When you think about Easter, you may picture Easter egg hunts, bunnies or pastel-colored eggs. In fact, if you search Easter on Google, the first images that pop up are bunnies and baskets of colorful Easter eggs. 

Don’t get us wrong; there’s nothing wrong with pastel-colored eggs or bunnies. However, while Easter includes each of these things, the spiritual, true meaning of Easter is much different and much deeper. The spiritual meaning of Easter is rooted in Christ. 

Here’s an overview of the spiritual meaning of Easter and how we can celebrate it. 

What’s the spiritual meaning of Easter?

Easter is a time for celebration. It’s a yearly reminder of how Jesus Christ chose to die a painful death on the cross so that our sins could be forgiven and we may live in heaven after our physical bodies pass away. However, even death on the cross couldn’t hold Christ down. 

After Christ passed away, He was wrapped in linens and laid in a tomb blocked by a heavy slab of stone. Three days later, the tomb was found empty by Mary and Mary Magdalene. Jesus Christ had defeated death and risen from death. 

Luke 24:1-3 (ESV) says, “But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.”

While some originally doubted that Christ had risen from the dead, they weren’t able to question for long. 

Matthew 28:18-19 (ESV) says, “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.’”

Easter is a time of celebration because it affirms that Jesus Christ was who He said He was. Because of this, our sins are able to be forgiven by God, and we can live with Him in heaven after we pass away. 

How can we celebrate the spiritual meaning of Easter?

• Acknowledge distractions.

It can be incredibly easy to get swept up in the chaos of Easter. You may be struggling to put together the perfect Easter basket for your child. You may be spending too much time trying to find the local Easter egg hunt with the most candy. 

While these things may be stressful, they’re not what Easter is truly about. They’re just distractions. Acknowledging that these distractions exist is the first step to being able to look past them and celebrate the spiritual meaning of Easter. 

• Read the Easter story with your family. 

Spend time intentionally reading through the spiritual meaning of Easter in Scripture during the days leading up to Easter. Talk about how bunnies and candy are fun but that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are what Easter is truly about. Keeping Jesus in your minds and hearts is an important step to celebrating the spiritual meaning of Easter.