When is Easter? What is the true meaning of Easter? (2024)

Easter is one of the most important days in the Christian calendar. It is celebrated as the day of Resurrection of Jesus Christ three days after his crucifixion and death. His Resurrection is seen as the conquest of death by Christ and our redemption from sin.

For Christians Easter is the joyful conclusion to the Lent season, which is devoted to prayer, fasting and observing penitence.

Definition of Easter

Easter is “an annual Christian festival in commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, observed on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox, as calculated according to tables based in Western churches on the Gregorian calendar and in Orthodox churches on the Julian calendar. Also called Easter Sunday, the day on which this festival is celebrated.”

There are several claims to the origins of the word Easter. Fo example, according to our Bible dictionary, the name “Easter” was derived from “Eostre,” “originally a Saxon word (Eostre), denoting a goddess of the Saxons, in honor of whom sacrifices were offered about the time of the Passover.”

Christian Meaning of Easter

The significance of Easter is Jesus Christ's triumph over death. His resurrection means the eternal life will be granted to all those who believe in Him. The purpose of Easter also means the full confirmation of all that Jesus taught and preached during his three-year ministry. If he had not risen from the dead or simply died and not been resurrected, Jesus would have been seen as just another teacher or prophet. However, his resurrection rebuked all that and provided final and undeniable proof that he was the Son of God and that he had overcome death once and for all.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the core of the Christian gospel and Eaters is celebrated to commemorate this. The resurrection affirms Jesus of Nazareth as the prophesied Messiah of Israel and the King and Lord of a new Jerusalem: a new heaven and a new earth.

Pagan Origin of 'Easter'

However, Easter did not always signify Christ's resurrection from the dead, and the purpose of Easter was very different than what Christians observe today. The feast day of Easter was first a pagan holiday of renewal and rebirth. Honored in the early spring, it praised the pagan Saxon goddess Eastre. When early Christian missionaries saved the Saxons to Christianity, the spring holiday, because it occurred near the same season as the traditional memorial of Christ's resurrection from the dead, was joined with the pagan festival, and became known as Easter. The meaning of Easter was also changed to honor its new Christian significance.

Jewish Easter traditions

Other religious Easter traditions come from the concurrent Jewish celebration of Passover, a commemoration of the Jews’ escaping slavery from Egypt. The Jewish holiday provides the basis for Easter feasts and many traditional Easter foods, including lamb.

When is Easter this year?

Easter falls on Sunday, April 9, 2023. Unlike other festivals like Christmas which have a fixed date, Easter’s date changes every year. Based on the cycles of the moon, the holiday might occur on any Sunday between March 22 and April 25. It can get confusing, so here’s a cheat sheet of Easter dates for the next five years: