Religious Holidays Explained: Easter
BY WILLIAM FARRUGIA
As we came to celebrate Easter these past holidays, we celebrated it by doing easter egg hunts, giving chocolate eggs and gathering around with family and friends to celebrate this joyful holiday. I celebrated it with a feast with family and friends, giving gifts during this happy time, but what is the liturgical and religious meaning surrounding this holiday? Today I hope to go through the meaning of this holiday with you so that you will understand the meaning of Easter and why it is celebrated and important to Christians everywhere.
The ancient Hebrew scriptures (that are now the old testament) reveal to us that God would send forward his Son who would through his grace give all mankind salvation as he overcomes death by his resurrection. His life would be prophesied in the old Testament by many of the prophets. God through his covenant with Abraham promised that through the covenant the Son of Man will come through his lineage, we know this as in the first chapter of Matthew ( 1:2-17) it reveals to us the lineage passed down from Abraham to Joseph the husband of Mary of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
Christians believe that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin birth to Mary who was filled with the Holy Spirit which was to fill her womb and conceived a Son who she was to name Jesus. She was going to be married at this time to Joseph who was a descendant as well of King David who was greatly in God's favor. We understand the interaction between Mary and the Archangel Gabriel through the Scripture. (Luke 1:26-38)
Through this scripture it reveals to us why Jesus Christ is so important to Christians as we believe that Jesus was conceived from a virgin birth by the Holy Spirit revealing to us that God has sent his one and only Son to earth to reveal to us the new and eternal covenant for us.
In Jesus’ final days he would be betrayed by Judas Iscariot who would be given thirty silver coins in exchange the High Priest would send his guards to capture Jesus Christ alone with his disciples. Judas agreed to this and so betrayed Jesus Christ. Jesus knew this was to happen and prophesied long before in the gospels of what was going to happen to him, this culminated in the last supper where Jesus and his disciples ate the consecrated bread and wine that is we eat and drink in memory of Jesus Christ, this practice is continued today among Catholics and many Chrisitian denominations today.
After the last supper Jesus prayed in the Mount of Olives, soon after he was betrayed and captured by Judas who kissed him to symbolize that he is Jesus. Jesus was brought before the High priest and mocked and beaten. He was then crucified under Pontius Pilate and resurrected on the Third day, where he appeared to his disciples for a period of forty days before he ascended into heaven both body and soul where he sits at the right hand of the father.
Now that we understand the story of Jesus' life, death and resurrection, why is it celebrated by Christians that Jesus dies and then resurrects three days later?
It is for Christians the most important celebration in the liturgical calendar because we believe that God sent his One and Only Son for us to die as an atonement for our sins by defeating and overcoming death, it is also important to recognize that Jesus had the choice to choose whether to die for us or not, choosing to die for us as an atonement for our sin, he served God’s kingdom and sacrificed his life as a ransom for all. In his death he gave up his life as a sacrifice for us, dying for our sins even though he had committed no sin or deceit because he was perfect in all ways and through his resurrection he overcame and defeated death allowing us to have eternal life and salvation through God’s grace. This is why it is important for Christians to celebrate Christ’ death and resurrection because it allows us to understand what God had done for us and the sacrifice he did for us, giving us time to reflect and reconnect with God.
Here were some photos that show and represent easter during this cheerful holiday:
