ACTS AFTER THE ACTS THE HISTORY OF EASTER

In this edition of ‘Acts after the Acts,’ we will be examining the history of Easter. At Easter, we celebrate Jesus' death and resurrection over 2000 years ago. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, “He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, He disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by His victory over them on the cross” (Col 2:14-15). Also, because of His resurrection, we as believers also partake in a glorious hope, as “we know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to Himself together with you” (2 Cor 4:14). While we as Christians firmly know the reason behind Easter, some of us may not know how Easter as a yearly celebration came to be. In this article, we will be looking at the origin and establishment of Easter as a Christian celebration.

EASTER & THE FEAST OF PASSOVER

“But the blood on your doorposts will serve as a sign, marking the houses where you are staying. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. This plague of death will not touch you when I strike the land of Egypt.”– Exodus 12:13

As affirmed in the Gospels, the death and resurrection of Jesus occurred during the week of the Jewish Passover. The Passover is a Jewish holiday which commemorated the deliverance of the people of Israel from captivity in Egypt. When God ‘passed over’ the homes of the Israelites during the last of the ten plagues, it spared them from death but also secured their freedom from Pharoah. The Passover recorded in the Old Testament can be seen as a type and shadow of the work of Christ. Jesus became our Passover lamb, spotless and perfect, whose blood and body bring atonement for our sins and reconciles us back to the Father. When we are covered by the blood of Jesus, we are also spared and set free from the curse of sin.

The Jewish Passover is celebrated in accordance with the Jewish calendar, which is based on the natural cycles of the Sun and Moon. Because modern calendars are not structured this way, the date of Passover changes every year. Because Easter corresponds with the Jewish calendar’s date for Passover, the date also changes yearly. Passover occurs on the fifteenth day of Nisan (Jewish calendar) and falls on the first full moon following the Spring equinox.

WHY IS EASTER ALWAYS ON A SUNDAY?

In the year 325 AD, the Council of Nicaea assembled church leaders from all over the Roman empire to establish and standardize the beliefs and customs of the Church. They declared that Easter would now always be celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon, either occurring on or after the Spring equinox. To simply calculate this, the council established an ecclesiastical rule that the Spring Equinox would always be observed on March 21 st making it the first day of Spring. This rule was meant to give the Church a stable frame of reference to be able to count towards Easter together. The Council of Nicaea’s rulings on Easter solidified an independence from the Hebrew calendar and worldwide uniformity.

“All the brethren in the East who have hitherto followed the Jewish practice will henceforth observe the custom of the Romans and of yourselves and of all of us who from ancient times have kept Easter together with you”

– The Council of Nicaea

However, as time progressed, the Roman Julian calendar (used at the time of the Council of Nicaea) was falling out of sync with the lunar/solar year, nudging Easter farther and farther away from the Jewish Passover and the true change of the seasons. In 1592, Pope Gregory XIII initiated modifications to correct this drift. His Gregorian calendar was created and is now the most commonly used calendar in the world and is the one that is used for determining the date of Easter.

The reason why the Council of Nicaea established Sunday to celebrate Easter is simple: we are remembering the work of the Cross on the day on which our Lord had risen. Also, the tradition of celebrating Good Friday also follows this train of thinking, Good Friday celebrating the Friday on which Jesus died.