Easter Sunday 

Easter or Resurrection Sunday is the day Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus the Christ from the dead. Even before theologians explained the death of Jesus in terms of various atonement theories, the early church saw his resurrection as the central witness to a new act of God in history and the victory of God in vindicating Jesus as the Messiah. This event marks the central faith confession of the early church and was the focal point for Christian worship, observed on the first day of each week since the first century (Acts 20:7; Sunday was officially proclaimed the day of Christian worship in AD 321). Easter as an annual celebration of the Resurrection that lies at the center of a liturgical year has been observed at least since the fourth century. Even in churches that traditionally do not observe the other historic seasons of the church year, Easter has occupied a central place as the high point of Christian worship.

Prior to the fourth century, Christians observed Pascha, Christian Passover, in the Spring of the year. Adapted from Jewish Passover, Pascha was a festival of redemption and commemorated both the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus as the vehicle for God’s grace. While historical records are not clear, it is likely that early Jewish Christians observed both Passover (Pesach) and Pascha. However, many Gentile converts were hesitant to adopt the Jewish festival, especially since the Jerusalem Council had decided that Gentile converts to Christianity did not have to observe Jewish religious practices (Acts 15). Gradually by the fourth century, with an increasing emphasis on Holy Week and Good Friday, Easter moved into a distinctively Christian celebration of the Resurrection, with Good Friday commemorating Jesus’ crucifixion and death.

Easter, like Passover, is a movable feast. That is, the date of Easter (and Passover) is not fixed but is determined by a system based on a lunar calendar adapted from a formula decided by the Council of Nicaea in AD 325. In this system, Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the Spring equinox (the day when the sun’s ecliptic or apparent path in the sky crosses the equator, thus making days and nights of equal length). This usually occurs on March 21, which means the date of Easter can range between March 22 and April 25 depending on the lunar cycle. Since Jewish Passover is calculated differently, the dates for Passover and Easter do not correspond, although often the first Day of Passover falls during Holy Week. Much of the calendar of the Church year is determined by the date of Easter.

In the Christian church year, the two major cycles of seasons, Christmas and Easter, are far more than a single day of observance. Like Christmas, Easter itself is a period of time rather than just a day. It is actually a seven-week season of the church year called Eastertide, the Great Fifty Days that begins at sundown the evening before Easter Sunday (the Easter Vigil) and lasts for six more Sundays until Pentecost Sunday (some traditions use the term Pentecost to include these Fifty Days between Easter and Pentecost Sunday). These seven Sundays are called the Sundays of Easter, climaxing on the seventh Sunday, the Sunday before Pentecost Sunday.  This is often celebrated as Ascension Day (actually the 40th day after Easter Sunday, which always falls on Thursday, but in churches that do not have daily services it is usually observed the following Sunday). Ascension Day marks not only the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, but his exaltation from servanthood to Ruler and Lord as the fitting climax of Resurrection Day (Eph 1:20-22).

Color used in worship is especially important during the season of Easter.  The changing colors of the sanctuary from the purple of Lent to the black of Good Friday provide graphic visual symbols for the Lenten journey.  The change of colors for Easter and the following Sundays helps communicate the movement of sacred time as well as personal faith journeys.  The Sanctuary colors for Easter Sunday and Ascension Day are white and gold, the colors of sacred days throughout the church year. For the Easter season, white symbolizes the hope of the resurrection, as well as the purity and newness that comes from victory over sin and death.  The gold (or yellow) symbolizes the light of the world brought by the risen Christ that enlightens the world, as well as the exaltation of Jesus as Lord and King.  The sanctuary color for the other five Sundays of Easter is usually also white and gold, although some churches use Red, the color of the Church, for these Sundays as well as for Pentecost Sunday.  During this time worshippers are called to celebrate God's ongoing work in the world through his people, and to acknowledge and reflect upon the their purpose, mission, and calling as God’s people, which makes Red an appropriate color for this season.

These special days and seasons are a means to shape sacred time, a structure in which to define what it means to be Christian and to call God’s people to reverent and faithful response to God. Easter encompasses a time of preparation (Lent; Advent for Christmas) as well as a following period of reflection on its significance for the life of God’s people (Pentecost; Epiphany for Christmas). However, while Epiphany following Christmas focuses on the mission of God’s people to the world, the Pentecost season following Easter focuses on the church as the witness to the resurrection. In anticipation of this emphasis at Pentecost, the Scripture readings during the Sundays of Easter are different, with readings from the Acts of the Apostles replacing readings from the Old Testament. This emphasizes that the church, as empowered by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, is the best witness to the resurrection and the work of God in the world in Jesus the Christ.  

