After understanding “Easter”, finally understand the meaning of this festival for Christians!
4 min readMy initial impression of Easter came from the “stone statue of Easter Island” I saw in junior high school. Later, I was lucky enough to become a Christian and finally have a deeper understanding of Easter. However, because of my low level, I have not been able to fully comprehend the mystery of Easter with all my heart and soul. It’s Easter season, so I’d like to take this opportunity to talk to you about Easter.
01.What does Easter mean.
The definition of Easter in Baidu Encyclopedia is: Easter is an important festival in the West, the first Sunday after the annual vernal equinox full moon. It is a Christian festival commemorating the resurrection of Jesus on the third day after his crucifixion. Also known as Jesus Easter, the Lord Easter, Catholic also known as the resurrection of Jesus.
From this we can see that Easter is a religious festival.
Closely associated with Easter is Good Friday, the Friday before Easter, when Jesus Christ was crucified.
Therefore, Easter is of great significance to Christians around the world. The resurrection of Jesus Christ represents that it has gone beyond death, and it represents the hope of rebirth.
02.What day is Easter.
Because Good Friday in 2022 falls on April 15, according to the Bible, Jesus was crucified at around 9 a.m. on the 14th day of the Jewish month of Nisan in 33 A.D. and died at around 3 p.m. So Easter falls on April 17 this year.
03.The origin of Easter.
According to the New Testament in the Bible, on the third day after Jesus was crucified, there were no skeletons or bodies in the tomb, except the cloth that was wrapped around Jesus’ body at that time. Jesus is no longer here, He has risen, there is no body of Jesus in the tomb.
The name Easter comes from the resurrection of the Lord Jesus on the third day.
The foundation of Christian faith was thus proclaimed: Christ is risen! St. Pavlo said, “If Christ is not raised, our preaching is in vain.” There was nothing else to believe in. This is the heart of Christian faith.
Nowadays, in most Western countries, Easter is usually celebrated with a grand religious procession. The marchers, dressed in robes and carrying crosses, marched barefoot. They dress up as historical Christian figures and sing carols to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.
Easter represents the triumph of life over death. It is a major Christian festival, more important than Christmas, religious origins and festivals in Israel.
With the development of The Times, this festival is no longer limited to the religious category, it is a symbol of hope and rebirth, is people express the tenacious life of wonder and joy of the festival.
Easter egg Christians in Western European countries believe that eggs have two lives, the first is laid by a hen, representing “new birth”, and the second is broken out of the shell, representing “rebirth”, which also symbolizes resurrection.
Christians use the egg of Resurrection as a metaphor for the beginning of a new life, symbolizing Jesus’ resurrection and coming out of the stone tomb.
The use of eggs to symbolize the resurrection of life was popular before the birth of Jesus Christ.
There are many theories about the origin of Easter eggs.
Among them, the most popular ones are:
When the Virgin Mary went to the Roman Emperor to tell him that Jesus had risen from the dead, it was customary to bring a gift to the emperor. She only had an egg to take, which happened to have the meaning of “new life”.
She happily told the Roman emperor, “Jesus has risen!” The emperor laughed and laughed at her and said, “This is impossible. If it is true, your white eggs will turn red”.
Just then, a miracle appeared. The white egg on Maria’s hand turned red.
This legend is widely spread in European folk, in order to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus, Christians have on Easter eggs dyed the symbol of the blood of Jesus red.
From about the 12th century AD to the 15th century AD, gradually formed the religious custom of making Easter eggs.
The egg’s original symbolic meaning is spring, the beginning of new life, and in Christianity it is used to symbolize the resurrection of Jesus and his coming out of the stone tomb.
05.Easter is for Christians.
The celebration of Easter begins with Lent, which is forty days from Ash Wednesday to Easter, and is a time for self-reflection and repentance.
One morning, in our world, there appeared a person who was beyond death, but at the same time as us.
This significance of Christ’s resurrection, this great joy, is the central theme of the Christian faith, and it is fully preserved in the liturgy of Orthodoxy.