Easter is celebrated as a Christian holiday. Christians celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus. This means that Easter is the central holiday of the Christian religion and without it Christianity has no meaning. According to history, Easter is the oldest Christian holiday and almost all other Christian celebrations are actually related directly to Easter. What makes this quite interesting is the fact that the Bible does not even mention Easter once, but instead talks about the celebration of 'Passover'. Passover was, and still is, a celebration in remembrance of God's liberation of the Jews from Egypt. More precisely, the last of the 10 plagues that God sent upon the Egyptians: the angel of God passed over the houses whose doors were marked with the blood of a lamb and the firstborn in those houses were not killed. The blood used had to come from an unblemished lamb which in the New Testament of the Bible is associated with Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross for the redemption of humanity. So the early Christians observed Passover and not Passover. Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th edition, vol. 8, page. 828: “There is no indication of the observance of the Passover feast in the New Testament, nor in the writings of the Apostolic Fathers…” So where did the bunnies and chocolate come from? Various pagan practices, holidays, and celebrations align with this particular time and season of the year. The most popular is the Anglo-Saxon pagan celebration of the Teutonic goddess of spring and dawn/renewal. Its name is Oestre but some call it Ostara or Eastre. The Webster Dictionary (1974) defines Easter as “orig., the name of the pagan spring festival almost coinciding in date with the Paschal festival of the church; Eastre, d...... middle of paper...... (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1997), 262-279. “Humanities such as philosophy, history, and literary studies offer models and methods for addressing dilemmas and recognizing ambiguities and paradoxes.” With so many religions differing in the varying importance of this holiday, humanity will help all of us understand why we need to not only accept our different opinions but also provide a platform for reason and self-discovery. By showing different thoughts about life, beliefs and convictions, the humanities help us decide what is important in our lives and what we can do to improve it. By connecting us with other people, they point the way to answers about what is right or wrong, or what is true about our heritage and history. The humanities help us address the challenges we face together in our families, in our communities, and as a nation.