To me this means an extra day off, a dinner with my husband's family, and some kind of Easter egg hunt in a virtual world. Last year I participated the Easter egg hunt at United Cats/Dogs website, this year I revisited Ultima Online and I was very happy to reunite with my guildmates after one year of lack of communication. 10 years ago when I just started dating my husband then boyfriend, he would even get me some Easter bunny chocolates and a humongous stuffed bunny. Nothing's terribly wrong to be spoiled by some sweet treats and a new toy, but chocolates and bunnies from him have only lasted for 2 Easters.

For the Christian Easter is the time we celebrate what the sacrificial lamb did for all our souls. It's also one of the few festivals that the church actually brought together by itself. (without a motive!!!) Hey every Christian knows that we celebrate this every day of our life once we have been saved. But it is nice to take a moment to really dwell on what Christ did!!! As for the Easter bunny and all, that’s a really great marketing tool to bring you to the shops. opps did I just spill the beans!!!!

Easter doesn't really matter too much to me, as a rule, but Lego Jesus is pretty fantastic.

Don't get me wrong; I don't object at all to a nice Easter egg hunt for kids, so long as they are taught the real meaning. Easter, to me, is the celebration of Jesus' resurrection. One of the most important holidays to me next to Christmas.

As a kid, I liked it for the candy and the Easter eggs...matter of fact, that's STILL why I like it! Of course, I was subjected to church as well (I think I had to go on Good Friday too), but I was subjected to church nearly every Sunday anyway, and the candy at least made it less onerous than it normally was (again, without meaning to sound blasphemous, church on the holy holidays for me as a kid was sort of like re-watching a movie yet again that you hadn't been all that interested in watching the first time-- Christmas was Mary and Joseph on the donkey, the Wise Men following the star, the Virgin birth in the manger, the gifts of frankinscence and myrrh...whatever they were, etc.; Easter was the stone rolled away from the tomb, the body missing, Jesus rising up from the dead, etc.). Easter did always signify for me the beginning of spring, and that was always, after the cold and snow of winter, a refreshing change. I did like the traditional Easter meal, which tended to be ham and macaroni and cheese in our house. Sometimes, when I was lucky, we'd get a week off from school on the week that followed Easter, which made it more enjoyable than those weeks where we got the week off before Easter (those weeks meant that there was school the next day, and I was never able to enter into the full spirit of the holiday with enthusiasm, knowing that I had to face the monotony of school the next morning). Of course, with adulthood, things change. I no longer have to get out of bed early and force myself into that uncomfortable Robert Hall suit in order to get to church on time. There is still generally a nice meal to be had, and my parents, for old time's sake, will give me a chocolate bunny (although I do miss waking up to a fully-stocked Easter basket). It's a nice day to spend with the family. I spent time later in the evening with my biological grandmother, who spent most of the day by herself (my birth mother had to work, and everyone else in the family live too far away), and it gratified me to see how pleased she was that I had stopped by. I also called a friend's cantankerous grandmother (she would have given the mother on "The Sopranos" a run for her money and never had anything good to say about ANYBODY, but for some reason, she always liked me), who is currently in a nursing home. She too was glad to hear from me, and I at least was able to get her laughing before ending the call. All in all, a low-key holiday that, if I'm lucky, can leave me feeling at least reasonably good.

He is the resurrection and the life. This day sets Christianity apart from all other religions of the world.

For Catholics and all Christians, it is the most holy day of the year, a remembrance of Jesus Christ redeeming mankind through his suffering, death and rising from the dead. Whatever you believe, may this day bring you closer to your God and your family, however you choose to (or not to) worship and may this day bring you all peace, however you define it.

Easter is more than chocolate bunnies and colored eggs. It's about the death, burial, and resurrection.

Twas the night before Easter...
 
First picture the night before Jesus was to be crucified. Christ knew what he had to do. He knew he had to die so we could have a way to be forgiven. Jesus was God but in the form of man. He felt pain like we do but the pain he endured was more than most of us will ever know. Imagine how you would feel if you knew that tomorrow you would die a horrific death. I'm sure Christ had all of these feelings (again he was a man and felt the anguish of his calling). Imagine how you would feel knowing that you loved the people you were dying for but they hated you.

Now picture this, our Lord Jesus laying dead in a tomb. The next day he would rise from the dead and all of Heaven would rejoice. Jesus did not stay in the tomb. He rose, he conquered death and he is alive today. One day we will see him in all of his glory.

Now picture that...

I think most people have forgotten the true meaning of easter and have forgot about the religious side of easter. But still some people go to the church on easter sunday or some people just get sick because they eat too much chocolate eggs. But it is still also fun to easter hunting for eggs and prizes, aslong as we don't get sick.

