TURNING POINT: The Resurrection

NAAWAN, Misamis Oriental (MindaNews / 05 April) — Calling Easter, the third day after the crucifixion of Christ, has no scriptural basis.

It is often claimed that the English name Easter derives from Ēostre, or Ostara, a goddess in the Germanic pagan tradition who represents youth, fertility, and the arrival of spring.

The symbolic appeal of Easter to early Christians may be the reason for their adoption of the name Easter to refer to the resurrection. The analogy holds water. Indeed, the resurrection of Christ ushers in a new life, a new beginning, a renewal like the advent of spring.

“Easter” never appears in the Bible. The early church celebrated Pascha, the Christian Passover, focused on Jesus’ bodily resurrection. 

Resurrection Sunday names the event perfectly. Jesus rose from the dead on a Sunday.

I suppose we do not sin if we call Easter Sunday the day of Christ’s resurrection.

The name, however, that we give to an event carries real weight. Because names don’t just label things; they underscore meanings and shape how we understand and live them. 

So, we have to sideline Easter and uphold Resurrection Sunday as it is the essential to life and the most appropriate name for the day of celebration.

On the third day after Jesus was crucified, something happened that changed everything. The tomb was empty. The stone was rolled away. Death had been undone. And Jesus, who had been dead, was alive. 

The angel’s message to the women at the tomb was simple and stunning: “He is not here; he has risen, just as he said” (Matthew 28:6). 

That is what we celebrate. Not spring. Not eggs. Not new life in a vague, symbolic sense. We celebrate a specific, historical, bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 

The Apostle Paul understood what was at stake with this event. He wrote to the church in Corinth: “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.” 

(MindaViews is the opinion section of MindaNews. William R. Adan, Ph.D., is retired professor and former chancellor of Mindanao State University at Naawan, Misamis Oriental.)