BY ISABELLA BEELER

Easter is coming up, and it is one of my favorite holidays. Easter has yummy treats, egg hunts, Easter baskets, and Easter bunnies. All of that is fun, but Easter has a deeper meaning as well. Easter is the day Christains believe Jesus rose from the dead. Also, the week before is called Holy Week. A Lot of things happened during that week leading up to Jesus’ death and resurrection.

The first day of Holy Week according to Christian teachings is Palm Sunday. In the Bible, it says “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the king of Israel!” (John 12:13). Palm Sunday celebrates Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Crowds welcome him into Jerusalem with palm branches. The second day of Holy Week is Holy Monday. That is the day where Jesus cleansed the temple from commercialization and corruption. In the Bible, Jesus says “You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me,” (John 12:8). Another thing that happened on this day is Jesus cursed the fig tree for not bearing fruit, as a symbolic act of judgment. He also confronted the religious authorities about people questioning his authority. The third day of Holy Week is Holy Tuesday, where Jesus teaches parables and delivers a prophecy about the destruction of the temple called the Olivet Discourse.

Now is where they plan to crucify Jesus on the fourth day of Holy Week, Spy Wednesday (Holy Wednesday). That is where Judas, one of Jesus’ disciples, betrays Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. In the Bible, it says “The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man,” (Matthew 26:24). The fifth day of Holy Week is Maundy Thursday (Holy Thursday). That is the day that Jesus and his disciples celebrate the Last Supper. In the Bible, it says “Now that I, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet,” (John 13:14). During the Last Supper, Jesus washes his disciples’ feet. After the Last Supper, Jesus gets arrested. 

The 6th day of Holy Week is Good Friday. This is the day that Jesus dies on the cross for our sins, so we can be saved. In the Bible, it says “But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed,” (Isaiah 53:5). The seventh day of Holy Week is Holy Saturday. This is the day where Jesus’ body rests in the tomb. In the Bible, it says “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his,” (Romans 6:5). Then the eighth and the best day of Holy Week is Easter Sunday. This is the day where Jesus rises from the dead. In the Bible, it says “It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead,” (1 Peter 1:3). Jesus died on the cross and raised from the dead so we can be made new when we know him. 

That is the true meaning of Easter. Jesus rising from the dead. Other stuff we do on Easter is a fun bonus, but what Easter’s all about.