what is easterEaster is one of the central festivals or holy days of Christianity. honors themResurrectionof Jesus three days after hisdeath by crucifixion. For many Christian churches, Easter is the happy end of the year.providedof devotional prayer, fasting and penance.
Withbirth of Christ, Easter is one of the most important holidays in the Christian calendar. It is when Christians glorify themselves and give thanks for thatResurrection of Jesus Christ. After his crucifixion, death, and burial, Christ rose from the grave three days later. In doing so, he defeated death and redeemed us from sin.
As we will explore in this article, Easter coincided with some pagan holidays. Since the Church did not celebrate Easter to some degree due to the persecution experienced by the Church in the early centuries, the Christian creation of the holiday occurred at around the same time that another pagan holiday 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, the pagan associations of the holiday, and what the holiday means to Christians today.
definition of easter
According to dictionary.com, Easter is “an annual Christian holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, observed on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox, as calculated from tables based on the Gregorian calendar in churches. Western and Orthodox. churches according to the Julian calendar. Also called Easter Sunday. the day this festival is celebrated.”
The international standardbible encyclopediagives Biblical references to "Easter" and claims that
“The word is not actually found in the scriptures, although it is in the King James Version.Acts 12:4meaningEaster, as rightly reflected in the Revised Version (British and American). There is no trace of Easter celebrations in the New Testament, although some would see a hint of it.1 Corinthians 5:7. Jewish Christians in the early church continued to celebrate the Passover, regarding Christ as the true Paschal Lamb, and this naturally became a commemoration of our Lord's death and resurrection, or Passover."
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Etymology and origin of Easter
according to our bibledictionary, the name "Easter" derives from "Eostre", "originally a Saxon word (Eostre) denoting a goddess of the Saxons in whose honor sacrifices were offered at Easter time".
Another possibility is the Nordic.it is, it is, it is u ostara, which means "time of the rising sun" or "time of rebirth". The word east comes from the same roots. In this case, Easter would be associated with the change of seasons.
A more recent and more complex explanation emerges from the Christian background of Easter, rather than from the pagan. The first Latin name for Easter week was hebdomada alba, or "white week", while the Sunday following Easter day was called Dominica in albis, after the white robes of the newly baptized. The word alba is Latin for white and sunrise. The Old High German speakers made a mistake in their translation and used a plural word for dawn, ostarun, instead of a plural word for white. From ostarun we get German Easter and English Easter.
christian meaning of easter
The meaning of Easter is the triumph of Jesus Christ over death. His resurrection means eternal life granted to all who believe in him. The purpose of the Passover also means the full affirmation of all that Jesus taught and preached during his three-year ministry. If he had not risen from the dead, or simply died and not risen, he would have been taken for another teacher or prophet. His resurrection, however, rebuked all this and provided the final, indisputable proof that He was the Son of God and had defeated death once and for all.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is at the heart of the Christian gospel. Saint Paul says that if Christ did not rise from the dead, our preaching and our hopes are in vain (1 coro. 15:14). Certainly without the resurrection there would be no Christian preaching or faith. The apostles of Christ would have remained like the discouraged group described in the Gospel of John for fear of the hiding Jews. They were completely desperate until they found the risen Christ (Juan 20:19). Then they touched the wounds of Christ on the nails and the spear; they ate and drank with him. The resurrection became the basis for everything they said and did (Act 2-4): "... because a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see that I have" (Lucas 24:39).
The resurrection confirms Jesus of Nazareth as the prophesied Messiah of Israel and the King and Lord of a new Jerusalem: a new heaven and a new earth.
Pagan origin of "Easter"
However, Easter did not always mean the resurrection of Christ from the dead, and the purpose of Easter differed significantly from what Christians observe today. Easter was first a pagan festival of renewal and rebirth. Honored in early spring, he praised the pagansSaxon goddess Eastre. When the first Christian missionaries rescued the Saxons to Christianity, the spring festival became associated with the pagan holiday and was known as Easter because it occurred around the same time as the traditional commemoration of Christ's resurrection from the dead. The meaning of Easter has also been changed to honor its new Christian meaning.
The Easter Bunny's Connection to Christianity
Below is an excerptThe meaning and origin of the Easter Bunny:
The origin of the Easter Bunny dates back to the 13th century.hecentury in Germany. The Germanic people, known as the Teutons, worshiped pagan gods and goddesses. One such goddess was Eostra (also known as Ostara orIt is). She was worshiped as the goddess of fertility and spring. The word "Easter" finds its etymology from the name of the goddess.