Of the three remaining "meanings" for this holiday, the most respectable would have to be that of seasonal rebirth (where no one's suffering over politics, creed, or nationality); it's a natural process that gives everything a chance to reload and keep firing (from a biological standpoint, of course). Among the "candied" events, Easter has become Halloween's nose-picking kid sister that your Mom makes you play with, a pastel bore whose eggs and chocolates spike the cholesterol levels of chubby, overstimulated kids even higher. As for the Christian connotations, the Gospels have never achieved a cohesive narrative in terms of the "resurrection" (a reworked legend that pins the entirety of its principles upon the idea that a couple of drowsy Roman soldiers were willing to commit ipso facto suicide for a few bucks at the behest of scheming Jewish priests (Matthew 28:11-15). That flimsy apologetic wouldn't have worked, anyway: if the guards had reported to Pilate that they had fallen asleep, how would they have known that the disciples had stolen the body? At the very least, that would've implicated everyone involved with falsification and the desecration of a body (both grave offenses not easily undertaken). Rain, rodents, or resuscitation: a springtime Sunday that plays itself out in the hearts and minds of humanity.

Three days later....he arose

This seems to come and go and is more concerned with chocolate eggs in the shops and other commercial considerations than anything else these days. Shame. I've always found it very atmospheric since it appears to cloud over on Good Friday and break out in sunshine on Easter Sunday. Monday has a completely different feel to it thereafter. (might be the effect of all those eggs) I liked CastleBee's comments.

Easter - the observance of Christ's crucifixion, celebration of His sacrificial gift of salvation - is the crux of the Christian faith and the single most sacred and important of Christian holidays. Yet the true meaning can often seem a bit hard to find behind the piles of candy, hardboiled eggs, stuffed animals and flower arrangements. As a Christian, I have no problem or complaint with these cultural and traditional aspects of the holiday, regardless of the fact that the roots go back to nearly forgotten pagan religions. To those of us who share a belief in Christ, these trappings, in and of themselves, have no more significance today than wrapping paper on a birthday present. Pretty, cute, entertaining, but the reality of Easter burns like an ember just underneath the surface. It is true that, over the years, these symbols have often served as more than mere decoration. Since the introduction of the Messiah to the gentile world, the tangible and familiar trappings of the pagan community have also been used as both decoys to veil as well as teaching tools to explain the simplicity of Christ's message. In a sense, the groundwork for understanding and opportunity for misunderstanding was laid long before the message arrived. And, much in the same way St. Patrick used the simple three-leafed shamrock to explain the Trinity, so the Easter egg has now become a symbol of new life in Christ for some - or, just something fun to find in a pile of grass for others. So, while it is true that Christ gave His life as a living sacrifice for our sins and salvation, it is His respect for our free will and individuality that allows us to either accept or reject this gift. *****For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16*****

What do rabbits and chicks have to do with Christ? Nothing! Ask the early NON CHRISTIANS, they started it!

Considering that today is Easter, I felt that it was appropriate to post my thoughts on the holiday. As a Christian, I believe in Jesus Christ and am forever greatful to the price that He paid for all men. As someone who is only 15 years old, I can still remember the days when I always used to look forward to Easter Egg hunts and finding candy in a huge basket on Easter Sunday. However, as my youth disappears, I truly see it from a religous standpoint, and Easter is a holiday which is definately worth observing in order to thank Christ for His sacrifices.

Truly He is risen!

Easter is an important Christian holiday because it celebrates the day that Jesus rose from the dead. Jesus made a great sacrifice for us because He loves us all.

He is risen!

Mmmmm CHOCOLATE

We all know the Easter Bunny exists... :) This holiday is another dandy, being able to wake up and get a basket of goodies (candy and others). Then, you go to eat with your family, if you haven't filled up on candies that is! :)

Despite the pagan association Easter has with the coming of spring, this is the most important holiday for Christians and all people as well. Not to sound as if I'm an exclusivist when it comes down to religion, but I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God and he died for all of us, Christian, Jew, Muslim or Anamist alike. Sometimes, we minimize the significance of that one event, but this one event, though not known at the time, fundamentally changed the world. The separation between God and man disappeared with this one event. The death and resurrection of Christ signified atonement for our sins; He paid our debt for us. I know some would, in the style of philosophical revisionists like Nietzsche, would say that right and wrong is a concept that is in the eye of the beholder. But I think otherwise. There is clearly right and wrong. Does anyone in their right mind really think that the atrocities committed by Hitler and the Third Reich were morally right? Sure, when you take morality out of the equation, then right and wrong become relative concepts. A person could do anything because it is morals no longer play a role in decision making. The universal code of morals known as natural law, though now weak, still governs our behavior, maintaining some semblance of a social conscience in people. That is the true significance of Easter and why it is so important.

