Easter holiday ✝️ 🥚 🐣 🍳 ❤️

 Easter, principal festival of the Christian church, which celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his Crucifixion. 

The earliest recorded observance of an Easter celebration comes from the 2nd century, though the commemoration of Jesus’ Resurrection probably occurred earlier.

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the foundation of the Christian faith. 耶稣基督的复活是基督教信仰的基础。

Without his resurrection, on the third day after his death and burial in the tomb at Golgotha cave, the belief in God's saving grace through Jesus is destroyed. 

When Jesus rose from the dead, according to the scripture, confirmed his identity as the Son of God and his work of atonement, redemption, reconciliation, and salvation. 

The Resurrection was a literal, physical raising of Jesus’ body from the dead.

Jesus was arrested, tried, and found guilty of claiming to be a king. 

His body was hung on a cross between two thieves. 

After his death, Jesus’ body was wrapped in linen cloth and placed in a tomb with a large stone rolled across the opening. 

 On the third day, an early Sunday morning, Mary Magdalene and another Mary came to the tomb and found it empty. 

Sitting on the rolled-away stone was an angel of the Lord who told them not to be afraid because Jesus had risen. 

As the women left to tell the disciples, Jesus Christ met them and showed them his nail-pierced hands. 

The Old and the New Testaments speak of the truth of Jesus being raised from death - Jesus testified of his resurrection before He died on the cross, and his disciples witnessed his body after the resurrection. 

The English word Easter, which parallels the German word Ostern, is of uncertain origin. One view, expounded by the Venerable Bede in the 8th century, was that it derived from Eostre, or Eostrae, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring and fertility. This view presumes—as does the view associating the origin of Christmas on December 25 with pagan celebrations of the winter solstice—that Christians appropriated pagan names and holidays for their highest festivals. Given the determination with which Christians combated all forms of paganism (the belief in multiple deities), this appears a rather dubious presumption. 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.

 Below are the Bible verses and Scriptures that both prophesize the resurrection of Jesus and testify of the reality of the resurrected body of Christ.

Bible Passage of the Resurrection

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is found in Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, and John 20.

Jesus Has Risen

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” (Matthew 28:1-10)

Old Testament Resurrection Prophecies

"Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead." (Isaiah 26:19)

"And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." (Daniel 12:2)

"Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." (Psalm 16:9-11)

And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. (Jonah 1:17)

New Testament Resurrection Scriptures

For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matthew 12:40)

The date of Easter and its controversies

Fixing the date on which the Resurrection of Jesus was to be observed and celebrated triggered a major controversy in early Christianity in which an Eastern and a Western position can be distinguished. 

The dispute, known as the Paschal controversies, was not definitively resolved until the 8th century. 

In Asia Minor, Christians observed the day of the Crucifixion on the same day that Jews celebrated the Passover offering—that is, on the 14th day of the first full moon of spring, 14 Nisan [see Jewish calendar Nisan (March–April) 15–22 Pesach (Passover)]. 

The Resurrection, then, was observed two days later, on 16 Nisan, regardless of the day of the week. 

In the West the Resurrection of Jesus was celebrated on the first day of the week, Sunday, when Jesus had risen from the dead. 

Consequently, Easter was always celebrated on the first Sunday after the 14th day of the month of Nisan. 

Increasingly, the churches opted for the Sunday celebration, and the Quartodecimans (“14th day” proponents) remained a minority. 

The Council of Nicaea in 325 decreed that Easter should be observed on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox (March 21). 

Easter, therefore, can fall on any Sunday between March 22 and April 25.

Eastern Orthodox churches use a slightly different calculation based on the Julian rather than the Gregorian calendar (which is 13 days ahead of the former), with the result that the Orthodox Easter celebration usually occurs later than that celebrated by Protestants and Roman Catholics. 

Moreover, the Orthodox tradition prohibits Easter from being celebrated before or at the same time as Passover.

The fact remains, there was a resurrection of Jesus Christ which determines the faith and fate of the followers and believers throughout the world and ages, until his prophesied return to earth. 

For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. (1 Thessalonians 4:14)

If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. (Romans 8:11)

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26)

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:4)

That I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:10-11)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1:3)

Liturgical observances 

For those religious minded individuals 

In the Christian calendar, Easter follows Lent, the period of 40 days (not counting Sundays) before Easter, which traditionally is observed by acts of penance and fasting. Easter is immediately preceded by Holy Week, which includes Maundy Thursday, the commemoration of Jesus’ Last Supper with his disciples; Good Friday, the day of his Crucifixion; and Holy Saturday, the transition between Crucifixion and Resurrection. 

Liturgically, Easter comes after the Great Vigil, which was originally observed sometime between sunset on Easter Saturday and sunrise on Easter Sunday. 

Later it would be celebrated in Western churches on Saturday evening, then on Saturday afternoon, and finally on Sunday morning. 

In 1955 the Roman Catholic Church set the time for the vigil at 10 PM, which allowed for the Easter mass to be celebrated after midnight. 

In the Orthodox traditions the vigil continues to be an important liturgical event, while in Protestant churches it is little known.

By the 4th century the Easter vigil was well established in various liturgical expressions. 

