Easter: Apex of Christian life
The two most celebrated feasts in the Christian world are Christmas and Easter. In the Catholic world, which used to be the western part of the Roman empire, the most celebrated holiday is Christmas day. Among Orthodox churches, which used to be the eastern part of the Roman empire, Easter is the most important religious festival in their liturgical calendar. Every other religious celebration including Christmas is considered secondary in importance to the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Personally, I believe that both Christmas and Easter are equally important and that both are essential parts of God’s plan. Without God becoming man – Christmas – there would be no Easter. Without the resurrection from the dead – Easter – Christmas would be an insignificant event in history. The world has witnessed the lives of many great religious prophets like Moses, Buddha, Mohammed. However, in the Christian world, it was Jesus’ miraculous resurrection that made Jesus Christ more than just a prophet.
It was Easter that made him the Son of God. Since I am part of the Catholic world, it is Christmas that is the most celebrated holiday in my world. There is more excitement in anticipation of the Christmas season.
Often times, Holy Week is deemed more like a four-day holiday break rather than an observation of a sacred season. Family gatherings are deemed obligatory during the Christmas season while the Holy Week seems more like a time to travel or to go on vacation.
Christmas carols dominate the air waves but Easter is more associated with traditional religious songs and chants. There are many different reasons for the bigger celebration of Christmas than Easter. It has been suggested that this is due to the tradition of gift giving during Christmas time. There are those who say that Santa Claus and commercialization have made Christmas a secular festival celebrated worldwide, including among non-Christians.
I even understand that in the United States, there have been news to ban the word “Christmas” because it has religious connotations. The proposal is that the greeting should be “Happy holidays.” People seem to forget that without the birth of Christ, there
