Most Christian home school students will tell you that the origin of Passover can be found in the Old Testament book of Exodus. The term Passover comes from the Jewish word "Pesakh" which means "passing over". During a 400-year period of bondage out of which Moses would soon lead the Jewish people, The Jews were commanded to kill a sacrificial lamb and spread the blood of this lamb on the doorpost of their home. This blood would alert the Angel of Death, who would then pass over the house. Families who did not have blood on the doorpost would be punished with the murder of their firstborn son. Each year, this event was celebrated with The Feast of Unleavened Bread, which referred to the week in which the Jews ate only unleavened bread or "matzo".
Foreshadowing Christ's death, the blood of the sacrificial lamb would one day be eclipsed by the blood of Jesus Christ himself. Christian home school students no longer celebrate the Passover because the death and subsequent resurrection of Christ removes the need to sacrifice an animal to atone for sin. Christ's sacrifice was an eternal atonement; his blood replaces the need for the lamb's blood.
Instead of celebrating Passover, Christian home schoolers celebrate Easter to remember the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. Although the Easter tradition is rooted in pagan imagery and rituals, Christians can celebrate Easter while focusing on the redemptive power of Christ's death and resurrection. This should be the true focus of Easter for Christians today. Home schooling students can acknowledge the fact that we are saved not by the keeping of laws as in the Old Testament, but through the Christ's ultimate sacrifice.
Mimi Rothschild
Original source: http://www.articlesbase.com/homeschooling-articles/easter-for-home-schoolers-why-christians-dont-celebrate-passover-141254.html
