There is a lot of confusion regarding what Easter Sunday is all about.
For some, Easter Sunday is about the Easter Bunny, colorfully
decorated Easter eggs, and Easter egg hunts. Most people understand
that Easter Sunday has something to do with the resurrection of Jesus,
but are confused as to how the resurrection is related to the Easter
eggs and the Easter bunny.
Biblically speaking, there is absolutely no connection between the
resurrection of Jesus Christ and the common modern traditions related
to Easter Sunday. Essentially, what occurred is that in order to make
Christianity more attractive to non-Christians, the ancient Roman
Catholic Church mixed the celebration of Jesus' resurrection with
celebrations that involved spring fertility rituals. These spring
fertility rituals are the source of the egg and bunny traditions.
The Bible makes it clear that Jesus was resurrected on the first day
of the week, Sunday (Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:2,9; Luke 24:1; John
20:1,19). Jesus' resurrection is most worthy of being celebrated (see
1 Corinthians 15). While it is appropriate for Jesus' resurrection to
be celebrated on a Sunday, the day on which Jesus' resurrection is
celebrated should not be referred to as Easter. Easter has nothing to
do with Jesus' resurrection on a Sunday.
As a result, many Christians feel strongly that the day on which we
celebrate Jesus' resurrection should not be referred to as "Easter
Sunday." Rather, something like "Resurrection Sunday" would be far
more appropriate and biblical. For the Christian, it is unthinkable
that we would allow the silliness of Easter eggs and the Easter bunny
to be the focus of the day instead of Jesus' resurrection.
By all means, celebrate Christ's resurrection on Easter Sunday.
Christ's resurrection is something that should be celebrated every
day, not just once a year. At the same time, if we choose to celebrate
Easter Sunday, we should not allow the fun and games to distract our
attention from what the day should truly be all about—the fact that
Jesus was resurrected from the dead, and that His resurrection
demonstrates that we can indeed be promised an eternal home in Heaven
by receiving Jesus as our Savior.
Easter Sunday Calendar:
2016 – March 27
2017 – April 16
2018 – April 1
2019 – April 21
2020 – April 12
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