Easter is an English corruption from the proto-Germanic root word meaning "to rise." (We see this in the contemporary German cognate "öst-" and the English cognate "east," the direction from which the sun rises in the morning.) It refers not only to Christ rising from the dead, but also to his ascension to heaven and to our future rising with him at his Second Coming for final judgment. It is not true that it derives from the pagan Germanic goddess Oestar or from the Babylonian goddess Ishtar -- both fertility symbols signifying the coming of spring images of fertility, new life, and renewal. A corruption of Ishtar is found in the Bible as the name of the heroic Jewish woman, Esther, who risked her own life to save the lives of her people. Many Christians prefer to use the designation "the Resurrection of our Lord," "Sunday of the Resurrection," or even Pasch or Paschal Sunday ("the Sunday of our Passover Lamb Sacrifice").
The first Easter occurred on the first day of the week after the Passover Sabbath. The first day of the week became the Christian's "sabbath rest" (Heb. 4:1-11), the time of weekly Christian celebration of the resurrection. Annually, the Lord's Day immediately subsequent to the Jewish Passover was a day of special resurrection celebration. Today Easter is celebrated at different times depending on whether one is a Western Christian (Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Anglican) or an Eastern Christian (Eastern Orthodoxy) because the West uses the revised Gregorian calendar and the East uses the older Julian calendar.
Early Christians consulted local rabbis to determine the date of Passover each year, which would correspond to Holy Week. Passover was determined by the lunar configurations of the latitude in which the Jewish community resided. There was no Jewish authority at Jerusalem to determine a uniform date after the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in A.D. 70. In communities with no Jewish presence, Christians found it even more difficult to determine the date. Once the churches became unified in the fourth century, the date was more consistent until the West's adoption of the revised Gregorian calendar in the sixteenth century.
Most of the popular associations with Easter come from pagan traditions rather than Christian. However, traditionally the church has taken these pagan elements and "converted" them to convey Christian principles. For example, the egg is a common pagan sign of fertility and good luck. In Christian tradition, the egg is often used as an analogy to the trinity, and to signify the resurrection life promised us by Christ's resurrection (1 Cor. 15:37-38). Butterflies are indicators of spring, and therefore new life, but Christians often used the butterfly as a symbol of the resurrection. Just as the caterpillar "dies," is "buried" in his cocoon, and then emerges in a "new body" somehow made from the old body and with "new life," so Jesus died, was buried, and was resurrected and we who belong to Him will be also (Rom. 8:11). Hiding Easter eggs once symbolized the mysteries of the world of the gods and goddesses, who had to be coaxed into returning life to the earth in spring. Christians used hiding-and-finding as a teaching tool to children that we have been "hidden" from God's loving presence by our sin, but we are "found" by Christ, who forgives us, loves us, and treasures us (Luke 15:4-7). It can also signify the diligence with which we are to seek the kingdom of God and our joy in finding it (Matt. 13:44-46). Lambs are fertility symbols and indicators of spring in paganism, but in Christianity we remember that we are His sheep (Ps. 23:1-2; John 10:1-16; Matt. 26:31-34; Acts 20:28) and He is our Shepherd (Is. 40:10-11; John 10:11-14; 2 Pet. 5:4; Heb. 13:20; Matt. 25:31-46). Additionally, Christ is the Passover Lamb (Ex. 12:5), the One sacrifice Who cleanses all from sin by His blood (Is. 53:7; John 1:29; Acts 8:32-25; 1 Pet. 1:19; Rev. 5:6-13; 7:13-14; 15:3).
Historically, the celebration of Our Lord's Resurrection is a time of joy, hymns, celebration, and light. Many churches use bright colors to decorate the sanctuary and the altar, traditionally white and gold. White represents purity and the resurrection, gold symbolizes triumph. Many churches add trumpets to their instrumental music on this day to signify the trumpet of victory after battle and the trumpet "calling" people out of death. Many people use flowers to signify resurrection life, the lily being the most popular because of its long association with spring and the white of salvation. (Confidence in the resurrection is also the historical significance of flowers, especially lilies, at funerals.) Some churches conclude their Easter services with a congregational feast, commemorating the marriage feast of God with His people made possible through Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. Most churches repeat the proclamation taken from the gospels and standard from the early second century of the church.:
He is Risen!
He is Risen indeed!