What are Christians Celebrating?

Easter Sunday commemorates the day on which Jesus Christ rose from the dead. Three days earlier (Good Friday) he had been crucified and was buried, but just as Jesus had told his disciples would happen, he rose again on the third day. God raised Jesus as a sign of His victory over death and to prove to all mankind that Jesus was the Messiah and Savior of Mankind.

Following His resurrection, he spent 40 days with his disciples teaching them many new things. According to the apostle Paul, Jesus was seen after his death by hundreds of people, not just his disciples. He was not a ghost or an apparition. He appeared in the flesh and still retained the wounds in his hands and side from the cross. He even ate with them on several occasions.

This is the most important miracle in Christianity and most Christians believe that it is this central miracle which proves that He was the Son of God. A description of the event is found in the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 23 

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.' " Then they remembered his words.

When is Easter? 

Easter is on the first Sunday following the first full moon occuring after the vernal equinox, (which is March 21). It can be as early as March 22 or as late as April 25. 

What Do Eggs and Rabbits Have to Do with Jesus?

Absolutely nothing. Long ago, spring time was strongly associated with themes of reproduction, fertility and renewal. Eggs and rabbits are both symbolic of these themes. Over the years, the Christian celebration of Christ's resurrection and the traditional non-Christian celebrations of spring and fertility have merged and become one, confusing the issue for many in the same way as the Santa Claus / Birth of Jesus issue has done at Christmas time.