Why Easter seems less celebrated than Christmas ?

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MariaJLM

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Since neither Christmas or Easter have pagan origins, I very much doubt you were led by God not to celebrate them.

It saddens me that even supposed Christians are falling for atheist talking points.
 
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salt-n-light

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Is it because the public has less believe in resurrection or the Cross is too offensive to many?

Easter is recognized differently than for us especially in western cultures, it’s more about Spring and the associated sales than anything, and even so the established rituals of Easter from a church perspective started with the RCC.

You can also say that since a lot more people are off around Christmas than Easter, and the prep starts around a month time for Christmas, it would be more recognized by the world naturally.

But the cross should be at the forefront everyday for Christians. I’m not gonna have that type of expectation for those outside he faith.
 
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grandvizier1006

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I agree with most of the points other people have given here. I wasn't raised in a liturgical church so I'm not used to anything other than a few special sermons whenever Easter rolls around. I just finished reading N.T Wright's "Surprised by Hope" where he proposed taking Easter more seriously and I'm inclined to agree with him. I think our current secular society (at least Western society) really like sentimental, sweet things, which we often call "wholesome". Even though Jesus is alive and His Spirit is with us, secular society has a harder time wrapping around that then a bright star, some animals, shepherds, "wise men", and angels.

The big thesis of Wright's book was that we act as if the Resurrection was a one-time event that means nothing for the rest of us other than a demonstration of God's power. But it is the moment that He defeated death and we should celebrate that instead of just being somber about it.
 
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FenderTL5

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I've been in churches my entire life. My grandfather was a preacher, my dad a deacon.
I've said this numerous times since 2014; it wasn't until I became Orthodox that I ever celebrated Pascha (the Resurrection).

Other than a couple of songs with "Risen" in the title, the Easter service was no different than any other weekly service at the last SBC church I attended.
 
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Kerensa

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p.s. - Apparently the only reason it's even called "Easter" in English and some other Germanic languages (not even all of them; look it up in Dutch) is apparently because Ostere or something similar to that was the name of a goddess among the pre-Christian English, and so she had her own month named after her, and that month is when Pascha happened to fall. Or so claimed Bede.

I've had encounters with neo-pagans who make this claim — that Easter is actually their spring goddess's festival and the Christians "stole" it. But there's another explanation for the name "Easter" that Bede presumably didn't know about. This is from an interesting little book by Andrea Barham, The Pedant's Revolt: Why Most Things You Think Are Right Are Wrong...

Easter gets its name from a pagan goddess

The eighth-century chronicler Bede, in De Ratione Temporum, claimed that the word 'Easter' came from the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring and fertility, Eostre or Eostrae. The Encyclopaedia Britannica disputes this notion, stating that: 'Given the determination with which Christians combated all forms of paganism, this appears a rather dubious presumption. Rather, it is widely believed that the word derives from the Christian designation of Easter week as in albis'.'

If you can't see the connection that's because it hinges on a mistranslation.

German scholar J. Knoblech explains: 'Among Latin-speaking Christians, the week beginning with the Feast of the Resurrection was known as hebdomada alba [white week], since the newly-baptised Christians were accustomed to wear their white baptismal robes throughout that week. Sometimes the week was referred to simply as albae [white].'

According to Knoblech, when the word was translated into German, it was mistaken for the plural of alba meaning 'dawn', and so the 'white' connection was forgotten: 'They accordingly rendered it as Eostarum, which is Old High German for "dawn".' And thus came the word 'Easter' in English.
 
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Cement

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I didnt know this was true because in Eastern Orthodoxy for instance Easter is very important just as much as the Celebration of Christs birth. This includes weeks of fasting and prayer, abstaining from eating all meat, confession of sins and kissing a shroud depicting Christs wounds just to name a few.
 
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Strong in Him

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Is it because the public has less believe in resurrection or the Cross is too offensive to many?

Most likely because the only thing on offer is chocolate.
With Christmas you can almost string the celebrations out til the New Year. With Easter it's one day of gorging yourself with chocolate bunnies, a bank holiday and that's it.

A supermarket stopped selling The real Easter egg - the one made with Traidcraft chocolate, with a tract of the Easter story - a few years ago, because, I quote, "what has religion to do with Easter?"!!
 
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MariaJLM

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Most likely because the only thing on offer is chocolate.
With Christmas you can almost string the celebrations out til the New Year. With Easter it's one day of gorging yourself with chocolate bunnies, a bank holiday and that's it.