The Easter Vigil

There are a variety of ways to celebrate Easter and various emphases that can be placed on the season. But from the early days of the church, the Easter Vigil was the primary means by which Easter was observed. This practice has evolved in modern observance into the Easter sunrise service that many churches observe, but its history is much richer.

From the earliest days of the church, the Easter Vigil was primarily a means of preparing new converts for baptism into the Christian Faith, which was normally done on Easter Sunday as the focal point of the entire year. This preparation traditionally centered around a set of Scripture readings from the Old Testament that recounts the unfolding of God’s creation of a people in the Exodus, and a promise of restoration from Zephaniah. Following the lead of the Gospels themselves, this provides a crucial link between the revelation of God in Christ and the creation of the church with God’s past revelation of himself and the creation of his people Israel. This important emphasis on the continuity of the church with the Old Testament’s witness to God also helps define the nature of the church and its mission in the world, thoroughly grounding it in the ongoing work of God in history. The Gospel readings at the Vigil are not normally read until after sunrise on Sunday, or at the very end of the Easter Vigil.

The Vigil itself can begin at any time after sundown on Saturday, although there has been a tendency in Protestant churches to begin just before sunrise on Sunday and conclude the service just after the Gospel readings while singing praises at sunrise. In more temperate climates, this is often an outdoor service.

In church traditions that observe a Service Of Shadows on Good Friday, the Easter Vigil begins in darkness as a flame is lit.  This can either be the Christ candle returned to the sanctuary or to the worshippers, or a "new fire" lit amid the darkness. From this "new fire" all the other candles in the sanctuary are lit. Some churches use a special Paschal Candle as the focal point for this part of the service. All the worshippers light individual candles from the Paschal candle as they sing a song of praise.

This return of light symbolizes the resurrection of Jesus from the grave and the light of salvation and hope God brought into the world through the resurrection, the triumph of the light of God’s grace and salvation over the darkness of death and sin. If celebrated in a sanctuary, the lights are then either turned on all at once or in stages as the Scriptures are read, thus reversing the effects of the Service of Shadows and dramatically symbolizing the "true light that enlightens everyone" (John 1:9). Of course, if this is done as an Easter sunrise service outdoors, the spreading dawn serves the same purpose. In any case, the service intends to celebrate the newness, the fresh possibilities, the new beginnings out of old endings that Jesus’ resurrection embodies.

In the early church, the Easter Vigil concluded with the baptism of new converts, celebrating not only Jesus’ resurrection from death to life, but also the new life that God has brought through the death and resurrection of Jesus to individual believers. Those baptized changed into new white clothes to symbolize their new life in Christ, which is the origin of the tradition of buying new clothes at Easter. Although Easter baptism is rarely practiced today among Protestants, the Anglican practice of renewing baptismal vows during the Easter Vigil is becoming popular.

An ancient tradition from the early centuries of the church intensifies the fasting of Lent, so that no food of any kind is eaten on Holy Saturday, or for forty hours before sunrise on Easter Sunday. The breaking of the fast is the Eucharist or Communion that is celebrated at Easter sunrise at the end of the Easter Vigil.

Symbols of Easter

The origin of the English name "Easter" is derived from the Teutonic or Anglo-Saxon goddess of Spring, Eostre or Eastre. This is discussed in detail in the last section.  This fact, and other aspects surrounding Easter observance such as eggs and bunnies, has generated considerable debate concerning the origin of some traditions used in Easter observance, mostly since the Reformation and especially among evangelicals and low church traditions. 

The two most recognized symbols of Easter are the Easter bunny and colored eggs.  According to the Venerable Bede, the English historian who lived from 672 to 735, the goddess Eastre was worshipped by the Anglo-Saxons through her earthly symbol, the hare. The custom of the Easter hare came to America with German immigrants in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.  Of course, the hare is native to Europe and unknown in the Americas.  We do have a worthy cousin: the rabbit.  Add a dash of commercialism, and we have the Easter bunny.  

