Easter - what does it mean to you?

It is EASTER, a time where I personally celebrate the life changing and only once occurring incident of a man conquering the pain of death and rising from the grave to bring life not to himself but to all mankind. This is a holiday about bunnies, eggs, chocolate, or new spring dresses (with holiday being defined as a day set aside in common culture to take off work, close down the post office, and spend time with family, Hallmark may also be conspiring to create these days to increase revenue), but is is a celebration of the act of salvation. Christmas may be the "official" Christian holiday but Easter is my favorite. It is the climax of the story, the reason we even celebrate Christmas. Christmas without Easter would be celebrating Columbus Day without independence day. It is not enough that Christ came to this world but that he died for this world. His life, his mere presence on earth was always in perspective to his impending death. It was for death that he came and for life that he rose. So ponder amongst yourselves what Easter means to you and enjoy this time with your families, friends, and a chocolate bunny but don't loose sight of the day it marks. A day that seemed shrouded in death and despair but became a day of joy, understanding, and a beginning of a new life that would never be the same. Easter is the birthday of all Christians.