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What is the meaning of Easter?

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Easter – a story of love and life

Despite hot cross buns and Easter eggs appearing on store shelves from early January, Easter is not an easily understood Christian holiday. For starters, the week is full of contrasts. There is honour and praise followed by a day of deep, dark sadness, followed by joy, hope and light. 

It can be a little complicated understanding why Good Friday is ‘good’, why Easter is celebrated or how the meaning of Easter relates to our lives today. 

Every year, Easter has two significant celebrations – Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Unlike Christmas, these dates change from year to year – based on the lunar calendar.

In 2023, Easter will be celebrated on Good Friday 7 April and Easter Sunday 9 April. However, many churches will start Easter celebrations one week earlier on Palm Sunday, which leads to the term ‘Holy Week’.

Celebrate Easter with your local Salvos.

Holy Week refers to the days and events leading up to Easter Sunday. It starts with Palm Sunday – when Jesus was celebrated – and remembers his journey through to death. This includes his betrayal by a close friend, his last meal with his followers, a night of sorrowful prayer and then Good Friday – when Jesus died on the cross.

Learn more about the days of the Holy Week

God – our Creator – loves us all so much and wants to be in a perfect relationship with us. He wants to give meaning and purpose to our lives. So that could happen, he sent his one and only son – Jesus – to Earth to live, die and rise again for our sake.

“For here is the way God loved the world – he gave his only, unique Son as a gift. So now everyone who believes in him will never perish but experience everlasting life” (John 3:16, TPT).

While on Earth, Jesus experienced life as a human. Throughout his life, he knew what it was like to be hungry, tired, alone and grieving. Then, on Good Friday, he was betrayed, rejected, and physically and verbally hurt.

Many of the emotions that were there on Good Friday are similar to those we experience today. There is nothing you can experience today that God has not seen before. Friends who betray and reject us. Fear and anxiety over financial insecurity and sickness. Pain and heartache for loved ones. Confusion and hopelessness about the future. Grief, despair, loneliness. Jesus understands all of it.

He took all of this, including our shame, brokenness and mistakes upon himself. He put them to death on the cross so that we could be free of it all.

The significance of Good Friday lies in the fact that Jesus loves us so much that he gave up everything so that we could experience true and everlasting life.

Learn more about Good Friday and why a sad day is 'good'

After he died, Jesus was taken down from the cross and his body was placed in a dark tomb. It was sealed up and guarded from the outside with a heavy stone. All of Saturday, Jesus’ followers felt devasted, afraid, disappointed, uncertain and hopeless.

But on Sunday, a miracle happened: Jesus rose back to life.

The Bible says in the first light of day some women went to Jesus’ tomb, expecting to anoint his dead body, as per their custom. But, instead of finding Jesus’ body, they saw angels, who said, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead!” (Luke 24:5-6, NLT).

This event – Jesus' resurrection – is the reason for Easter Sunday celebrations as it gives Christians their hope and joy. After all, there can be no ‘coming back to life’ without a death first.

In the days that followed, Jesus appeared to his large group of disciples many times – showing them that he truly was alive.

Read more about the events of Jesus’ death and resurrection in the Bible, starting at Luke chapter 22.

What is the true meaning of Easter?

The true meaning of Easter is about the love Jesus has for us and the purpose he gives us.

In the Bible, Jesus said of himself, “I am the path, the truth, and the energy of life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6, The Voice). Jesus died and rose back to life so everyone can have a meaningful relationship with God the Father – the Creator of the Universe. Because of Jesus’ victory over death by coming back to life, we too can experience a new, everlasting life.

But not only does Jesus offer us a promise for the future, he also offers everyone hope and joy for today. When the world causes us stress about the cost of living and health concerns, anxiety over safety, heartache, dissatisfaction, fear and many other crises or negative feelings, Jesus offers us something greater and deeper.

Jesus says, “I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows]” (John 10:10b, AMP).

Reading bible

It doesn’t mean we will never experience sickness, financial hardship, family crisis, disappointment, loneliness or grief – but it does mean that we can have hope and peace even through those hardships. Jesus’ life, death and resurrection mean you are deeply loved, and you are not alone in your struggles.

That’s life in overflowing abundance. That’s what it means to feel truly alive today and into the future. That’s the meaning of Easter.

Learn more about Jesus’ promise of abundant life and what Easter means for your life at your local Salvos.

How to celebrate Easter

Many of the Easter customs and Easter traditions we enjoy today stem from the biblical Easter story.

Hot cross buns, traditionally eaten on Good Friday, carry the symbolism of the cross on which Jesus died. The spices inside the bun represent the spices used on his dead body when he was placed in his tomb.

Another popular Easter tradition is, of course, to enjoy chocolate eggs. The egg itself is shaped like the tomb stone that rolled away from where Jesus was buried. And the traditional hollow inside of the egg represents his tomb being empty – as he had risen back to life.

The Easter Bunny even carries a connection to the true meaning of Easter. Jesus’ resurrection after his death offers us new life. Bunnies came into the picture as a symbol of Easter due to their connection with the message of new life.

To help children understand more about the significance of the fun Easter customs, check out our Easter with Kids page for free activities and colouring-in sheets.
Celebrating Easter with kids

If Easter this year is lacking joy and you would like some practical support to experience a life that is alive and abundant, please contact us. Find out how we can help you with life’s essentials, financial counselling, housing, safety in the home, alcohol and drug addictions, and more.
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