Lessons of Passover and Easter

Having recently completed the holidays of Easter and Passover, it has always amazed me about the similarities between the two. While we tend to look for similarities between Christmas and Easter, the truth is there are many more between Easter and Passover.

It is no coincidence that both holidays fall in the spring, as they both deal with rebirth and renewal. Easter, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus clearly deals with the theme of rebirth. Passover commemorates the Jews gaining their freedom from Egyptian slavery. It, in effect, is the rebirth of a nation who now has the freedom to celebrate and observe as they choose.

In addition, both holidays use an egg as a symbol. The Easter egg is clearly one of the symbols associated with the holiday. For Passover, there is an egg that is on the Seder Plate, the plate that contains the ritual items. The egg is again a symbol of rebirth.

Of course, there is the common belief that the Last Supper was, in fact, a Passover Seder. I don't know if that has ever been proven, but certainly the holiday of Easter is set based on a lunar calendar, which is what is used to determine the dates of all Jewish holidays (including Passover). This is why Easter Sunday just about always falls during the week of Passover.

Of course the symbolism that Passover holds to the Christian faith is also extremely important. Judaism quite literally interprets the taking of the blood of a sacrificial lamb, to mark the door posts of the house, so the Angel of Death will pass over the house of the Jews and only kill the first born of Egyptian households. Christianity sees this as an allegory to Jesus, as the sacrificial lamb. As a result, in a very real sense, the holiday of Passover has tremendous significance to Christianity, and to the Easter holiday.

I have always tried to teach my son that while we should only celebrate those holidays in which we believe, it is important to appreciate and enjoy watching people of other faiths celebrate and enjoy those holidays which they observe. While it is nice to learn about holidays in other faiths, and perhaps even be with people of those faiths as they celebrate the holidays, it is important to respect all holidays, all faiths, and the way that people observe.

For me, that is the message that these holidays have. That is the importance of all the similarities between Passover and Easter. Yes we should be familiar with them. Yes we should enjoy watching other people enjoy their faiths, but first we should make sure that each of us enjoy our own faith as well.