Easter vs. Ressurection Sunday

        Easter or Resurrection Sunday?  This question has not only been a matter of opinion from one person to another, but it has become a dramatic and ugly debate in certain circles. 
        It seems that almost every year, I hear the same debate surface.  Someone may innocently refer to the day as "Easter" only to have a "Christian" hotly rebuke them saying that they should never refer to the day of our Lord's Resurrection as anything other than Resurrection Sunday.

        I have personally done a study on the word "Easter" and have discovered its origin to be exceedingly unfavorable.  Many symbols such as the Easter bunny and eggs as well as the very word itself have extremely pagan roots.  But should this difference in wording really be the cause of such strong debates, critisizm, and judgementalism?
        As for myself, I was raised in a home where the day was referred to as Easter.  Empty plastic eggs were used as a symbol of the empty toom after Jesus was raised from the dead.  We always had a large dinner and had a wonderful Easter egg hunt but our family was always very good about sharing with us what the day was truly about.  
       Like my family, most people don't know the origin of Easter and may even be horrified if they learned what the Easter bunny and eggs were created to symbolize.  Most have been raised with a very innocent mindset when it comes to the different symbols that the holiday displays.  Since learning of the true origin of the word Easter, I have made an attempt to refer to the day as Resurrection Sunday.  But does such knowledge give me or anyone else a right to condemn and judge those who innocently call it Easter?  Many Christians do.  No wonder the world views Christians as judgmental!  I believe that it is wise for followers of Jesus to know the true origins of different holidays, but how can those who have this knowledge so drastically bring condemnation on those who do not?

Whether you call the day Easter or Resurrection Sunday, I hope that you will spend it enjoying family and praising the Lord for sending Jesus to die and take away our sins AND for raising Him from the dead.


~ Missy


If you yourself would like to know the origin of Easter and they symbols that surround it, you can read about it here:  What is the Origin of Easter?