The meaning of Easter

Dr. Samuel L. Blumenfeld Dr. Samuel L. Blumenfeld The meaning of Easter
Posted: April 10, 2009
1:00 am Eastern

© 2009

The American holiday calendar commemorates religious, patriotic and secular events. The year starts with New Year's Day and ends in a blaze of light and music with Christmas, celebrating the birth of the most important person in history, Jesus Christ.

Indeed, the religious holidays memorialize the life of Jesus, which is honored differently by Protestants and Catholics. Actually, there are three calendars intertwined in the American calendar: the Protestant, Catholic and Jewish.

But there is one holiday in which the three calendars converge: Easter. The Jewish holiday of Passover is an important part of the life of Jesus Christ, whose momentous Last Supper was a celebration of Passover. From there the Son of God went to His crucifixion, and from there He was laid in a tomb where he was resurrected. At Easter, we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and His Ascension to heaven.

But Easter has been so thoroughly secularized that most Americans see and enjoy it as a celebration of spring in Hollywood images, culminating in the colorful Easter Parade on New York's Fifth Avenue. And for the little ones, there are the Easter bunnies and Easter eggs. Indeed, it is a joyous time among Christians the world over.



But it is also the most important day in Christendom, for without the Resurrection there could be no Christian religion that offers salvation, forgiveness of sin and life after death. There could be no Christianity without the Son of God, for it was the miracle of the Resurrection and Ascension that affirmed the divinity of Christ.

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