There is a lot of confusion regarding what Easter Sunday is all about.
For some, Easter Sunday is about the Easter Bunny, colorfully decorated
Easter eggs, and Easter egg hunts. Most people understand that Easter
Sunday has something to do with the resurrection of Jesus, but are
confused as to how the resurrection is related to the Easter eggs and
the Easter bunny.
Biblically speaking, there is absolutely no connection between the
resurrection of Jesus Christ and the common modern traditions related to
Easter Sunday. Essentially, what occurred is that in order to make Christianity more
attractive to non-Christians, the ancient Roman Catholic Church mixed
the celebration of Jesus' resurrection with celebrations that involved
spring fertility rituals. These spring fertility rituals are the source
of the egg and bunny traditions.
The Bible makes it clear that Jesus was resurrected on the first day of the week, Sunday (Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:2,9; Luke 24:1; John 20:1,19).
Jesus' resurrection is most worthy of being celebrated (see 1
Corinthians 15). While it is appropriate for Jesus' resurrection to be
celebrated on a Sunday, the day on which Jesus' resurrection is
celebrated should not be referred to as Easter. Easter has nothing to do
with Jesus' resurrection on a Sunday.
As a result, many Christians feel strongly that the day on which we
celebrate Jesus' resurrection should not be referred to as "Easter
Sunday." Rather, something like "Resurrection Sunday" would be far more
appropriate and biblical. For the Christian, it is unthinkable that we
would allow the silliness of Easter eggs and the Easter bunny to be the
focus of the day instead of Jesus' resurrection.
By all means, celebrate Christ's resurrection on Easter Sunday. Christ's
resurrection is something that should be celebrated every day, not just
once a year. At the same time, if we choose to celebrate Easter Sunday,
we should not allow the fun and games to distract our attention from
what the day should truly be all about—the fact that Jesus was
resurrected from the dead, and that His resurrection demonstrates that
we can indeed be promised an eternal home in Heaven by receiving Jesus
as our Savior.