Church of God Knowledge Encyclopedia

Day of Resurrection

Day of Resurrection (Resurrection Day) is a feast of God that commemorates Jesus’ resurrection three days after His death on the cross. In the Bible, the date of Resurrection Day is the “day after the first Sabbath (Sunday) following the Feast of Unleavened Bread.” However, most churches keep it on the first Sunday after the full Moon that occurs on or after the spring equinox, calling it Easter. In many countries in Europe, the day before and after Easter is a national holiday, and it is celebrated as one of the biggest holidays of the year. In the U.S., spring break is generally before and after Easter, and it is observed by a large majority of schools. Many companies are closed and enjoy a holiday around Easter.[1][2][3][4][5]

Day of Resurrection
Jesus Resurrected and Mary Magdalene by Heinrich Hofmann
Name復活節, Day of Resurrection, Resurrection Day
DateThe day after the first Sabbath [The first Sunday] following the Feast of Unleavened Bread
MeaningCommemorating the resurrection of Jesus
RitualBreaking the bread that opens the spiritual eyes

Origin of Resurrection Day

For details, refer to: Day of Firstfruits

The origin of Resurrection Day is the resurrection of Jesus. A more fundamental origin can be found in the Day of Firstfruits from the Old Testament times. The Day of Firstfruits was established to commemorate Moses’ landing after crossing the Red Sea, leading the Israelites about 3,500 years ago.[6] It was celebrated on the day after the first Sabbath (Sunday) following the Feast of Unleavened Bread. On that day, the priest waved a sheaf of the first grain before God.


“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest. He is to wave the sheaf before the LORD so it will be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath.’ ”

Leviticus 23:9–14


The firstfruits offered on the Day of Firstfruits in the Old Testament represented Jesus Christ. Jesus fulfilled the prophecy of the Day of Firstfruits by being resurrected as the firstfruits of those who had fallen asleep.


But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

1 Corinthians 15:20


Date of Resurrection Day

The Date in the Bible

Jesus was arrested on the night of the Passover, died on the cross on the Feast of Unleavened Bread,[7] and fulfilled the prophecy of the Day of Firstfruits by being resurrected on the day after the Sabbath (Sunday).

When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons.

Mark 16:1–9


Thus, Resurrection Day is the day when the prophecy of the Feast of Firstfruits was fulfilled, so it must be observed on the day after the first Sabbath following the Feast of Unleavened Bread, just like the Day of Firstfruits.

The Date Changed

For details, refer to: The Paschal Controversy (The Passover Controversy)

Most churches celebrate Resurrection Day on the first Sunday after the full Moon following the spring equinox.[8] This is the result of accepting the Western Church’ insistence on the date of the Passover Holy Supper. The Paschal controversy was sparked between the Eastern and Western Churches from the 2nd century to the 4th century.

The Western Church insisted that the Holy Supper should be celebrated on the Resurrection Day, not on the evening of the 14th day of the first month by the sacred calendar which Jesus had taught. In A.D. 325, the churches decided to follow the insistence of the Western Church at the Council of Nicaea, and so the Passover of the new covenant, the day the Holy Supper was originally held on, disappeared from the ecclesiastical calendar, and the date of Resurrection Day was set to be the “first Sunday after the first full Moon following the spring equinox.”[9][10] In the Gregorian calendar, it is usually between March 22 and April 25,[11] which is similar to the feast day of the goddess Ēostre (Easter), which was widely worshiped in Europe at that time.[12] Today, the word Easter is related to the festival of the goddess Easter.[13]

Ceremony of Resurrection Day

Biblical Ceremony: Resurrection Day Bread

The Bible records how Jesus was resurrected and appeared to His two disciples who were on their way to Emmaus. The two disciples talked with Jesus, but they did not recognize Him. It was because their eyes were covered.[14] So Jesus gave them the bread He had given thanks for to eat, and the disciples’ eyes were opened to realize that they had been talking with Jesus, who had died on the cross.[15] Afterwards, the saints of the early Church celebrated the Resurrection Day by breaking bread on the day after the first Sabbath coming after the Feast of Unleavened Bread, following the example of Jesus.

After the Feast of Unleavened Bread . . . On the first day of the week we came together to break bread.

