Happy Easter or Blessed Resurrection Day? A Revelation

Synchronicity always surprises me, but I guess it should not. A week before Easter this year I was thinking about the word “Easter” – its definition and origins. I was confident that it was a term that hearkened back to paganism and the rites of spring; but I wondered why do we simply accept the term Easter. Tradition? That is probably the simplest explanation; however, I wondered if there was not another appropriate greeting other than “Happy Easter.”

One of the Groups I subscribe to on Facebook is “Word on Fire,” which led me to the “Catholicism Project.” As I was scanning one or the other (I do not remember which), I noticed a short article with a brief mention of a priest reminding a woman to say “Blessed Resurrection Day” after she greeted him with “Happy Easter.” The light came on – that was it! This is how we Christians, especially Catholic Christians, should be greeting each other on what we have known as Easter or Easterday.

I hadn’t been able to decide where to attend Easter Mass, but found myself driving to Prince of Peace Abbey in Oceanside. It is one of my favorite places on earth and it had been a while since I had been there. It would be my Easter treat and I could not think of a better place to test my new greeting. As always, the Mass was beautiful with the Monks expertly singing familiar Gregorian chants. The sound sweeps me away.

After Mass, I walked out into the sunny morning to greet people I had not seen for a while and took the opportunity to use my new words:"Blessed Resurrection Day!" The first to receive them was the Abbot. He seemed surprised, but pleasantly so. I moved on to a couple of the other Monks I knew. This new greeting seemed to be well received and I decided it was a step in the right direction.

Having said all this, I began to think that maybe I was behind the times. Perhaps this greeting had been used for years. I decided to put the words into an Internet search and, lo and behold, I found many sites that referenced “Blessed Resurrection.” It is not new and now with a new awareness it may be a good time to spread these words to others, to make the day more of what it is supposed to be…the Blessed Day of Our Lord’s Resurrection.
Now I am curious what other Catholics and Christians think about a change in greeting on what we have known as Easter. I invite comments – positive, negative, or undecided. Is this a good idea? Does it define our celebration better or not? I think it does.