what is easter?

Answer 1

Easter is the day Jesus died. Most people celebrate it by having an easter bunny who comes to childrens houses and delivers treats.

Answer 2

Easter is the day celebrated by Christians (and those of a few other religions) of Jesus's rising from the dead. Good Friday (the Friday right before Easter) is when we remember Jesus being tried in court and found guilty of blasphemy (although the religious priests at the time just wanted to be rid of Jesus since what he taught contradicted what they wanted the public to believe). He was sentenced to 39 lashings and then was nailed to a wooden cross to die a slow miserable death. His body was placed in a borrowed tomb by some close friends of his. Three days later, the tomb was discovered to be empty, and an angel proclaimed that Jesus had been risen from the dead. Easter is one of the most important days of the year because it marks the day that Jesus "cheated" death, going to Heaven after he died, and actually reappearing back on Earth for a short time afterward. In doing so, Jesus basically allowed us (everyone else) to "cheat" death and continue to Heaven after we die. One of the major points of Christian beliefs is that we will be risen from the dead and (hopefully, if we haven't been horrible sinners) join Jesus in Heaven.

How Easter got its name is an interesting story. Jesus is the Son of God, and he rose from the dead on Easter. Well, the sun rises in the east, so a sort of nickname was born; the day the Son rises is named for the sun which rises in the east.

People commonly celebrate Easter by filling baskets with candy and small toys and plastic eggs, then hiding them around the house for the kids to find when they wake up. People also like to hold Easter egg hunts, in which lots of eggs (real hard-boiled, or plastic) are hidden around, and everyone has to find them.

Answer 3

Easter is not the day jesus died. Easter is the day jesus rose from the dead. good friday is the day he died. it is combined with the pagan holiday for spring and fertility. thats where you get the whole bunny thing. anyway, most people celebrate easter by painting eggs, easter egg hunts, candy, and bunnies "hiding the eggs" sort of like santa clause in a way.

Answer 4

Easter is one of the spring re-birth celebrations. Most cultures and religions have a tradition associated with the coming of spring.

The Christian tradition is the re-birth of Christ. It is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the beginning of spring. I believe it is the only common Christian/Western tradition that is still based off of a lunar calendar (the calendar that we use now is the Gregorian solar one). Easter is so placed because it coincides with the Jewish tradition of passover and they still use a lunar calendar. The original Jewish tradition already coincided with an earlier spring tradition.

Answer 5

Easter, according to the Christian calendar, marks the death and ressurection of Jesus christ. The other symbols like eggs are essentially pagan, however they signify renewal and birth.

Answer 6

Easter is...
the Celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus, after his crucifixion and death on 'good friday'
a pagan spring festival of rebirth
an excuse to eat chocolate and hardboiled eggs till they severely alter your G.I. tract.

It is many things to many people depending on their faith and spiritual experience

Answer 7

The commemeration of when the Easter Bunny was crucified to atone for the sins of others.

Answer 8

A pagan holiday for the coming of spring and fertility. Christians used this holiday for their celebration of Jesus re-birth to get more followers of Christianity.

Answer 9

constantine mixed pagan and christian holidays in order to more easily convert pagans and christians to his new religion, catholicism. the death of christ was mixed with a pagan day celebrating the god of fertility. which is why theres baby bunnies and chicks and eggs, those are signs of fertility and new life.

Answer 10

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/easter