Proem

HAPPY EASTER SUNDAY to everyone! Christ has risen!

To the Christian who follow the Pauline Tradition or the Christian teachings according to Saint Paul, the Easter Sunday is the most significant event. It is the day designated to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Without the doctrine of resurrection, Pauline Christianity would become meaningless.

Bear in mind that there are many Christian sects that do not believe that Jesus Christ was God. To them Jesus Christ was only an exulted person.

Easter Sunday

The word "Easter" comes from the Old English Eastre who was the goddess of Spring in pre-Christian England. Take note that the ending "tre" in old English is now pronounced and spelled in modern English as "ter".

Springtime starts during the venal equinox, which occurs on March 21 of the year. The pre-Christian religion in England celebrated the event and dedicated it to the goddess Easter.

In the Hebrew religion the vernal equinox is also the time to celebrate the Passover.

How to Determine

The date for Easter Sunday keeps on changing every year. The Easter Sunday is the Sunday after the full moon that occurs on or after March 21 of the year. This year, the full moon after March 21 occurred on April 2. The Sunday after the full moon on April 2 is April 8 and therefore it is the Easter Sunday.

This is relatively easy to compute and understand using the present Gregorian calendar.

However, the Greek Orthodox Christian religion does not use the Gregorian calendar in computing Easter Sunday. They use a lunar calendar to compute it and their Easter Sunday occurs at a different date compared to the Roman Catholic Easter Sunday.

No Problem with the Name?

Do you not find it rather queer that the most important event in Christianity is named after a pagan goddess? Easter Sunday means the Sunday dedicated to the goddess of spring called Easter. The Americans even play the "Easter Egg Hunt", which is actually part of the ceremony of the pagan Easter celebration.

The name Easter Sunday has nothing to do with Jesus Christ and Christianity. The Spanish name Domingo de Gloria is much better because it means God's glory. Could our religious authorities find a better name for Easter Sunday? Maybe we can call it "Resurrection Sunday" or some other name that has a relation to Jesus Christ. The appropriate name in Sugboanon Bisaya should have been Pasko sa Pagkabanhaw. But since Pasko is now the name of Christmas, the Pasko sa Pagkabanhaw went into disuse.

Since the Philippines English language is now recognized as a separate branch of the English language, maybe it is time to use another name for Easter Sunday.