The Resurrection - the rising of Jesus Christ, after having been lowered from the Cross, as the foundation of Christian faith was established by the apostles (not by Jesus). The sufferings of Jesus at the hands of his persecutors on the torture stake have become the central events of Christianity. While Jesus was nailed to the Cross, everyone who knew Jesus as his Teacher, Master or Leader forsook him, except for a few women. The disciples (students) were hiding and nowhere to be seen while Jesus was reciting Psalm 22:1 in his agony. He was seeking an answer from "his God" as to why he was forsaken?

        An amazing turnabout came on the third day. According to the gospel writers, Jesus was raised from death by God (Jesus did not rise himself, as  commonly believed). In the Book of Acts under verse 2: 24 it is recorded; 
"But God raised him up, having freed him from death..." However, the Jews were not convinced. Their part of the circulated story was that the disciples had stolen the body at night while the guards were asleep. The 'Swoon' theory postulates; Jesus was nailed to the Cross by his enemies but he did not die on the Cross because the period of his stay on the torture stake was too short for a young person to die. And, as the divine intervention would have it, his knees were not broken by the Roman soldiers and the legs supported his weight. If the knees had been broken, he would have not have been able to walk away after being "Awakened" (the Greek word "egeiro"), as Jesus had predicted. (see Mark 14 :28 and 16: 6). To read further details on the postulated 'Swoon' theory please click  http://www.mostmerciful.com/raised-dead-or-alive.htm   The gospel writers also insist that Jesus was seen by his disciples, in the same physical body that was nailed, after his Resurrection. The questions asked are; Did the suffering of Good Friday turn into a joyous festival of Easter Sunday, during the days of the early fathers of the church? Or, the symbols and the customs associated with Easter have their roots in a pagan ritual? History records that the feast of Easter, to celebrate the emerging of spring, was observed long before the birth of Jesus. The name Easter owes it origin to a goddess of spring called Eoster or Ostara. It was one of the pagan rites to commemorate the Victory of the SUN over the darkness at the vernal equinox. It is a moment when the SUN remains un-conquered and passes the celestial equator. The Encyclopedia Britnnica (1768 edition) records this Festival as: 

Christianity, when it reached the Teutons, incorporated in its celebration of the great Christian feast day many of the heathen rites and customs which accompanied their observance of the spring festival. That the festival of resurrection occurred in the spring, that it celebrated the triumph of life over death, made it easy for the church to identify with this occasion the most joyous festival of the Teutons, held in honour of the death of winter, the birth of a new year and the return of the sun.

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