The Catholics - like many, many other faiths - call it "Easter", though some faiths find that disconcerting, as the word "Easter" comes from "Ishtar" and has more to do with Pagan Spring and Fertility rituals. Hence the Eggs and Rabbits and such.
The Catholics are the ones generally in charge of coming up with which date it is celebrated on, which they do by reference to a religiously themed solar/lunar calendar that is then synced with various other calendars, including the Jewish one. Hence the date bouncing around each year.
Some have purported to done the calculations to know that the "actual" date is April 13th, a Friday, which in Roman tradition was the "Ides of April" and is supposed to account for why Friday the 13th is regarded as a bad luck day.
Jehovah's Witnesses don't celebrate Easter itself, but have a "Remembrance Day" in which they memorialize the death and resurrection of Christ. It's the one time of the year they have communion, and it involves them all sitting quietly for an hour staring at the bread and wine but not partaking.
Because they're only supposed to have it if they believe they are one of the 144,000 going to heaven. And who wants to seem so prideful?
Latter-day Saints celebrate the general holiday, but on the Sunday itself aren't notable for doing anything special on it. I got called to give a talk on Easter Sunday one year, and it took me a bit to catch on to that not being some special honor, but just that not as many people usually attend that day. Never was sure why. Methodists and other mainline Protestant faiths use it as good reason to have nice breakfast and Sunrise service. Usually with kids putting on some music numbers and then a sermon on the crucifixion and resurrection.
Baptists, the same, but not so much any special breakfast or earlier time for the service.
Seventh-day Adventists are sensitive to any holiday with pagan associations, and are also reticent about Sunday worship, even when it's not meant to be Sabbath but just the day He rose. Still, the resurrection message features prominently in the Sabbath service just before that Sunday.
"Easter" - just using the short word designation here - also highlights some other differences between the various faiths. The Catholics use a crucifix, that is, a cross with Jesus shown on it. Many regard that as idolatry, but from their perspective, they are celebrating that He died on the cross for us. Protestants make use of a cross, without Him shown on it. This is to celebrate His defeat of the cross, in that the cross is now empty, He overcame death and sin for us.
Latter-day Saints don't use cross or crucifix. At all. This comes from a belief that the atonement took place in the Garden of Gethsemane, when He sweated blood. The actual crucifixion after that was not - in their beliefs - regarded as the atonement itself.
Jehovah's Witnesses believe in neither cross or crucifix, but instead believe He was hung by His wrists on a "torture stake", basically a tall pole.
Seventh-day Adventists are in the same class as the Protestants in general are on this aspect of theology, in that the cross is used, celebrating His resurrection and defeat of death.
One disturbing aspect of this time of year, which is not a part of ANY of the above listed faiths but is just something that I notice random Christians of any and all churches do around this time of year is the whole "torture porn" thing, where some horrifically bloody picture of Christ is shown on line. Usually it comes from that Mel Gibson movie. It has His face totally obscured due to the blood. I think that such is needless and distracting from the meaning of the sacrifice.
What does "Easter" mean to me? Well, I was raised Methodist, so get all those type of celebrations. But I agree with the Seventh-day Adventists in that yeah, it's been turned, too much, into a Paganish holiday with all the egg hunts and chocolate bunnies. Those things can seem harmless, as can Santa, but the older one gets, the more one ponders, the more one realizes that these "harmless" things add up over time in a culture. And not in a good way.
I would have preferred some thing to mark the day today, but quiet time with my wife and the simple acknowledgment of His sacrifice was fine. I gather that on some years, my new church has a breakfast, and hopefully next year they will and I can attend that.
And yesterday's sermon was good, so there was that. And I greatly enjoy celebrating on the actual Sabbath each week, including the thing where Saturday starts at sunset on Friday, just like in Biblical times.
Any way. Just some musings on this day. A day celebrating the greatest event in human history, where Jesus rose from the dead and we all now have a chance to be forgiven our sins if we believe upon Him! All faiths at least have that commonality!
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