📖 Biblical Definition
Easter celebrates the central event of the Christian faith: Christ’s bodily resurrection on the third day after His crucifixion. "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Paul declares the stakes: "And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins" (15:17). The resurrection is a historical event, not a metaphor — witnessed by over 500 people (15:6), preached publicly in the very city of the empty tomb seven weeks later, and confessed in the Apostles’ Creed. Every Lord’s Day rehearses it; Easter celebrates it annually.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
A festival of the Christian church in commemoration of the Savior's resurrection.
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EAS'TER, n. A festival observed in commemoration of our Savior's resurrection. It answers to the pascha of the Hebrews. Webster understood it as commemorating a historical resurrection.
📖 Key Scripture
• 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 — "Christ died for our sins... He was raised on the third day."
• 1 Corinthians 15:17 — "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins."
• Matthew 28:6 — "He is not here, for he has risen, as he said."
• Romans 6:9 — "Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Commercialized into a spring holiday about bunnies and chocolate rather than resurrection.
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For most Westerners, Easter means chocolate eggs and family brunch, with resurrection as an afterthought. Some Christians reject Easter over pagan etymological connections, missing the forest for the trees. The real corruption is evacuated content: a culture celebrating Easter without believing in the resurrection has turned the most radical claim in history into seasonal decoration.
Usage
• "Easter without the bodily resurrection is just a spring festival — Paul would say your faith is futile."
• "The early church did not celebrate a metaphor — they celebrated the historical, physical rising of Jesus from the dead."