One little boy gave this answer: Jesus’ Disciples really liked eggs, but Jesus had high cholesterol so they couldn’t eat them. When the Disciples thought He was dead and gone they decided to have eggs for breakfast. It just so happened this was the morning Jesus was raised from the dead, and appeared to His disciples. When Peter looked up and saw Jesus coming he said, “Quick fellas...hide the eggs.”
The truth is no one knows for sure the origins of Easter, but our best bet comes from Bede, a late-seventh-century historian and scholar from Anglo-Saxon England. He says Easter's name comes from the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre, associated with spring and fertility, and celebrated around the vernal equinox. So there you go. As Christmas was moved to coincide with the pagan celebration of winter, Easter was likely moved to coincide and replace the pagan celebration of spring. (Christianity Today, “Why Easter?” by Ted Olsen, 4/10/98)
It’s interesting that Easter is observed by the churches of the West (that would be us) on the first Sunday following the full moon that occurs on or following the spring equinox. Meaning Easter became a "movable" feast which can occur as early as March 22 or as late as April 25. However, Eastern Orthodox churches observe Easter according to the date of the Passover festival. That being the case, this year Passover begins at sundown on April 20th making Sunday the 27th Resurrection Sunday.
Just by looking around it is easy to see that Easter has not become as commercialized as Christmas. After all, angels singing and a bouncing baby boy are much more marketable than torturing and killing an innocent man. However, many people, even Christians miss the point. When Easter is elevated to the status of a ‘holy-day’ (not to mention that we miss the date entirely) we potentially diminish the importance of the other fifty-one Sunday’s throughout the year, when in fact every Sunday is a celebration of Jesus’ resurrection.
See Ya Sunday - Andy
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