Why do some Protestants prefer to say Resurrection Sunday, as opposed to Easter?

Alfredo--

Because the word Easter descends from the name of a pagan goddess named Ostern and her festival of the same name, and some Fundamentalist Protestants object to the association. It should be noted that the Christian holy day only has superficial links to the pagan goddess and festival in the English and modern German languages. In the European Romance languages (Spanish, Italian, French, etc.), the translations for the word of the holy day descend from Pesach, the Hebrew word for the Passover.

While a legitimate critique can be made of the name "Easter" for the Christian holy day celebrating Christ's Resurrection, the use is of ancient origin and essentially "baptized" the already-existing pagan spring festivals. Stripping away that rich history of the triumph of Christianity over paganism and replacing it with a bland title like "Resurrection Sunday" may satisfy fundamentalist scruples, but does nothing to satisfy the human longing for links to those who have gone before us in the faith.

As a means of demonstrating this, you might ask your Protestant friends who prefer "Resurrection Sunday" to "Easter" if they also want to change the name of "Christmas" (which derives both from the ancient Greek word for Jesus of Nazareth's title and from the Catholic divine liturgy) to "Jesus' Birthday."

Recommended reading:

Is Catholicism Pagan?

Michelle Arnold
Catholic Answers

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