How Do Evangelicals Celebrate Easter?

I’ve been a member of the evangelical church for a very long time now, and sometimes fellow Christians ask me about the way we, Evangelicals, celebrate Easter. If you’d like to read about it, then you’re more than welcome to join us!

So, how do Evangelicals celebrate Easter? Every Easter, Evangelicals have a special service with singing, and generally, a presentation of the Gospel, Crucifixion, and Resurrection, focused mostly on the Resurrection. There’s music (usually hymns), or often a unique program written just for the day.

Usually, churchgoers will wear their best, try to buy something new to honor the day, and the church is packed since even those that don’t go any other time will usually go for Easter.

As for me, Easter has always been a special time as I celebrated it with the family or church. Now let me tell you a little bit more about it.

What Our Family Did For Easter

Passover Dinner

It might sound surprising, but conservative Evangelicals love Jews (even if they don’t love them back). Every kid in our church was taught from a very young age that Jews are chosen by Him. However, they missed the Messiah as they didn’t believe him, but God gave them a second chance and sent His son to Earth. As the church members explained, “They didn’t know Messiah was going to deliver them spiritual bondage to sin.”

Therefore, born-again Christians believe that Jesus came back to save Israel from annihilation and to show them they were wrong when they didn’t believe in the Messiah.

It is a truly magical time. Mom would always cook delicious apple walnut Charoset, boil eggs, and make some Karpas (which in our house was made either with parsley or celery and then mixed with saltwater to make it as bitter herbs and tears).

While Mom was doing the preparations, Dad would always read from a Seder guide and then explain how every piece of food we were eating was pointing at the fact that Jesus was what a Messiah’s prophecy predicted.

Choir Cantatas

Every Easter Sunday we had a big concert at our church. Children’s choir, of course, was also involved, and thankfully, I was a part of it!

As a kid, I loved this choir way too much. It was sort of musical theater for me, and I believe I uncovered my potential to the fullest there.

Now, as the tradition passes down the family, my kids are also apart of the choir, and I really hope they’ll enjoy it as much as I did.

The Empty Tomb Cake

My Mom would usually bake and decorate the Empty Tomb Cake on Good Friday. Mostly covered with chocolate on the outside, it was shaped into a dome with a golden cross on top of it. Sometimes she’d even add dyed coconut shreds to make it look like green grass.

I swear, it was the most delicious thing in my life! And I keep the tradition as now I cook this pastry to my children.

Sadly, my Mother has passed away recently, but I try to celebrate every Easter as she was there. I use her recipes, we gather together as a family, and then go to church.

However, many people still think that neither Evangelicals nor protestants, in general, celebrate Easter. This is true for some members of the church, but most of us do celebrate it. So, why don’t some Evangelicals celebrate Easter? If you’re interested, then keep reading!

Why Don’t Some Evangelicals Like Easter?

In my opinion, it is reasonable for some Evangelicals to not to celebrate Easter, Christmas, and any other day that was announced holy by people.

God did not make these days holy and called His own. There’s only one such day – the Sabbath day. He told us it was His day, and therefore, we need to remember about it. It is the day when people can come together and worship Him.

That’s why other days are not holy as He didn’t create them. Still, people can gather together and worship Him whenever they want as long as they don’t give a wrong meaning to it, just like they gave it to Christmas and Easter.

And vice versa, if the Sabbath day is treated like it isn’t holy, like it is just an ordinary day, it is considered sinning.

Matthew 15:9 KJV – But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

This verse shows that everything created by men and then also worshipped by them is like praying for nothing.

The Most Common Questions About Easter

When browsing the Internet, I’ve stumbled on some interesting questions about Easter. As someone with a lot of experience related to evangelical Easter, I’ll try my best to answer them.

Q: Why do people call the day when Jesus died Good Friday? Isn’t it supposed to be a Bad Friday? What’s so good about it?

A: Now this is a good question to discuss as there’s not a lot of answers online. Jesus indeed was an innocent man who died for crimes of others. It is also right that His death was a tragedy for everyone.

So, why is the day when Jesus died called Good Friday? Well, the answer lies in Jesus’s motivation. First of all, He came into this world not only as just a human but also as God in human body.

John 14:9 – Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.

And the main reason He came to this world was to save us from our sins, or otherwise, we could destroy ourselves. Jesus was perfect and innocent, but He also didn’t want us to die. Therefore, he took our punishment and cleared us from our sins.

His death indeed was a tragedy as He had to do because of what we did. But there was no other way our sins could be atoned and the door to heaven could open again.

Q: One of my friends only goes to church when Easter approaches. Still, she calls herself Christian, but I don’t think that’s right. So is she a real or fake Christian?

A: No one knows what motivates her to go to church every Easter. Only God can see her heart and intentions.

So, is she a real or fake Christian? Well, there’s no right answer to this question. In my opinion, her family planted a seed of faith in her when she was a child, and when she grew up, she felt like she needed to help grow it into something bigger.

All you can do is to pray for your friend to help her spirit and faith grow, and maybe show her a God’s path that she could follow. Sure, there’s a chance she’ll stumble, but you can be there for her when she needs it.

Q: What is more important: Jesus’ death on the cross or His resurrection?

A: In my opinion, they’re equally important. Jesus died for our sins on the cross, and then was reborn to give us hope of eternal life. Just like a bird needs two wings to fly, we need to remember both His death and resurrection. Romans 5:8 – But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.