Easter is one of the most widely celebrated holidays of the year. It is supposed to be about the resurrection of Christ. But it has turned into a bunny hopping, egg dyeing event — and it has lost touch with its real meaning.

The American Heritage College Dictionary states that Easter is “a Christian feast commemorating the Resurrection of Jesus, traditionally observed on the first Sunday following the full moon that occurs on or next to March 21.” Even the dictionary states that Easter is supposed to be about Christ rising from death.

Although the resurrection of Christ is one of the most memorable stories in the Bible, there is no mention in the Bible of “Easter” or its origination.

This passage from Mark 16:2, 5 states: “Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.”

The disciples of Jesus didn’t recognize him, but when they realized who this man was, they celebrated.

So where and when did Easter celebrations begin?

Easter started as a pagan holiday that began to help one become fertile. It was all about sex and fornication. That is why rabbits are a main focus of Easter; they are very fruitful and multiply fast. Not to mention that little bunnies appeal to children.

The holiday’s name came from two places — Eostre, the goddess of fertility, and Ostern, which means sunrise in German.

In early pagan celebrations, Attis, a god of reviving vegetation, was born of a virgin. Each year, Attis would die and be reborn. The festival celebrating Attis began on Black Friday and continued for three days. The final day was called the day of rejoicing over the resurrection.

So what historians believe happened was that to make this holiday more acceptable to Christians, they took the name Attis out and replaced it with Jesus. People of many more religions would be willing to embrace this celebration rather than celebrating a day worshipping a pagan god.

For Christians, Easter is a time to focus on the resurrection of Christ — not on buying fancy dressing and hunting for dyed eggs. Remembering that Christ died and arose from the dead is the main reason Easter should be celebrated. He endured pain and suffering to allow us to live eternally.