The Meaning of Easter

New Zealand The Meaning of Easter

You may choose to celebrate Easter with a tonne of chocolate bunnies and eggs, but do you know the true meaning of Easter? Find out where today's Easter symbols came from and how church services celebrate Easter.

• Christianity

With all our attention focused on Easter eggs, the Easter bunny and taking time off over the Easter holiday, we may forget the true meaning of Easter. While you may not celebrate Easter in a Christian way, you can still take time during this festival to reflect on your own life and the significance of Easter symbols.

What is the meaning of Easter?
Easter is one of the most important events on the Christian calendar; it is the time when the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is remembered. According to Christian belief, Jesus was crucified and then rose from the dead three days after his crucifixion. As is true of many Christian festivals, the origins of Easter are actually Pagan. The word 'Easter' comes from the name of Estre, an Anglo-Saxon goddess who was strongly linked with Spring, fertility and the beginning of new life.

Easter church services
Today, Christian churches in the Western world mark the Easter festival with an Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday – beginning in darkness and involving the blessing of the Easter fire, the lighting of a candle and readings from the Old Testament – and a service on Easter Sunday. Easter church services are preceded by 40 days of Lent (a time of repentance and fasting) and followed by a 50 day Easter season.

The days of Easter are:

Palm Sunday – The Sunday before Easter, when Jesus entered Jerusalem triumphantly

Good Friday – The day Jesus was crucified on the cross

Holy Saturday – The final day of Holy Week

Easter Sunday – The day of Christ's resurrection, now a traditional day for baptism

Feast of the Ascension – The day marking Christ's ascension to Heaven

Pentecost – Seven weeks after Easter Sunday, celebrating the visitation of Christ to more than 100 followers

Symbols of Easter
Many images are associated with Easter – from both Christianity and popular culture. Easter symbols include:

• Light – Candles are used in religious rituals at Easter to symbolize the resurrection of Christ, as light coming out of darkness.
• Eggs – As symbols of fertility, eggs have been used throughout time to represent new life. They are also symbols of celebration after Lent (when foods from animal sources are not allowed). Today, we celebrate Easter with colourful, chocolate eggs.
• Rabbits – In modern celebrations of Easter, the Easter Bunny (and rabbits in general) are linked with fertility and new life – and their ability to produce many offspring! The goddess Estre was also represented by a rabbit.
• Lambs – As well as symbols of new life, baby lambs are associated with Jesus as symbols of sacrifice – Jesus gave his life so that our sins would be forgiven.
• Chicks – Fluffy baby chickees are common symbols of Easter, connected with eggs and representing new life.
• Easter Lilies – These white flowers are used to decorate churches and homes; they symbolize the purity of new life.
• The Cross – Crosses, such as those on hot cross buns, remind us of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.

How is Easter celebrated?

As well as celebrating Easter as a Christian festival, Easter traditions have come to include the many popular symbols of Easter:

• Easter baking - Making spicy hot cross buns to enjoy at Easter is a favourite, and easy to do with kids of all ages.
• Easter crafts - There are limitless choices when it comes to children's activities for Easter: decorating Easter eggs, making your own chocolate eggs, making Easter gift baskets and making Easter cards.
• Easter eggs - Store shelves are packed with chocolate eggs around Easter time. A Sunday morning Easter egg hunt is great fun, especially with an appearance from the Easter Bunny!

Looking for more information? Find Easter church services in the NZS.com directory.

Do you want to write for NZS.com, New Zealand's top Web directory? We are looking for New Zealand writers for our unique new article writing program - whereby you can write and submit articles for our website, and you will earn 50% of the revenue from the advertising on your article's page. Check out the Article Authors homepage to apply now!

Seasons and Celebrations images from Flickr: Jesus Statue, Fireworks Finale and Christmas in Love.