A supermarket stopped selling The real Easter egg - the one made with Traidcraft chocolate, with a tract of the Easter story - a few years ago, because, I quote, "what has religion to do with Easter?"!!

For the majority of Western society Easter has lost its meaning. My family is secular so I'm the one having to remind them that for myself and many others Easter is about more than just chocolate and bunnies.
 
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All4Christ

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Easter is recognized differently than for us especially in western cultures, it’s more about Spring and the associated sales than anything, and even so the established rituals of Easter from a church perspective started with the RCC.

You can also say that since a lot more people are off around Christmas than Easter, and the prep starts around a month time for Christmas, it would be more recognized by the world naturally.

But the cross should be at the forefront everyday for Christians. I’m not gonna have that type of expectation for those outside he faith.
Celebrating Pascha (Easter) was from the RCC?

The earliest historical record is from the mid second century, but it was well established at that point. Its prototype is the Passover (which incidentally is the definition of Pascha).

Here’s a sermon about it form the second century: Sermon on the Pasch – St. Melitos

It is true though that the death and resurrection of our Lord (and His Incarnation) should be prominent in our thoughts always.
 
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usexpat97

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There's less money in chocolate easter eggs than there is in everybody buying $100 presents for all their friends and family.

Please no jokes about whether you want to be my friend based on how much I will spend on you. Unless it's funny.
 
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Kerensa

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A supermarket stopped selling The real Easter egg - the one made with Traidcraft chocolate, with a tract of the Easter story - a few years ago, because, I quote, "what has religion to do with Easter?"!!

Oh yes, I heard about that too. :rolleyes: Can't remember which supermarket it was, but Tesco still has it (I've seen it there this year), so good on them.
 
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SamanthaAnastasia

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Is it because the public has less believe in resurrection or the Cross is too offensive to many?
I figure it’s because nonbelievers (even atheists) celebrate Christmas.
So while the church may know and celebrate Easter as the most important holiday, the secular world like Christmas because of various different reasons (family, gifts, all winter holidays in the same month, etc).
 
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Yarddog

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Is it because the public has less believe in resurrection or the Cross is too offensive to many?
Probably because Easter isn't as commercialized as Christmas. To many who celebrate Christmas, Christ has little to nothing to do with it.
 
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MariaJLM

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Probably because Easter isn't as commercialized as Christmas. To many who celebrate Christmas, Christ has little to nothing to do with it.

As I mentioned in a previous post it's easier to commercialize Christmas because of the whole gift-giving aspect. Easter doesn't really have that attached to it, at least not to the same extent.
 
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Kerensa

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All that said, we do get a four-day weekend for Easter and only two days off for Christmas (in the UK and Commonwealth countries), so one could argue from that that Easter is the more important even in the secular world... :D

Probably because Easter isn't as commercialized as Christmas.

I dunno about that, really — certainly in Australia, where I come from, and the UK, where I now live, Easter is very commercialised. Easter eggs and bunnies start appearing in the shops as soon as the Valentine's Day stuff is out, so from mid-February onwards, even when Easter isn't until mid-April. In the northern hemisphere, there's also a general "springtime" theme that's part of the non-religious version of Easter (not in the southern hemisphere, for obvious reasons). It gets into all the supermarkets and major shops everywhere. Usually no mention of the Christian meaning of the celebration, any more than there is with Christmas. If you can make it a big "spring festival" sort of thing — with lots of chocolate and rabbits and chicks and flowers and all the rest of it — you can make money out of it. I've always thought Christmas and Easter are about equally commercialised and secularised. But that needn't stop Christians from celebrating what these days are really about — and if others hold secular, pagan or other religious celebrations at the same time, that's fine by me. :blacksunrays:
 
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Jonaitis

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Is it because the public has less believe in resurrection or the Cross is too offensive to many?

What's Christmas? I only know the Lord's Day as the only holiday.
 
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FenderTL5

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What's Christmas? I only know the Lord's Day as the only holiday.
Christmas is a shortened, almost slang term. The real name is The Nativity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This is the feast day where we celebrate the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. Maybe you've heard of Him?
 
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Jonaitis

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Christmas is a shortened, almost slang term. The real name is The Nativity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This is the feast day where we celebrate the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. Maybe you've heard of Him?

I can't seem to find a feast day celebrating Christ's birth anywhere in Scripture. Please help me?
 
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