Acts 20:6–7


The World Mission Society Church of God keeps the Resurrection Day on the basis of the dates of the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened in the Bible, and break the bread, following the example of Jesus.[16][17]

Pagan Customs: Easter Eggs and Bunny

Today, many churches celebrate Easter by eating boiled eggs, and regard bunnies and eggs as symbols of Easter. The reason bunnies and eggs became the symbols of Easter is assumed to be because the custom of worshiping the goddess Easter (Ēostre) of the Teutons, who governed spring and dawn, was introduced into Christianity.[18] Since spring is the season of new life, Easter was regarded as the goddess of fertility, and bunnies and eggs were both used as symbols of fertility.[19] The fact that the Resurrection Day is called Easter in English and Ostern in German proves that Resurrection Day has been changed by the influence of pagan religions. The origin of Easter the goddess and eggs goes back further in history. Ancient Babylonians believed that a large egg fell into the Euphrates River from the sky and that the goddess Ishtar was hatched from this egg.[20] In Israel, this goddess was called Ashtoreth.[21] The Bible tells us that Israel provoked God to anger by adopting the customs of pagan religions.[22][23] Recognizing this problem, some Christian groups celebrate Easter by eating candy or chocolate instead of boiled eggs, but this is also a non-biblical custom that cannot be found in the early Church.[24]

  • Names of Resurrection Day in Each Language
Language Name Etymology Remarks
English Easter, Day of Resurrection, Resurrection Day Eostre, Eostrae (the name of the goddess of spring and abundance)[25] Easter and Ostern are non-biblical names.
German Ostern[26] Eostarum (the name of the goddess of spring and abundance)[25]
Greek Πάσχα [Pascar] Pronunciation of the Hebrew word פֶּסַח [pesach][27] in the Greek way In the Bible, Pascha is a feast that Jesus celebrated on the day before He suffered.[28] The Holy Supper of Pascha is a ceremony to commemorate Jesus’ death[29], not His resurrection. Nevertheless, it became common in the Western Church to celebrate the Holy Supper on the day commemorating the resurrection of Jesus. So in some languages, the day of Jesus’ resurrection is wrongfully called Pascha.[30]
Latin Pascha Derived from πάσχα, a Greek word for tuning the Hebrew word פֶּסַח [Pesach]
Russian Пасха Pascha in Latin
Spanish Pascua
Romanian Paști
Italian Pasqua
Portuguese Páscoa
French Pâques
Dutch Pasen[31]
Korean 부활절 Commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ
Chinese 复活节 (simplified),

復活節 (traditional)

Japanese 復活祭, イースター

References

  1. ↑ List of Holidays in France in 2022. Public Holidays in France in 2022.
  2. ↑ Gesetzliche Feiertage in Nordrhein-Westfalen 2022. Die Feiertage 2022, 2023 n Deutschland.
  3. ↑ Calendar of business days 2022. Trading Hours & Holidays, EURONEXT.
  4. ↑ FG declares holidays for Easter celebration. The Guardian, March 30, 2021
  5. ↑ Christians around the world celebrate Easter Sunday. USA TODAY, April 17, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Exodus 14:21–30".
  7. ↑ "Matthew 26–27".
  8. ↑ Easter, The Free Dictionary.com
  9. ↑ Easter, WORLD HISTORY ENCYCLOPEDIA, January 11, 2021
  10. ↑ Supremacy of the Popes, James Gibbons, The Faith of Our Fathers, 1876, pg. 134
  11. ↑ Easter 2008 is the Earliest in Nearly a Century, Time and Date, March 14, 2008
  12. ↑ Origin of Easter: From pagan festivals and Christianity to bunnies and chocolate eggs, ABC.net, April 15, 2017
  13. ↑ Why Easter Is Called Easter, and Other Facts About the Holiday, U.S.News, April 12, 2017
  14. ↑ "Luke 24:13–16".
  15. ↑ "Luke 24:30–34".
  16. ↑ Resurrection Day of Jesus Christ, WATV.org
  17. ↑ Sacred Assemblies of the Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the Day of Resurrection 2022, WATV.org, April 15, 2022
  18. ↑ Easter summary, Britannica
  19. ↑ "Who Is Eostre and What Does She Have to Do With Easter?". crosswalk.com. 2022. 3. 18.
  20. ↑ Alexander Hislop, The Two Babylons, pg. 109, 1998
  21. ↑ ""ASTARTE WORSHIP AMONG THE HEBREWS"". Jewish Encyclopedia.
  22. ↑ "Judges 2:12–15".
  23. ↑ "1 Kings 11:31–33".
  24. ↑ The #1 Most Popular Easter Candy, According to New Data, Earth This, Not That!, April 11, 2022
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 ""Easter"". Britannica
  26. ↑ Ostern, Cambridge Dictionary
  27. ↑ Strong's #6453 - פֶּסַח, StudyLight.org
  28. ↑ "Luke 22:15".
  29. ↑ "1 Corinthians 11:23–26".
  30. ↑ Alexander Hislop, The Two Babylons or The Papal Worship: Proved to be the Worship of Nimrod and his Wife, Volume 27, pg. 149
  31. ↑ Pasen, Cambridge Dictionary
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