It’s Easter time again: a time for candy, colored eggs, more candy, egg hunts, some more candy… While many observe this holiday in some religious way, to a lot of people Easter is just another day of festivities for children. (And as far as secular holidays go, it’s definitely a fun day for kids). As Santa Claus is to Christmas, the fictitious Easter Bunny is the central figure of this particular spring holiday. Being that Easter is usually considered by the religious world at large to be a celebration of the resurrection of Christ, we may wonder why people don’t call that bunny “The Resurrection of Christ Bunny.” But the truth is that would be incorrect anyway, for (as far as the Bible is concerned) Easter has nothing to do with the resurrection of Christ at all.
While it is true that the English term “Easter” is mentioned once in the King James Version of the Bible (in Acts 12:4), it is not in reference to any Christian holy day. In fact, the New Testament Greek word for Easter is “pascha” meaning “Passover” (a Jewish holy period). Of the 28 other times “pascha” is used in the Greek New Testament, the KJV translators correctly translated it “Passover.” Yet in Acts 12:4 (possibly at the command of King James) they used the term “Easter.” As the context of the passage proves, Acts 12:4 makes no reference to the resurrection of Christ at all, but rather deals with King Herod’s persecution of Christians at the time of the Passover (vv.1-3). Neither would Herod temporarily cease persecuting Christians so that he could observe a Christian holy day. How absurd!
It is also noteworthy to mention that the term “Easter” (originally “Eostre,” an Anglo-Saxon term meaning “goddess of spring,” or “fertility”) is of pagan origin. Furthermore, the day itself is calculated by the first full moon of spring (not the Passover, as some assume). Thus, the word “Easter” is an inappropriate term supplied by the KJV translators, and this has caused much and needless confusion over many generations. So maybe instead of calling that bunny the “Easter Bunny,” perhaps people should call it the “Passover Bunny” or (more to the point) the “Pagan Bunny” or the “First Moon of Spring Bunny.” Though the “bunny” is a secular symbol, these designations would at least be more truthful.