However, the observance of Easter by more austere religions in American was ignored.  It was not until the end of the Civil War, when America needed hope after years of death and destruction, that most of the nation began celebrating Easter day.  The Presbyterians led this charge, as they viewed the resurrection as a source of inspiration and renewed hope for millions of bereaved Americans.

Only during the last century was chocolate and colored eggs exchanged as Easter gifts.  Note that the springtime exchange of real eggs, white, colored, of gold-leafed,  was an ancient custom that pre-dates Easter by many centuries.  The egg has existed for eons as the symbol for life and rebirth.  Egg giving was easily a product of social class.  The rich exchanged eggs adorned with gold-leaf or gilt, while peasants exchanged colored eggs.

We've all heard the story of the man carrying a basket of eggs who helped Jesus regain is stance after stumbling while carrying the cross to Calvary.  After this act of kindness, the basket of eggs had turned brilliant colors.  This fanciful tale is great for describing the egg tradition to little children, but a tale none the less.  The Bible, nor any other historical document, makes no reference to it.

There is little question that many symbols of Easter have been adopted from various cultures. But this is true for almost all Christian symbols, including the cross (the sign of the fish is the most unique and original Christian symbol). But this has always been the case since the days of Abraham and Moses. That is, God’s people have always used symbols with which they were familiar from the surrounding culture, and then infused them with new meaning to commemorate and worship God. In the process the symbols are radically transformed into a means to express faith in the only true God in spite of their "pagan" origins. Such sacred Old Testament institutions as animal sacrifice, circumcision, temple worship, the priesthood, and prophets, even names for God like El, were all adapted from preexisting counterparts in Canaanite religious practice. Even the rituals of Passover itself were adapted from two preexisting Canaanite festivals associated with fertility, one celebrating the Spring birthing of livestock (the day of Passover) and the other celebrating the early barley harvest (the week long Feast of Unleavened Bread that begins on Passover)

This simply suggests that the origin of the name Easter or other aspects of the Easter celebration are probably not as important as how those symbols have been transformed by a worshipping community or what is actually celebrated by the symbols and event. That does not mean that all elements should automatically be accepted uncritically or without question as to their Christian connection. And it certainly should encourage us to emphasize clearly, especially to children, what we are actually celebrating and the meaning of the symbols, and to do so deliberately and with purpose (Easter it is not a celebration of the coming of Spring!). But neither should it allow us to adopt a negative or hypercritical attitude toward the event so that people who should be hearing our witness to the grace and power of God at work in the world bringing hope and the promise of renewal amid endings, only hear grumbling and carping.

Easter should be the most openly joyful time of celebration of the church year. Celebrated against the background of the shadows and darkness of Lent and Holy Week, this season truly becomes a living expression of the hope that God has brought into the world through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Since this hope of renewal and new life, both present and future, is at the heart of the Good News that the church is commissioned to proclaim and live in the world, every possible avenue of proclaiming that Good News should be utilized. No doubt that is why many traditionally non-liturgical churches are increasingly recovering the value of the various traditions of the Easter Season as a means of bearing witness to their Faith. Seen as Proclamation, the various aspects of worship during this season can become vehicles for God’s grace and transforming work in the world, and among His people.  

Easter in Scripture  

According to scripture, Jesus rose from the dead on the first Sunday following Passover. See Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:1-3, Luke 23:56-24:3, and John 20:1. For this reason, ancient Christians celebrated Easter (which they called Passover) on the first Sunday after the Jewish Passover.  The only exceptions were in Syria and Mesopotamia, where ancient Christians celebrated Easter on the same date, no matter which day of the week it happened to be.  No one in ancient times denied that the Resurrection took place on a Sunday.

According to scripture, the date of Passover is linked to the spring harvest in Palestine. (See Exodus 12:1-3, Leviticus 23:9-14, and Numbers 28:16.) However, the Romans banished all Jews from Palestine after the rebellion of Simon Bar Kochba in AD 135, making it difficult for the rabbis to determine the proper date for Passover. So sometime around AD 200, the rabbis reformed the Jewish calendar. Relative to the Julian calendar, which was the Roman civil calendar, the new Jewish calendar allowed Passover to precede the spring equinox and it allowed two Passovers in the same twelve-month period. Obviously, the spring harvest cannot precede the spring equinox! Shortly after AD 300, the rabbis revised the Jewish calendar again, but it was still possible to have two Passovers in one twelve-month period, as defined by the Julian calendar.  

