Easter’s Eternal Essence

“In the quiet of an Easter dawn, as church bells ring and children laugh, the world feels, for a moment, whole again. The flowers bloom, the table is set, and the ancient promise endures: life, in all its mystery and majesty, prevails”.

BY EMMAN USMAN SHEHU

In the tender embrace of spring, when the earth awakens with bursts of color and the air hums with renewal, despite the encroaching uncertainties of climate change, Easter arrives as a timeless beacon of hope, faith, and rebirth. For billions across the globe, this sacred season transcends mere tradition, weaving together threads of ancient spirituality, cultural heritage, and universal human longing. Easter is more than a holiday; it is a profound narrative of sacrifice, redemption, and the enduring promise of new beginnings. Its eternal essence lies in its ability to speak to the heart of humanity, bridging divides of time, place, and belief.

The Sacred Story At Easter’s Core

At its foundation, Easter is the cornerstone of Christian faith, commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, an event that Christians believe transformed the course of human history. The story, as recounted in the New Testament, is one of ultimate sacrifice: Jesus, crucified on a Roman cross, rises from the dead on the third day, fulfilling ancient prophecies and affirming his divinity. This miracle is not merely a historical claim but a theological anchor, symbolizing victory over sin, death, and despair.

For the faithful, Easter is the culmination of Lent, a 40-day period of reflection, repentance, and fasting that mirrors Jesus’ time in the wilderness. The season reaches its climax during Holy Week, a sacred journey from Palm Sunday’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem to the somber weight of Good Friday’s crucifixion and, finally, the exultant joy of Easter Sunday. In churches worldwide, from the candlelit vigils of Orthodox Christians in Greece to the vibrant processions in Latin America, the refrain “He is risen!” echoes as a declaration of hope that transcends language and culture.

Yet Easter’s spiritual resonance extends beyond Christianity’s borders. The themes of renewal and resurrection find echoes in other traditions. In Judaism, Passover, often coinciding with Easter, celebrates liberation from slavery, a metaphorical rebirth of a people. In ancient pagan traditions, spring festivals honored deities like Eostre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of dawn and fertility, whose name likely inspired Easter’s own. These parallels reveal a universal human impulse to mark the turning of seasons with stories of overcoming darkness and embracing light.

A Tapestry Of Global Traditions

Easter’s eternal essence is perhaps most vividly expressed through its kaleidoscope of global traditions, each reflecting the unique cultural lens through which the holiday is viewed. In Poland, the blessing of intricately decorated Easter baskets, filled with bread, eggs, and sausage, symbolizes gratitude for life’s sustenance. In Ethiopia, the Orthodox Tewahedo Church observes Fasika with all-night vigils, where worshippers clad in white shammas sing hymns under starlit skies. In Spain, Semana Santa processions transform cities into open-air theaters of faith, with hooded penitents carrying ornate floats depicting scenes of the Passion.

The Easter egg, a near-universal symbol, encapsulates this diversity. In Ukraine, artisans craft pysanky, eggs adorned with intricate wax-resist designs that carry prayers for prosperity and protection. In the United States, the White House Easter Egg Roll, a tradition dating back to 1878, draws thousands of children to the South Lawn for a day of games and celebration. Whether dyed in vibrant hues, exchanged as gifts, or hidden for children to find, the egg embodies fertility, new life, and the miracle of creation—a tangible link to Easter’s ancient roots.

Food, too, plays a central role in Easter’s communal spirit. In Nigeria, as in most of Africa, Easter is a time of family gatherings, church services, and delicious meals including the iconic jollof rice. In Italy, families gather for lavish feasts featuring colomba, a dove-shaped cake symbolizing peace. In Jamaica, spicy bun and cheese mark the season, a nod to both indulgence and the island’s colonial history. These culinary traditions are more than mere sustenance; they are acts of storytelling, binding generations through shared flavors and memories.

