Easter vs Christmas

I feel like I should blog about Easter, but I'm not sure what I could say that hasn't already been said, better, by general authorities. Except that I wonder why Easter isn't as big a holiday as Christmas is. Celebrating the birth of Christ is important (even if He wasn't actually born in December), but it's almost certainly even more important to celebrate the single greatest achievement of His, or anyone's, life. Easter is a day on which we commemorate the Atonement and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. On the first Easter Sunday, Jesus Christ broke the bands of sin and death, making sure that we wouldn't have to be bound by them for eternity (though we, for hopefully brief periods of time, will each be bound by each of them). Through the Atonement and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, we can all overcome every problem and challenge that faces us. Without the Atonement and Resurrection, Jesus Christ would have been little more than just another teacher. Without Easter, there would be little reason to celebrate Christmas.

Of course and unfortunately, I know the reason why Christmas is more celebrated than Easter is: commercialism. Easter sells some decorations and candies. Christmas sells decorations, candies, and millions upon millions of gifts. So retailers advertise Christmas more than the advertise Easter, and Christmas ends up playing a much larger role in Western society than Easter does. It's unfortunate, but I think that's the reason why Easter isn't quite as big as Christmas.

However, not being as widely or as festively celebrated as Christmas doesn't make Easter any less important than Christmas. In fact, for reasons I've stated before, it may be even more important. Christmas celebrates Jesus coming to Earth; Easter celebrates what He came here to do. Christmas reminds us that Jesus lived on Earth once; Easter reminds us that we can all live in Heaven forever. Christmas focusses our attention on a Babe in a manger; Easter focuses our attention on our risen Lord and Master in all His glory.

Now, there's nothing wrong with Christmas. It's a great holiday and it's well worth celebrating. But to the Christians who believe in Jesus' triumph over sin and death, and look forward to our own similar triumphs, Easter may be even more important than Christmas is.