Meanwhile, the churches in Syria and Mesopotamia were still celebrating Easter as determined by the current Jewish calendar, regardless of the day of the week. They believed they had apostolic direction to celebrate Easter on the same day that the Jews celebrate Passover, even if the Jews calculated the date incorrectly.  

In AD 325, the Council of Nicea was convened to deal with Arianism and to standardize the date of Easter. The Council of Nicea, noting that Syria and Mesopotamia represented a small minority, required them to conform to the practice of the majority. The bishops from Syria and Mesopotamia readily agreed to this ruling and their churches complied with it. The Council of Nicea also ruled that all churches must celebrate Easter on the same day. This clearly implies that they instituted a standard method for calculating the date of the full moon after the spring equinox, but the documentary evidence for it has not survived. Some ancient writers, notably Ambrose, felt that the Council of Nicea prescribed the mathematical formula that we presently use to fix the date of Easter, but we can no longer prove it.  That actual formula is described in the last section.

The Western Church applies the Nicene formula to the calendar as reformed by Pope Gregory in 1582.  The Eastern Church applies the Nicene formula to the old Julian calendar, which was instituted by Julius Caesar and served as the civil calendar of the Roman Empire before the birth of Christ. The Eastern Church also applies the formula in such a way that Easter always falls after the Jewish Passover.

Pentecost

Pentecost is a Jewish festival that falls on the fiftieth day of Passover. In biblical times, Jews from all over the Roman Empire gathered in Jerusalem for the festivities of Pentecost. On the Pentecost after Jesus’ resurrection—ten days after Jesus had ascended into heaven—the eleven apostles and other believers were gathered together in one place, when they were suddenly empowered by the Holy Spirit to preach the gospel. They went out into the crowds and attracted attention by preaching in the native languages of all the people present. This created quite a stir. Peter seized the opportunity to address the crowd, preached Jesus’ death and resurrection, and won several thousand converts. These events are recorded in Acts 2:1-41.

Accordingly, Pentecost is celebrated by Christians as the birthday of the Church by the power of the Holy Spirit. Since the Jewish Pentecost is the fiftieth day of Passover, the Christian Passover is the fiftieth day of Easter. Pentecost is not the ‘coming of the Holy Spirit.’ The Holy Spirit made His first appearance in Genesis 1:2! Rather, Pentecost is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on human flesh to give birth to the Church.

The English Word Easter

Easter is an English word derives from the name of a Germanic goddess, associated with pagan fertility rites. Similarly, the Old Testament book of Esther is named after a Jewish heroine who bore the name of the goddess Ishtar. In the ancient Church, the celebration of the Resurrection was called Passover. Today, Orthodox Christians call this holiday the Pasch (as in paschal lamb), which is the Greek word for Passover. In Anglican churches, the designation Sunday of the Resurrection is often preferred over Easter and in Lutheran liturgy, it is called The Resurrection of Our Lord.

How a once-tumultuous Saxon festival to Eastre was transformed into a solemn Christian service is another example of the supreme authority of the Church early in its history.  Second century Christian missionaries, spreading out among the Teutonic tribes north of Rome, encountered numerous heathen religious observances.  Whenever possible, the missionaries did not interfere too strongly with entrenched customs.  Rather, quietly, they attempted to transform pagan practices into ceremonies that harmonized with Christian doctrine.  There was a very practical reason for this.  Converts publicly partaking in a Christian ceremony -- on a day when no one else was celebrating -- were easy targets for persecution.  But if a Christina rite was staged on the same day as a long-observed heathen one, and if the two modes of worship were not blatantly different, then the new converts might live to make new converts. 

The Christian missionaries observed that the centuries-old festival to Eastre, commemorating the start of spring, coincided with the time of year for their own observance of the miracle of the Resurrection of Christ.  Thus, the new observance of the Resurrection was subsumed under the protective festival: Eastre (later spelled Easter).

For years, Easter was celebrated on various days (Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays...) until in A.D. 325, the Council of Nicaea issued the "Easter Rule."  This states (and you can always find Easter on a calendar if you memorize this) that:  Easter will be celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the vernal equinox.  The vernal equinox is the first day of spring.  It is the day where the length of daylight equals the length of darkness in one day.  Therefore, astronomically speaking, Easter day is bound to fall between March 22 and April 25.

By the way, at that same Council, called by the emperor Constantine, the cross was adopted as the official symbol of the Christian religion.