Easter: A great LIE.

[TomorrowsWorld]

Is anyone else familiar with this story? Do you think we should celebrate Easter? Do you celebrate the New Testament Passover?

 

[VesperSK98]

Um... this is wrong. The Christian celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord -- call it "Easter," call it "Passover," call it "Resurrection Sunday" -- has absolutely, exactly nothing to do with Ishtar, egg-laying bunnies, or any of this other swill. I'm not Catholic, but I'm pretty sure they don't "worship" Mary and declaring her the "mother of God" has absolutely, exactly nothing to do with Ishtar, either. If I don't do those things, but instead celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord, then I'm not guilty of the things you charge. Resurrection Sunday is only called "Easter" in English (in other languages, it's called Pascha or similar or "Passover") -- and it's only called "Easter" in English by a linguistic happenstance ("Eostre" having come to mean "springtime"), not because it has anything at all to do with pagan worship.

Why "Easter"?

 

[david.d]

Um... this is wrong. The Christian celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord -- call it "Easter," call it "Passover," call it "Resurrection Sunday" -- has absolutely, exactly nothing to do with Ishtar, egg-laying bunnies, or any of this other swill. I'm not Catholic, but I'm pretty sure they don't "worship" Mary and declaring her the "mother of God" has absolutely, exactly nothing to do with Ishtar, either. If I don't do those things, but instead celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord, then I'm not guilty of the things you charge. Resurrection Sunday is only called "Easter" in English (in other languages, it's called Pascha or similar or "Passover") -- and it's only called "Easter" in English by a linguistic happenstance ("Eostre" having come to mean "springtime"), not because it has anything at all to do with pagan worship.

Why "Easter"?

Why do you think they picked a word for springtime? Did you read the article you linked?

 

[VesperSK98]

Why do you think they picked a word for springtime? Did you read the article you linked?

Honestly, no. Yes, there was an Anglo-Saxon goddess named Eostre. But it was Christians who celebrated the Resurrection of the Lord. They picked the name "Easter" (I read in another article I looked for but couldn't find) because Eostre's festival was celebrated in springtime and they came to call the whole season "Easter" (like we call all of December "Christmastide"). Yes, the Easter eggs and other things may have pre-Christian origins. But if we don't do those things, but instead only celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord, then are we really practicing a pagan holiday? If you don't like the name "Easter," fine; call it something different. If you don't like those customs, fine; don't do them. But none of these things make the Christian holiday a "lie."

 

[~Anastasia~]

Actually .... I would challenge you to find original sources relating to the goddess "Eostre" and what is ACTUALLY KNOWN about that, not just what is repeated and retold.

There is, as far as I'm aware, ONE historic reference. And the information that comes along with it is insufficient to support any conclusions at all. It was already a rumor by that point.

If there is more, I welcome correction. But I don't believe anyone can find that there is.

 

[david.d]

Honestly, no. Yes, there was an Anglo-Saxon goddess named Eostre. But it was Christians who celebrated the Resurrection of the Lord. They picked the name "Easter" (I read in another article I looked for but couldn't find) because Eostre's festival was celebrated in springtime and they came to call the whole season "Easter" (like we call all of December "Christmastide"). Yes, the Easter eggs and other things may have pre-Christian origins. But if we don't do those things, but instead only celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord, then are we really practicing a pagan holiday? If you don't like the name "Easter," fine; call it something different. If you don't like those customs, fine; don't do them. But none of these things make the Christian holiday a "lie."

You are correct, but I think the point is should people have an Easter egg hunt at church if that has nothing to do with Easter and was part of a pagan tradition that was merged into Easter. I'm not Catholic but from the outside it does appear that many traditions have been integrated from paganism, which was the point of calling it Catholic, meaning universal. That's just an outside looking in point of view. Hot cross buns for instance.

 

[VesperSK98]

There is, as far as I'm aware, ONE historic reference. And the information that comes along with it is insufficient to support any conclusions at all. It was already a rumor by that point.

Yes. The only historic reference for MOST of what we know about Anglo-Saxon England is the Venerable Bede, and he pretty much refers to the holiday as "Easter" all throughout his Ecclesiastical History of the English People without reference to any pagan goddesses or customs at all. In another work, "On the Reckoning of Time," he writes:

“Eostur-month, which is now interpreted as the paschal month, was formerly named after the goddess Eostre, and has given its name to the festival.”
​

That is literally all we know about any connection between "Easter" and "Eostre" -- and from what he says, it's just a coincidence of dates.

Here is a much better article:

http://taylormarshall.com/2013/04/was-easter-pagan-holiday-venerable-bede.html

 

[~Anastasia~]

Regarding the "Easter egg hunt" ... I'm not sure of some of the steps in between. I lost interest in tracing every single detail. But eggs were associated with various kinds of paganistic thought, and for different reasons came into Christianity.

By the way, the Tradition in our Church for Pascha (it is named and the date calculated on Jewish Passover) is to dye eggs red. They are blessed at the Pascha service, one is given to everyone, and we share a meal afterward where they usually play a little game, cracking eggs against each other to see whose egg remains uncracked. My point is that these little traditions vary, change, and grow. But here's a bit of history, if anyone is interested.

The Story of the First Easter Egg
Before the egg became closely entwined with the Christian Easter, it was honored during many rite-of-Spring festivals. The Romans, Gauls, Chinese, Egyptians and Persians all cherished the egg as a symbol of the universe, of the earth’s rebirth at springtime. With the advent of Chrisianity the symbolism of the egg changed to represent, not nature's rebirth, but the rebirth of man.

