What's up with Easter?
Maybe you're new to the church or maybe this is the first time you have heard about easter outside of chocolate eggs and the easter bunny. Hopefully this answers some questions you may have.
Why do we celebrate Easter?
Easter is important to us because it is the time of year where we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the resulting salvation that we receive through Him and His sacrifice.
What is Good Friday?
Good Friday, is a solemn day where we acknowledge the intense torture and pain that Jesus endured on the cross and the betrayal that took place to bring Him to this point. It helps us to remember that Jesus, though sinless, suffered all in an effort to bring salvation to all human kind.
Where did the Easter eggs and bunny come from?
The use of painted and decorated Easter eggs was first recorded in the 13th century. The church prohibited the eating of eggs during Holy Week, but chickens continued to lay eggs during that week, and the notion of specially identifying those as “Holy Week” eggs brought about their decoration. The egg itself became a symbol of the Resurrection. Just as Jesus rose from the tomb, the egg symbolizes new life emerging from the eggshell.
The rabbit on the other hand has slightly more ambiguous beginnings. Throughout history the hare has had many different symbolic values but according to some sources, the Easter bunny first arrived in America in the 1700s with German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania and transported their tradition of an egg-laying hare called “Osterhase” or “Oschter Haws.” Their children made nests in which this creature could lay its colored eggs.
(Taken from britannica.com and history.com)
What does Lighthouse do for Easter?
We CELEBRATE! We come together and provide opportunities for families to Celebrate the resurrection of Christ together. We sing songs and open God's word and seek to more fully understand God's love for us. We don't care if you hear anything else at lighthouse besides the fact that GOD LOVE YOU.
What does the word "Easter" mean and where did it come from?
There is now widespread consensus that the word derives from the Christian designation of Easter week as in albis, a Latin phrase that was understood as the plural of alba (“dawn”) and became eostarum in Old High German, the precursor of the modern German and English term. The Latin and Greek Pascha (“Passover”) provides the root for Pâques, the French word for Easter.
(Taken from brittanica.com)
Why does the day we celebrate Easter change every year?
Early Christians wanted Easter to coincide with Passover, because Christ's death and resurrection happened after the Jewish holiday. Because the Jewish calendar is tied to solar and lunar cycles, the dates of Passover and Easter fluctuate each year.