Every year, a day is taken to celebrate a bunny who laid eggs, and children are encouraged to participate in colorful egg hunts, to collect candy. Although it has been the same process for generations, many individuals still confuse the main idea of what Easter Sunday is supposed to represent—something more than just a fantasy idea of a bunny laying chocolate eggs.
Easter Sunday wasn’t always a holiday about a bunny, and eggs with candy. Rather, it used to be called Resurrection Sunday—a holiday that celebrated the day Jesus came back from the dead. The Ancient Roman Catholic Church wanted the Christian holiday to be a day everyone can celebrate, so creating the day that attracted other people—a celebration for Jesus’s resurrection, with a bunny and eggs as the cover front.
The holiday originated 3 days after Jesus was killed on a cross—a fact which is mentioned in the Bible, in the New Testament. On the third day, his body was not found in the grave, and it was proof that he was the Messiah,brough to lead people to and by God, to the scribes. This day is important to Christians for it is the reason why they became Christians in the first place; they believe in the Holy Spirit, and Jesus.
Although the main purpose of Easter is to celebrate the day Jesus rose again, the modern day meaning has no ties connected to his resurrection. Easter is supposedly the celebration of spring fertility rituals, which are the source of eggs, and bunny-related traditions. Even if the holiday itself has a different meaning than it first started off, Resurrection Sunday is still to be celebrated for Christians.
Whilst Resurrection Sunday, and Easter have two different meanings, both can be celebrated on the same day. Non-Christians do not have to believe in Jesus to celebrate the holiday, and Christians are not limited to not enjoying a day that consists of sugar overload, and a bunny. Easter is a holiday for kids and teens to have an excuse to participate in fun egg hunts, while Christians should celebrate the day of resurrection everyday.
It is a popular theory that the goddess of Spring, Eostre or Eastre, was celebrated by the Saxons of Northern Europe, for she is the goddess of where the Sun rises, and a festival was held in her honor. The theory has not been proven true, but it is the myth that built up the overall concept of Easter, after the German immigrants brought their egg-laying hare tradition called Osterhase, which brought the first American Easter bunny.
The date for the Easter day in 2018 lands on April 1, and follows to the next day for Easter Monday. However, every year the holiday lands on a different day between March 21 to April 25. The holiday is decided to land on after the first full moon following the vernal equinox, now being on the 14th day in the lunar month to avoid different time zones’ full moon processes.
Easter has many origins, theories, and reasons for celebration, but is accessible to everyone. Even if going on an egg hunt that a mythical bunny set up for kids to discover seems unrealistic, it is always fun to celebrate Spring.