Due to its prolific reproductive tendencies, the hare has become a symbol ofIt is. In AD 595, Pope Gregory sent Roman monks to convert the Anglo-Saxons. The Anglo-Saxons celebrated Eostra like their German ancestors. Once converted, they accepted the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ at Easter, while continuing to celebrate the spring renewal and the symbolism of the rabbit.
The color purple for Easter
Below is an excerptWhy is the color purple associated with Easter?:
To understand why the color purple became the color of Lent and Easter, we must first look at the importance of the color in ancient society. Purple dye was a valuable commodity in ancient times because it was hard to come by. In particular, the purple dye was obtained from the collection of certain sea snails.
Given the labor intensive production of the violet dye required, violet clothing was very expensive and often only worn by kings, other royal members, or those in high authority. As such, the color purple became known as a sign of royalty and sovereignty.
The Roman soldiers who tortured Jesus during his passion were well aware of the imperial symbolism behind the color purple. This is why, to mock Jesus before his crucifixion, the soldiers dressed Jesus in a purple robe and put a crown of thorns on his head, then proceeded to beat him and shout: "Hail, king of the jews!” (Juan 19:2-3).
In another attempt to humiliate Jesus after soldiers stripped him of his purple robe, Pilate had a plaque affixed to Jesus' cross that read, "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" (Juan 19:19). The letters of the current crucifixes recall this inscription.INRI, these are the initials of “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews” in Latin –Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.
In memory of the purple robe that Roman soldiers donned on Jesus in mockery, churches display the color purple during Lent to mourn the emotional and physical anguish Jesus endured during his passion and also to commemorate him as the true King of the world by proclaiming kings . In some churches, clergy wear purple robes, cover lecterns with purple handkerchiefs, and drape the fronts of altars with purple headbands.
easter means today
For Christians around the world, the meaning of Easter is to celebrate and acknowledge the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and his glorious guarantees of eternal life for all who believe in him. While there are many non-religious traditions, such as the Easter bunny, candy baskets, and Easter egg hunts, there are also traditions that are significant to Christians today. some included
- Sunrise Services: Many churches gather for a special sunrise service to celebrate the risen Savior.
- Resurrection Buns – This is a cute way to teach kids about the empty tomb of Jesus. The resurrection buns are baked with a large marshmallow that disappears as it bakes, symbolizing the empty tomb of Jesus!
- Easter lilies adorn churches and homes as a reminder of the purity of Jesus' sacrifice and the new life we have through his resurrection.
Bible verses about Easter and the Resurrection of Jesus
- Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be reborn to a living hope, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.1 Pedro 1:3ESV
We celebrate Easter because this holiday recognizes that we can die to our old ways and rise to our new life with Christ. Christianity requires a death to itself, but the resurrection that we are experiencing in the spiritual sense and the resurrection of the body that we are yet to experience give us much to celebrate.
- Jesus said to him: I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live even if he dies,Juan 11:25ESV
We are fully confident that no matter what happens to us on this earth, we can experience eternal joy with God in heaven. No wonder so many brothers and sisters continue to praise Jesus even when facing persecution and martyrdom. Because we have greater hope and promise than mortal life.
- For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. -Romans 10:9
It is part of our faith that we believe in the resurrection. Our faith has no basis if we do not believe that Jesus rose from the dead this Easter Sunday.
- If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. -Romans 8:11
- For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice through a man whom he has appointed; and of this he assured everyone by raising him from the dead."Acts 17:31
- By baptism we were buried with him into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in a new life. -Romans 6:4
The Christian faith has many symbols. We often repeat the process Jesus went through on the cross in a symbolic sense. We die to our old selves. We, too, are "buried" through the sacrament of baptism and experience a resurrection and a new life in Christ. Christ gives us a whole new life. We experience some of this new life during our time on earth and look forward to experiencing the rest of the resurrection in heaven.
- That is why Christ died and rose again, to be Lord of the living and the dead. -Romans 14:9
We celebrate Easter because God lived the life we should have lived and died the death we deserved to die so we could live. What a wonderful reason to celebrate. May we experience the resurrection with Him!
keep reading:Easter Bible Verses and Scriptures Celebrating the Resurrection of Christ
Fuentes
Easter | Definition -Diccionario.com
Easter -crosswalk.com
HOLY EASTER -oca.org