Easter In A Modern World

In an era of rapid change and global challenges, Easter’s message of renewal takes on new urgency. The holiday arrives at a time when humanity grapples with existential questions—climate change, political polarization, and the lingering scars of pandemics. For many, Easter offers a moment to pause, reflect, and recommit to values of compassion, forgiveness, and solidarity.

In recent years, religious leaders have increasingly framed Easter as a call to action. Pope Francis, in his 2024 Easter Urbi et Orbi address, urged the faithful to “break the chains of injustice” and work toward peace in conflict zones like Ukraine and Gaza. Similarly, leaders in Protestant and Orthodox traditions have emphasized Easter’s mandate to care for the marginalized, drawing parallels between Christ’s suffering and the struggles of the world’s most vulnerable.

Yet Easter’s relevance extends beyond the religious sphere. In a secular age, where traditional institutions often struggle to resonate, the holiday’s themes of hope and transformation speak to a broader audience. Psychologists note that rituals like Easter—whether religious or cultural—provide a sense of continuity and belonging, countering the isolation of modern life. The act of gathering with loved ones, sharing stories, or even hunting for eggs taps into a primal need for connection and meaning.

Technology, too, has reshaped Easter’s expression. Social media platforms buzz with #Easter hashtags, showcasing everything from sunrise services streamed live to viral videos of elaborate egg hunts. In 2025, virtual reality services allowed worshippers to “attend” Jerusalem’s Holy Sepulchre or recreate the Stations of the Cross from their homes. While some lament the commercialization of Easter—chocolate bunnies and pastel-themed merchandise flood stores—these innovations reflect the holiday’s adaptability, ensuring its message reaches new generations.

The Eternal Questions Easter Poses

At its heart, Easter is a meditation on life’s deepest questions: What does it mean to be human? How do we confront suffering and find hope in its wake? These inquiries, as old as civilization itself, remain as urgent today as they were two millennia ago. Easter’s eternal essence lies in its refusal to offer easy answers, instead inviting reflection and dialogue.

For the faithful, the resurrection is a promise of eternal life, a reassurance that death is not the end. This belief has sustained countless individuals through personal loss and collective trauma, from the Black Death to modern-day crises. Yet even for those who do not share this faith, Easter’s narrative of triumph over adversity resonates. The image of a stone rolled away from a tomb speaks to the possibility of emerging from darkness—whether that darkness is grief, addiction, or despair.

Literature and art have long grappled with Easter’s themes. From Dante’s Divine Comedy, where the poet ascends from inferno to paradise, to T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land, which finds redemption in a barren world, the holiday’s imagery permeates human creativity. In music, Handel’s Messiah and gospel hymns like “Amazing Grace” capture the soaring joy of resurrection, while contemporary artists like Beyoncé have woven Easter’s motifs of rebirth into their work, as seen in her 2016 visual album Lemonade.

Easter’s Enduring Promise

As the world turns toward an uncertain future, Easter remains a steadfast reminder of humanity’s capacity for renewal. Its rituals—whether lighting a Paschal candle, breaking bread with family, or hiding eggs in a dew-kissed garden—anchor us in the present while pointing to something greater. They remind us that even in our fractured, fleeting world, moments of transcendence are possible.

In 2025, as wars rage and ecosystems strain, Easter’s call to hope is both a challenge and a gift. It asks us to look beyond the immediate, to imagine a world remade by love and justice. It invites us to roll away the stones of apathy and fear, to embrace the radical possibility of new life. This is Easter’s eternal essence: not a fleeting celebration, but a living story that continues to unfold in every act of kindness, every gesture of forgiveness, every step toward a better tomorrow.

In the quiet of an Easter dawn, as church bells ring and children laugh, the world feels, for a moment, whole again. The flowers bloom, the table is set, and the ancient promise endures: life, in all its mystery and majesty, prevails. And so, we gather, we pray, we sing, we hope—because Easter, in its timeless wisdom, reminds us that the human spirit, like spring itself, is ever-renewing, ever-resilient, ever-eternal.

…Dr Shehu is the Director, International Institute of Journalism, Abuja.