John 20:1 What is Easter?
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Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.
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We all know what Easter is, right? But why do we have all these Easter bunnies and eggs and chocolates for Easter?
Truth is, most of the Christian world doesn't celebrate Easter. Only the Anglo Saxon people use that word. The rest of the world calls it Pascha--the Greek and Latin word for Passover.
We're not sure where we got the word Easter. 1500 years ago a scholar named Bede said it was from the pagans' spring festival of Oestre, a Germanic fertility goddess.
Other scholars said, "NUH-UH!" So that showed old Bede what was what. They said there's no way Christians would incorporate paganism into Pascha.
But see that image of 3 rabbits pictured here? That's in a medieval church. It's in LOTS of medieval churches. And it's a symbol that shows up in ancient Buddhist, Jewish, Islamic and pagan art.
What does it mean? Well, I'll tell you: nobody knows. What we DO know is that it was a symbol lots of pagan people knew, lots of people of other faiths knew it as well, and the early Christians literally built it into their churches. Bunnies and eggs have been part of Easter for a VERY long time. (Chocolate had to wait until they brought it back from America.) There are even medieval paintings of the Virgin Mary, holding a bunny.
So instead of wiping out popular culture, the Church embraced it to spread the Gospel. Maybe that really IS the message of Easter! All the stuff you enjoy the most is part of worship.
Of course, Easter is a solemn religious event. But it's also one of great joy and celebration. We're not here to stamp out the world's joy. We're here to bring that joy to the feet of the risen Savior.
Yes, I think that's what Easter really is.