It was characterized by a spirit of joyful anticipation of the Resurrection and—because of the belief that Jesus’ Second Coming would occur on Easter—the return of Jesus. 

In the Roman Catholic tradition the vigil has four parts: the celebration of lights focused on the Paschal candle; the service of lessons called the prophecies; the administration of the sacraments of baptism and confirmation to adult converts; and the Easter mass. 

The use of the Paschal candle, to denote the appearance of light out of darkness through the Resurrection, was first recorded in the year 384; by the 10th century it had gained general usage. 

The prominence of baptism at Easter goes back to early Christianity, probably the 4th century, when baptism was administered only once a year, at Easter. 

In the Roman Catholic service the priest blesses the water to be used in the forthcoming year for baptism, with the faithful taking some of that water with them to receive protection from vicissitudes. 

Lutheran and Anglican churches use variations of this vigil service.

All Christian traditions have their own special liturgical emphases for Easter. 

The Easter sunrise service, for example, is a distinctive Protestant observance in North America. 

The practice may derive from the Gospel narrative of Jesus’ Resurrection, which states that Mary Magdalene went to the tomb “while it was still dark” (John 20:1) or as dawn was breaking (Matthew 28:1 and Luke 24:1). 

It is a service of jubilation that takes place as the sun rises to dispel the darkness.

Be Gripped by the POWER of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ in This Version of Luke 24! Watch video here. Do not expand/ enlarge video . 

Jesus Christ was back in heaven 

Now, everything that Jesus Christ had told the disciples could happen 

Now we as people have a whole new hope 

Jesus Christ will always be with us 

And he is up in heaven

And is preparing it so that all of us that follow him will come there 

We can now have eternal life because we believe in him and his resurrection 

Jesus wants to be together with us for all eternity

 He longs for that day when He can return to earth and create peace and joy everywhere

Nobody knows exactly when Jesus will return

But the “end times” is not something people need to be afraid of 

The kingdom of heaven belongs to the children, and the kingdom of heaven will be coming

It will be more wonderful than anybody can imagine 

Just think about it – no more war, no sickness or crying

But peace, righteousness, and joy

Wishing you eternal life and happy to know you ...

For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.

Man made Customs

Easter, like Christmas, has accumulated a great many traditions, some of which have little to do with the Christian celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ but derive from folk customs. 

The custom of the Easter lamb appropriates both the appellation used for Jesus in Scripture (“behold the lamb of God which takes away the sins of the world,” John 1:29) and the lamb’s role as a sacrificial animal in ancient Israel. 

In antiquity Christians placed lamb meat under the altar, had it blessed, and then ate it on Easter. 

Since the 12th century the Lenten fast has ended on Easter with meals including eggs, ham, cheeses, bread, and sweets that have been blessed for the occasion.

🥚 🪺 🥓 🍳 🥚 

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 (chick) emerging from the eggshell. 

In the Orthodox tradition eggs are painted red to symbolize the blood Jesus shed on the cross.

Easter egg hunts are popular among children in the United States. First lady Lucy Hayes, the wife of President   Rutherford B. Hayes, (born October 4, 1822, Delaware, Ohio, U.S.—died January 17, 1893, Fremont, Ohio) was the 19th president of the United States (1877-81) is often credited with sponsoring the first annual Easter egg roll (an event where children and their parents were invited to roll their eggs on the Monday following Easter) on the White House lawn, in 1878.

 That year the event was moved to the White House from the grounds of the U.S. Capitol Building, where large numbers of children had gathered beginning in the early 1870s to roll their eggs and play on Easter Monday. Members of Congress were dismayed by the large crowds on Capitol Hill and feared that the foot traffic was damaging the grounds. 

By 1876 Congress and President Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th president of the United States, who served two terms from 1869 to 1877, passed a law that forbade the practice of egg rolling on Capitol Hill.

 Some historical records note that the Hayes first opened the White House lawn to egg rolling festivities the following year, in 1877, after a young boy asked President Hayes directly for permission to use the space.

The custom of associating a rabbit or bunny with Easter arose in Protestant areas in Europe in the 17th century but did not become common until the 19th century. 

The Easter rabbit is said to lay the eggs as well as decorate and hide them. 

In the United States the Easter rabbit also leaves children baskets with toys and candies on Easter morning. 

In a way, this was a manifestation of the Protestant rejection of Catholic Easter customs. 

In some European countries, however, other animals—in Switzerland the cuckoo, in Westphalia the fox—brought the Easter eggs.

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复活节是基督教会的主要节日，庆祝耶稣基督被钉十字架后第三天的复活。

最早有记载的复活节庆祝活动来自公元 2 世纪，尽管纪念耶稣复活的时间可能更早。

耶稣基督的复活是基督教信仰的基础。

如果没有他的复活，那么在他死后第三天，即埋葬在各各他山洞的坟墓中，人们对上帝通过耶稣获得救赎的信仰就被摧毁了。

根据圣经，当耶稣从死里复活时，确认了他作为上帝之子的身份以及他的赎罪、救赎、和解和拯救的工作。

复活是耶稣身体从死里复活的字面意思。