Today is Good Friday, a day Christians remember the cost paid for faith and that it does not end with death. Good Friday leads to resurrection day when Jesus Christ rose again three days after his death on the cross to give renewal of life.

It is that rejuvenation of life, following death, that Christians celebrate on resurrection day, which began to be called Easter over the centuries. In pre-Christian times in western civilizations, Easter referred to the goddess of the Saxons, in honour of whom sacrifices were offered about the same time as the Passover, the Jewish festival commemorating the escape from death and to a new life of liberty, free from Egyptian slavery. While the Saxon practice died, the name persisted.

Easter also referred to the “season of the growing sun” or “season of new birth” and was associated with the changing of the seasons.

These practices suggest rebirth, renewal and rejuvenation, which is what the resurrection of Christ makes possible in human reality. Christians eventually reclaimed the name to mean the resurrection of Christ and hence celebrate the latter as Easter.

This is just a brief explanation of why Christians call the resurrection of Christ Easter.

Whatever the term, the weekend begins with remembrance and ends with the celebration of the promise of new life that the resurrection of Christ offers.

To all Christians, happy remembering and have a blessed weekend!