Christians embraced the egg symbol and likened it to the tomb from which Christ rose. Saint Augustine first described Christ’s Resurrection from the dead as a chick bursting from an egg. This symbolism was enhanced in the Christian East’s celebration of Easter. At the end of the Paschal Liturgy, the faithful exchange paschal greetings and the priest and the faithful present each other with red eggs. Wooden eggs are sometimes suspended from hanging lamps and chandeliers, and often the faithful decorate wooden eggs with icons and hang them from the vigil lights in their homes.

THE FIRST EASTER EGG

​

According to tradition, Saint Mary Magdalene, who had patrician rank, gained an audience in Rome with the emperor after the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ. She denounced Pilate for his handling of Jesus' trial and then began to talk with Caesar about Jesus' resurrection. She picked up a hen's egg from the dinner table to illustrate her point about resurrection. Caesar was unmoved and replied that there was as much chance of a human being returning to life as there was for the egg to turn red. Immediately, the egg miraculously turned red in her hand! It is because of this tradition that Orthodox Christians exchange red eggs at Easter.

 

[Greyy]

Is anyone else familiar with this story? Do you think we should celebrate Easter? Do you celebrate the New Testament Passover?

This may be the best way to explain this.

Early Christians celebrated the resurrection of Christ, every year, around Passover, around the time that Christ was resurrected. It was celebrated on Sunday.

This celebration was called a holy day, from which we get the word holiday, which now has secular meanings.

Early Christians spoke many languages, and were of many cultures. They generally called it "Pascha."

For centuries, Christians continued celebrating Pascha. It had nothing to do with bunnies or eggs.

In the 800s, tribes which would become Germany and England, converted from paganism to Christianity. The called Pascha Easter. They started celebrating it with bunnies and eggs and other such stuff.

 

[Greyy]

These people in the video are either outright liars, or the worst researchers and most ethnocentric people on the planet.

Only Anglo-Saxons call it Easter. Eggs, bunnies, and candies are not a Christian tradition. They are a cultural tradition.

And sadly, there will be some people reading this post that will be too dull to understand what that means.

 

[Goodbook]

Not sure what easter has to do with Jesus its just the spring festival that falls round the same time isnt it, but it was passover Jesus celebrated with a seder meal which is now become the Lords supper for us christians.

I dont know what the eggs signify. In the baptist church every time we get given a chocolate egg and our pastor tells us this egg signifies new life and tells us to swap them and tell the person sitting next to us 'this eggs signifies new life in christ' I do think its a hokey thing because we could just be giving each other seedsling to plant in our gardens. Those eggs arent even alive to hatch into chicks they are chocolate.

 

[Goodbook]

I think people just dont want to give up chocolate and i have no idea why because theres already loads of festivals that involve chocolate and sweet things nothing to do with christianity.

Passover is...lamb, bitter herbs, matzo crackers, grape juice, and charoset i dont remember any egg...or maybe...its representing the gooey mortar used when the israelites had to make bricks. You can use egg as a binder.

 

[Goodbook]

I think next time if our pastor tries this again im going to say hey, why not give us seedling to plant instead of eggs. You do this every year. Im not that big a fan of chocolate.

plus when I do eat eggs for breakfast I am not especially thinking of the resurrection each time I crack one open.

 

[Greyy]

.

 

[~Anastasia~]

Not sure what easter has to do with Jesus its just the spring festival that falls round the same time isnt it, but it was passover Jesus celebrated with a seder meal which is now become the Lords supper for us christians.

I dont know what the eggs signify. In the baptist church every time we get given a chocolate egg and our pastor tells us this egg signifies new life and tells us to swap them and tell the person sitting next to us 'this eggs signifies new life in christ' I do think its a hokey thing because we could just be giving each other seedsling to plant in our gardens. Those eggs arent even alive to hatch into chicks they are chocolate.

I think that's actually a pretty cool tradition. I never experienced that in a Baptist church. But eggs (real eggs, that hatched) were used by some of the very early Christian teachers to explain how Christ came forth alive from the tomb, just as the chick comes forth alive from a "dead-looking" egg.

So there is a reason for doing it, that has nothing to do with Easter bunnies.

 

[Goodbook]

Yea i figured it was a tradition that sort of got lost and commercialised.

I mean in the bible we arent told to celeberate with eggs its just mans traditions and proabbly adapting to what was already being celebrated at the same time.

However i dont think i will be using it to teach children since we are meant to be teaching the events of why christians celebrate easter, what i have done is given children leaves to wave when talking about palm sunday.

Unless i bring a live egg and leave it in the classroom but the incubating period for an egg to hatch is actually more than 3 days isnt it?

 

[Goodbook]

Hot cross buns I like though.

I have no idea what the bunnies mean. I do think the english calling it easter confuses everyone. It should really be called passover because Jesus celebrated THAT festival at the time of his crucifixtion.

 

[Goodbook]

Google...says it takes 21 days for an egg to hatch.

 

[TomorrowsWorld]

These people in the video are either outright liars, or the worst researchers and most ethnocentric people on the planet.

Only Anglo-Saxons call it Easter. Eggs, bunnies, and candies are not a Christian tradition. They are a cultural tradition.

And sadly, there will be some people reading this post that will be too dull to understand what that means.

These people understand very well the meaning and implication.
tomorrowsworld.org

 

[Greyy]

These people understand very well the meaning and implication.
tomorrowsworld.org

No, they don't. Pascha has nothing to do with Ishtar.