Here comes Easter(!)

[mulimulix]

It is the 1st of April here in Australia (not yet in USA) which means Easter is soon, and I can't help think two things (one which I have asked before):

1. Do you actually realise that Easter is not on the day(s) when Jesus' crucifiction occurred?

2. Does this fact not bother you?

I mean, this is like celebrating your birthday which is really on April 12, but actually celebrating at a random date somewhere between end of March and April. THIS MAKES NO SENSE!

Why is this not mentioned more often?

 

[drich0150]

Colossians 2: 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.[e]
16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. 18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you.


So it does not matter when or what we celebrate so long as it is to the Lord.

 

[mulimulix]

Colossians 2: 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.[e]
16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. 18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you.


So it does not matter when or what we celebrate so long as it is to the Lord.

Well for one, that is a very ambiguous few verses, but forgetting that, is what you are saying is that it doesn't matter when you celebrate Jesus' resurrection, as long as you do so for the Lord? Seems kinda silly to me. If I were Christian I would want to do it on the actual day of his resurrection, not somewhere thereabouts.

 

[drich0150]

Well for one, that is a very ambiguous few verses, but forgetting that, is what you are saying is that it doesn't matter when you celebrate Jesus' resurrection, as long as you do so for the Lord? Seems kinda silly to me. If I were Christian I would want to do it on the actual day of his resurrection, not somewhere thereabouts.

these verses are as "ambiguous" as you wish to make them. If you took the time to understand all of the tradition and Law that forced people to observe a day like passover or in this case easter (before the resurrection) you would have a better understanding.

You do know that Dec 25 0000 was not the birth of Christ don't you?

Paul tells us in Romans 14:

5 One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. 6 Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone.

The days have little meaning in of themselves, it is what you do with them and why you do it that makes all of the difference.

 

[seashale76]

It is the 1st of April here in Australia (not yet in USA) which means Easter is soon, and I can't help think two things (one which I have asked before):

1. Do you actually realise that Easter is not on the day(s) when Jesus' crucifiction occurred?

Yes.

2. Does this fact not bother you?

No. The date to calculate Pascha (how Orthodox Christians refer to Easter even in English) was standardized long ago for a reason- at the First Council of Nicea. Some Christians did celebrate Pascha on the exact date, but as it wasn't always on a Sunday, then it was actually more confusing. The idea was for all believers to celebrate the event at the same time. The way we do it now makes the most sense if you know anything at all about the Liturgical Calendar of the Church.

Pascha must be held on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox (on the Julian Calendar).

More info for you: OCA - Concerning the Date of Pascha and the 1st Ecumenical Council

I mean, this is like celebrating your birthday which is really on April 12, but actually celebrating at a random date somewhere between end of March and April. THIS MAKES NO SENSE!

Why is this not mentioned more often?

It's not random and the way we do it does make sense and the information has been out there on it for over a thousand years. We don't make a secret of these things in Orthodoxy- it's just that some non-Apostolic groups like to pretend that the Early Church didn't exist except when it is convenient for them to acknowledge it. You are more than welcome to come and see how we do it and how fantastically awesome Orthodox Pascha really is. Nobody does the Feast of Feasts better than the Orthodox.

 

[ebia]

It is the 1st of April here in Australia (not yet in USA) which means Easter is soon, and I can't help think two things (one which I have asked before):

1. Do you actually realise that Easter is not on the day(s) when Jesus' crucifiction occurred?

2. Does this fact not bother you?

I mean, this is like celebrating your birthday which is really on April 12, but actually celebrating at a random date somewhere between end of March and April. THIS MAKES NO SENSE!

Why is this not mentioned more often?

We celebrate it on a date that corresponds to its significance - that is the first Sunday (because it is the beginning of New Creation and therefore corresponds to the first day of the week) following Passover, which is calculated off the lunar calendar.