Being a lapsed Catholic, leaning towards Agnosticism, this is a meaningless holiday to me. To me, it really is all about Bunnies and candy. Sad I know, but hey, that's my background. It is nice to get together with the family for dinner though.

This is another good opportunity to be with family. However, it is way, way too religiously based. Easter is not a holiday that all should celebrate.

The fourth best holiday after Christmas and Halloween and Thanksgiving.

Where the rabbit and eggs came from. According to legend, Eostre is associated with spring and fertility. Part of the traditional folklore that has been passed down tells the story that she saved a bird whose wings were frozen from the harsh winter by turning it into a rabbit. This became a magical rabbit that could lay eggs. Both in legend and in art Eostre was nearly always described or shown with a rabbit. She was also known as the Goddess of Fertility, because rabbits reproduce so rapidly, they are often associated with fertility, so the connection between rabbits, eggs (the means of reproduction for many species) and a goddess of Spring (a time of new life and fertility) is the connection. And of course the marketing people play this one to the hilt for every dollar they can drag out of your pocket.

For those who can't do math, the crucifixion occured over 2000 years ago, not in the second or third century. As with many of the current religious (i.e., Christian) celebrations, they have taken on aspects of pagan (please look up the proper definition if you think this means "witch" or "satan worshipper") celebrations and joined them with the Christian theology. That is why the dates of these celebrations (Christmas, Easter) do not align properly with the time of year they actually occured. My personal feeling is that their is no Holy Day of greater importance that Easter. The birth of Christ celebrates the coming into the world of the saviour; it pales in comparison to his ultimate sacrifice, and the mircle of his resurrection. To this day, NO ONE has been "resurrected" after 3 days. I think that little girl in Canada was dead for 16 hours or so, but no one has, or can, beat the record of 3 days. God Rules! "Wiggum": I agreed that the ceremonies and date where not the correct dates.

As a really young kid, I hated Easter. You see my parents used to take us to a big Easter egg hunt where someone would dress up as the Easter Bunny, and wow was I terrified of that huge, mutant rabbit. I cried and cried whenever that beast came near me. But later I really got into coloring the eggs and doing the whole Easter egg hunt, so the holiday became a lot more fun. These days, though, Easter just doesn't do much for me. If you're interested at all in the history of Easter, it started out as a pagan celebration for the Saxon fertility goddess Eastre - the bunny and the eggs, of course, were fertility symbols. Christianity, in an attempt to compete with the popular pagan religions, co-opted a lot of aspects of the Eastre celebration (in the second or third century, I think). UPDATE: Wow, people have left some great comments about Easter and its significance. My original comment wasn't intended to imply that Easter is any less meaningful because many of its traditions are taken from pagan celebrations - I just thought the holiday's origins were interesting. Organized religion may not hit home for me, but I completely respect the fact that it's extremely meaningful to others. And "Drummer4Jesus," my math is just fine. I was only saying that the current ways (and the date) Christians celebrate Easter were co-opted from other religions in 2nd/3rd century.

I do not feel the true celebration of Easter is an attempt by Christians to compete with pagan religions. Yes, Easter does have its roots in the pagan celebration of the arrival of spring. Most current historical understanding comes from the writings of Venerable Bede of the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre or sometimes called Ostara. The actual date and celebration of this holiday is officially the first full moon on or after the spring equinox. The date is chosen based on the lunar calendar determined by the Jewish holiday of Passover. There was a separate holiday celebrated called Pascha Sunday. This was originally the day set aside to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ. The Church later adopted the name Easter, from Eostre, to mark their event. Now we get to the true meaning of Easter for Christians, which is the Crucifixion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. This happens to have taken place at the Passover Celebration, therefore eternally tying the Resurrection of Christ with the Passover and the pagan celebration for Eostre. This was done 2000 years ago, not by current Christians. Considering that the themes of the pagan ritual were rebirth, new life, new hope, and light, I would say the two celebrations run parallel to each other. What is important is what do you believe Easter is about no matter what you call it. As a Christian, I celebrate Easter everyday. Yes, there is a special day that the world recognizes, and yes, unfortunately it has become commercialized. I understand though, that if Christ had not died for my sins I would not have salvation. With this as my focus, I can look past the stores, eggs, and bunnies, look to the cross, and celebrate new life, that of a risen Savior and that of my own after His forgiveness and salvation. I cannot help but rate the holiday a 5. As a family, we do celebrate, including hiding the eggs and all the other stuff. Hey, it is fun and the kids really enjoy it, but my kids also know the true meaning of the day and the fun is secondary to the reason for the celebration. God does warn us to not loose sight or focus from Him, but nowhere in the Bible does God say not to have fun.