Hong Kong Easter 2016:the Meanings of Easter

Why do they celebrate Easter?

A diverse community and a tolerant soul award Hong Kong quite a few public holidays, with Buddhist, Christian, Confucian, traditional Chinese and Western holidays all celebrated.

One of the biggest festivals marked by the city’s more than 800,000 Christians is Easter, many of them crowding in to attend special services at Hong Kong’s churches. 

Why is it called Easter?

The name Easter is derived from 'Ostara' or 'Eostre', a pagan goddess of fertility, whose feast was celebrated on the Vernal Equinox. The word East is also derived from her names, as is Oestrogen, the female hormone. In Saxon culture, the Hare was sacred to Ostara and the modern tradition of the Easter Bunny is a distant echo of that.
However, In most languages other than English and German, the holiday's name is derived from Pesach, the Hebrew name of Passover, a Jewish holiday to which the Christian Easter is intimately linked, as the Gospel of John states that the last supper took place during a specific part of the Passover traditions.
Easter therefore depends on Passover not only for much of its symbolic meaning but also for its position in the calendar.

Hong Kong Easter, the meanings of Easter, history of Easter, Hong Kong public holiday, Jesus, holy bible, Resurrection

Christian Background

Hong Kong Easter, the meanings of Easter, history of Easter, Hong Kong public holiday, Jesus, holy bible, Resurrection

The best way to understand the real meaning of Easter would be from Jesus. The real meaning is a three word answer ... the new covenant.

Easter is the day when Christian celebrate Jesus Christ rising from the dead about 2000 years ago. Jesus is the Son of God and heroically gave His life to die for sins of human. On the third day after He died -- the day Christian  now celebrate as Easter Sunday -- His friends went to His grave, and found that He had risen from the dead. They saw an angel who told them, "Don't be afraid! I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn't here! He has been raised from the dead, just as He said it would happen."
Since there are more than 800,000 Christians in Hong Kong, Easter is a big day. They will hold many activities to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.

However, Easter did not always symbolize Christ's resurrection from the dead and the meaning of Easter was quite different than what Christians celebrate today. The feast day of Easter was originally a pagan celebration of renewal and rebirth. Celebrated in the early spring, it honored the pagan Saxon goddess Eastre. When the early missionaries converted the Saxons to Christianity, the holiday, since it fell around the same time as the traditional memorial of Christ's resurrection from the dead, was merged with the pagan celebration, and became know as Easter. The meaning of Easter was also changed to reflect its new Christian orientation.
Hong Kong Easter, the meanings of Easter, history of Easter, Hong Kong public holiday, Jesus, holy bible, Resurrection

Today, the meaning of Easter, for million of Christians, is that of honoring and recognizing Jesus Christ's resurrection from the dead, and His glorious promises of eternal life for all who believe in Him.

And Easter is another meaning for those who don't believe in God.