our
childrentogo on Easteregg hunts?Thisisa questionbothparentsandchurch leadersstruggle with.
Ultimately,itcomesdowntoa matterof conscience aswe can understandfrom Romans14:5, “One
person considersone day more sacred than another; another considersevery dayalike. Each of them
shouldbe fullyconvincedintheir ownmind.” There isnothingessentiallyevilaboutpaintingandhiding
eggsand havingchildrensearchforthem.Whatis importantisourfocus.If our focusison Christ,our

2. childrencanbe taught to understandthatthe eggsare justa fun game.Childrenshouldknow the true
meaningof the day,and parentsand the church have a responsibilitytoteachthe true meaning.Inthe
end,participationinEasteregghunts andother seculartraditionsmustbe leftuptothe discretionof
parents.
The Bible makesitclearthat Jesuswasresurrectedonthe firstday of the week,Sunday.The four
Gospelsof Mathew,Mark, Luke and John clearly tellsusthisinthe followingpassages.FromMatthew
28:1, “After the Sabbath,atdawn on the first dayof the week, Mary Magdaleneandthe other Mary
went to look at the tomb.” ; FromMark 16:2, “Veryearly on the firstday of the week, just after
sunrise,they were on their way to the tomb.”;FromLuke 24:1, “On the firstday of the week, very
early in the morning,the women took the spicesthey hadprepared and went to the tomb.” Andfrom
John20:1,“Early on the first dayof the week, whileit was still dark, Mary Magdalenewent to the
tomb andsaw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.” Therefore itisclearthat Jesus'
resurrectionismostworthyof beingcelebrated aswe canunderstandwhenwe read 1 Corinthians15.
While itisappropriate forJesus'resurrectiontobe celebratedonaSunday,the dayon whichJesus'
resurrectioniscelebratedshouldnotbe ‘absolutely‘referred toasEaster. Because, Easterhas nothing
to do withJesus'resurrectiononaSunday...
By all means,celebrate Christ'sresurrectiononEasterSunday. Butas Christianswe needtoremember
and celebrate Christ'sresurrection asitissomethingthatshouldbe celebratedeveryday,notjust once
a year! Atthe same time,if we choose tocelebrate EasterSunday,we shouldnotallow the funand
gamesto distractour attention tobunniesandTurkeys fromwhatthe day shouldtrulybe all about—the
fact that Jesuswas resurrectedfromthe dead, and that His resurrectiondemonstratesthat we can
indeedbe promisedan eternal home in Heavenby receivingJesusas our Savior.