What is Easter: Understanding the History and Symbols

What is Easter?

Easter is the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus from the tomb on the third day after his cruxifixion. Easter is the fulfilled prophecy of the Messiah who would be persecuted, die for our sins, and rise on the third day. (Isaiah 53). Remembering the resurrection of Jesus is a way to renew daily hope that we have victory over sin.

Read the Biblical account of Resurrection Day in Matthew 28, Mark 16, and Luke 24 and more Easter Bible verses at BibleStudyTools.com.

When did Easter start?

The early Christians began remembering the Resurrection every Sunday following its occurrence. In A.D. 325, the Council of Nicaea set aside a special day just to celebrate the Resurrection.  The problem with an official day was deciding whether the Resurrection should be celebrated on a weekday or always on a Sunday.

Many felt that the date should continue to be based on the timing of the Resurrection during Passover. Once Jewish leaders determined the date of Passover each year, Christian leaders could set the date for Easter by figuring three days after Passover.  Following this schedule would have meant that Easter would be a different day of the week each year, only falling on a Sunday once in awhile.

Others believed since the Lord rose on a Sunday and this day had been set aside as the Lord’s Day, this was the only possible day to celebrate His resurrection.  As Christianity drew away from Judaism, some were reluctant to base the Christian celebration on the Jewish calendar.

Finally the Council decided Easter should be celebrated on the Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox.  Since the date of the vernal equinox changed from year to year, calculating the proper date can be difficult.  This is still the method used to determine Easter today, which is why some years we have Easter earlier than other years.

Since Easter is a celebration of Jesus’ Resurrection, you would think there wouldn’t be room for paganism.  However Easter is one of the holidays most intertwined with pagan symbolism and ritual.

What does Easter mean? The origin of the word easter isn’t certain.  The Vernerable Bede, an eighth-century monk and scholar, suggested that the word may have come from the Anglo-Saxon Eeostre or Eastre – a Teutonic goddess of spring and fertility.  Recent scholars haven’t been able to find any reference to the goddess Bede mentioned and consider the theory discredited.

Another possibility is the Norse eostur, eastur, or ostara, which meant “the season of the growing sun” or  “the season of new birth.” The word east comes from the same roots.  In this case, easter would be linked to the changing of the season.
A more recent and complex explanation comes from the Christian background of Easter rather than the pagan.

The early Latin name for the week of Easter was hebdomada alba or “white week,” while the Sunday after Easter day was called dominica in albis from the white robes of those who had been newly baptized.  The word alba is Latin both for white and dawn.  People speaking Old High German made a mistake in their translation and used a plural word for dawn, ostarun,instead of a plural for white.  From ostarun we get the German Ostern and the English Easter.

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Easter?  As a Christian, the first image might be the cross or the empty tomb.  For the general public, a blitz of media images and merchandise on store shelves makes it more likely that the Easter Bunny comes to mind.

The Easter Lamb
Of all Easter symbols, the lamb is probably the most strongly Christian.  Other than the fact that lambs are young animals born in springtime, it has no strong ties to pagan traditions.
The lamb comes from the Jewish Passover, where each family killed a lamb as a sacrifice.  When Christ became the Passover Lamb for everyone, the lamb became a symbol for His sacrifice.

John 1:29 – “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
1 Peter 1:18-21 – “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.”

A Prayer for Easter Sunday
Lord God,
You loved this world so much,
That you gave your one and only Son,
That we might be called your children too.
Lord, help us to live in the gladness and grace
Of Easter Sunday, everyday.
Let us have hearts of thankfulness
For your sacrifice.
Let us have eyes that look upon
Your grace and rejoice in our salvation.
Help us to walk in that mighty grace
And tell your good news to the world.
All for your glory do we pray, Lord,
Amen
~ Rachel Marie Stone

-Excerpted from Holidays & Holy Days, © 2001 by Susan E. Richardson. Published by Regal Books, 1957 Eastman Ave, Ventura, California, 93003.