It is from when Moses was asking the Pharaoh to let the Jews -who were at that time slaves- leave Egypt, and because Pharaoh kept refusing, God punished the Egyptians by killing all their first born sons. The Jewish families were kept safe by daubing lamb's blood on their door-posts - when God saw this blood he "passed over" those homes.

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

What is Passover and what has it got to do with Easter?

The Jewish celebration of Passover, or "Pesach" in Hebrew, was started about 1200 years before Jesus. The origins and form of this festival are described in the Bible, in chapter 12 of the book of Exodus.

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

Many other modern languages derive their name for Easter from the Latin pascha, in turn taken from the Hebrew pesach or Passover, eg the French "Paques", the Spanish "Pascua" and the Italian "Pasqua". This acknowledges that the Christian feast is a successor to the Jewish Passover.

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

It is unhelpful that the anniversary of the resurrection of Jesus is commonly known as "Easter", a name derived from a pagan god. A more appropriate name might be the "Christian Passover".

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

Why is it called "Easter"?

Long before Jesus, many pagan cultures already celebrated at this time of year to welcome the return of spring and the new plant life that grew and the animals that were born. The pagans worshipped gods of fertility and new life, such as the Druidic Ishtar, Egyptian Osiris, Babylonian Astarte (who sprung from an egg which fell from heaven), and the Saxon goddess of dawn with a hare's head (or hare companion) called Eostre, from which we get the name "Easter".

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

"Without the feeding of the five thousand or the walking on water, we'd still have Christianity. But without the resurrection, it would be just a minor cult in first-century Judaism." (Michael Symmons Roberts, "The Miracles of Jesus" )

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

History records show that Jesus was crucified outside of the city of Jerusalem in around 33AD, just before the Jewish festival of Passover.

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

He was executed after Jewish religious leaders accused him of being a would-be revolutionary who wanted to overturn Roman rule. But Christians believe that God planned for this to happen and that in the spiritual realm the death, and then resurrection, of Jesus was necessary to conquer sin and enable believers to live a life guided by God's forgiveness and Holy Spirit.

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

Easter is the spring-time holiday associated with chocolate eggs and bunny rabbits. For Christians it is the anniversary and celebration of the resurrection of Jesus.

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

Easter is the spring-time holiday associated with chocolate eggs and bunny rabbits. For Christians it is the anniversary and celebration of the resurrection of Jesus.

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

These are things Jesus promises us today. In Old Testament days a lamb had to be killed as an offering to God to make up for people's sins.

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

When Jesus was crucified he took the role of a sacrificial lamb, and the Bible says he was the last lamb that would need to be sacrificed. Christians believe that when Jesus died, he died for all our sins, and when he came back to life he showed he had conquered sin once and for all.

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

And that's what we celebrate on Easter Sunday!

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

Back in the fourth century AD the church devised a whole Easter calendar to remember all the different events in the lead up to the crucifixion and resurrection, things like Pancake Day to eat up all your good food before fasting during the weeks of Lent.

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

History records show that Jesus was crucified outside of the city of Jerusalem in around 33AD, just before the Jewish festival of Passover. He was executed after Jewish religious leaders accused him of being a would-be revolutionary who wanted to overturn Roman rule.

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

More on the origins of Easter

Easter is the spring-time holiday associated with chocolate eggs and bunny rabbits. For Christians it is the anniversary and celebration of the resurrection of Jesus.

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

Back in the fourth century AD the church devised a whole Easter calendar to remember all the different events in the lead up to the crucifixion and resurrection, things like Pancake Day to eat up all your good food before fasting during the weeks of Lent.

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

And that's what we celebrate on Easter Sunday!

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

Christians believe that when Jesus died, he died for all our sins, and when he came back to life he showed he had conquered sin once and for all.

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

These are things Jesus promises us today. In Old Testament days a lamb had to be killed as an offering to God to make up for people's sins. When Jesus was crucified he took the role of a sacrificial lamb, and the Bible says he was the last lamb that would need to be sacrificed.

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

At that time God promised: I will get you out of the mess you've made; I will lead you to a freer life; I will treat you as my own children; and I will save you spiritually.

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

Despite it's name, Christian "Easter" has much more to do with the Jewish Passover than pagan spring-time festivals. God instructed Jewish people to celebrate Passover to remember their escape from slavery in Egypt about 1200 years before Jesus.

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

Easter Sunday is always the first Sunday after the full moon that directly follows the Spring Equinox.

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

They didn't set a definite fixed yearly date for Easter, or stick to the old Jewish calendar. Instead they made-up their own formula to calculate the date to complicate matters further. Are you ready for this? Pay attention!

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

Later, about 350 years after the crucifixion of Jesus, an important meeting of church leaders met to decide whether Easter should be celebrated the day after Passover, even if it fell on a week day, or whether Easter Day should always be on a Sunday.

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

The exact date of Passover shifts about a bit as it is calculated on the old Jewish calendar which was based on what the moon was doing, and this doesn't tie-in exactly with the modern calendar.

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

We know that Jesus was killed at this time of year because the Bible and other historical records tell us he was crucified just before the Jewish festival called Passover.

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

The pagans celebrated the arrival of spring, encouraging their gods to bless the re-birth of plants and animals at this time of year.

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

The "spirit" Easter Bunny/Hare was supposed to lay its eggs in the grass, and people would go searching for them - the fore-runner of modern day Easter egg hunts.

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

This is also the origin of the Easter Bunny, and strangely, Easter Eggs (what? no chickens?!) - all life was thought to have originally come from an egg, and eggs were another favoured symbol of fertility.

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.

Easter gets it's name from the Saxon goddess of spring called "Eostre". This goddess had a hare's head, or a hare companion, which makes sense when you remember that pagan worship centred on nature and fertility, and hares and rabbits breed like....well, rabbits!

richmondparkchurch.org.uk an evangelical pentecostal church in Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset, UK.