How Passover Became Easter

Asher Chee |

Keeping Passover is often perceived as a “Jewish” practice rather than a biblical Christian practice. However, this was not always the case. Even after the time of the Apostles, the early Christians continued to keep Passover.

Initially, many early Christian churches kept Passover on the Jewish date. Over time, more and more churches began to keep Passover on the traditional Sunday anniversary of Jesus’ resurrection, or “Resurrection Sunday”. This is why many Christians today celebrate “Easter” on Resurrection Sunday.

In fact, Resurrection Sunday is only called “Easter” in English. In most other languages, the names for Resurrection Sunday actually come from the Biblical Greek word for “Passover”, pascha (πάσχα)! Consider the names for Resurrection Sunday in the following languages:

Therefore, many Christians today celebrate “Easter” Sunday—not knowing that it actually came from the early Christian practice of keeping Passover!