 

[CryptoLutheran]

It is the 1st of April here in Australia (not yet in USA) which means Easter is soon, and I can't help think two things (one which I have asked before):

1. Do you actually realise that Easter is not on the day(s) when Jesus' crucifiction occurred?

2. Does this fact not bother you?

I mean, this is like celebrating your birthday which is really on April 12, but actually celebrating at a random date somewhere between end of March and April. THIS MAKES NO SENSE!

Why is this not mentioned more often?

No, it's not less meaningful because it isn't commemorated on the exact anniversary of the resurrection. That's not the point.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[Faulty]

It is the 1st of April here in Australia (not yet in USA) which means Easter is soon, and I can't help think two things (one which I have asked before):

1. Do you actually realise that Easter is not on the day(s) when Jesus' crucifiction occurred?

2. Does this fact not bother you?

1. Yes

2. No. Why would it? It's not the date that matters. Rather its the event that matters. Thanksgiving, just like Easter, is celebrated here in the same manner, on a particular day, and not on a particular date, because it's the event that's celebrated.

Besides, people like going to church on Easter, so it's celebrated on the day most people go to church.

I mean, this is like celebrating your birthday which is really on April 12, but actually celebrating at a random date somewhere between end of March and April. THIS MAKES NO SENSE!

Well, My birthday this year was on a Monday. I worked late that day so we celebrated it the next Saturday. When my kids have a birthday during the week, we wait and have their parties on the next weekend to allow for more party time, non-rushed parents, occasional sleepovers, etc. Where is it written that it has to be celebrated on the exact date?

 

[ebia]

Where is it written that it has to be celebrated on the exact date?

Because there's some magical significant to the solar orbit, perhaps?

In most counties we allow many of our public holidays to fall on a Monday, Melbourne Cup is always a Tuesday,... The reality is we are never that absolutely tied to the solar cycle, and in the particular case of Easter we take the lunar cycle into account as well. It only seems odd because we happen to live in a culture that takes the solar cycle particularly seriously and completely ignores the lunar one.

 

[mulimulix]

these verses are as "ambiguous" as you wish to make them. If you took the time to understand all of the tradition and Law that forced people to observe a day like passover or in this case easter (before the resurrection) you would have a better understanding.

You do know that Dec 25 0000 was not the birth of Christ don't you?

This is quite ironic as I 'celebrate' Passover, or 'Pesach' as we call it, as I am part of a (secular) Jewish family and I also have a Jewish education which involved me doing Jewish Studies for 12 years; so I do know a thing or two about passover.

And yes, of course I know Dec 25 in the year 0 was not Jesus' birthday as there was no year 0 as well as the fact that he was said to have been born in the year 4.

Well, My birthday this year was on a Monday. I worked late that day so we celebrated it the next Saturday. When my kids have a birthday during the week, we wait and have their parties on the next weekend to allow for more party time, non-rushed parents, occasional sleepovers, etc. Where is it written that it has to be celebrated on the exact date?

Obviously this is acceptable because you don't pretend it is your birthday on that Saturday; this is simply a means of celebrating it at some stage rather than not at all. In the case of Easter, it is not simply because you're busy one day so you delay it.

In most counties we allow many of our public holidays to fall on a Monday, Melbourne Cup is always a Tuesday,... The reality is we are never that absolutely tied to the solar cycle, and in the particular case of Easter we take the lunar cycle into account as well. It only seems odd because we happen to live in a culture that takes the solar cycle particularly seriously and completely ignores the lunar one.

I wish we had Melbourne Cup off in Sydney. I think productivity in Sydney goes down by about 90% between 2.50 and 3.20 on that Tuesday.

 

[drich0150]

This is quite ironic as I 'celebrate' Passover, or 'Pesach' as we call it, as I am part of a (secular) Jewish family and I also have a Jewish education which involved me doing Jewish Studies for 12 years; so I do know a thing or two about passover.

Sadly as far as this conversation is concerned celebrating passover is more a detriment than a help for you to understand the passages I left you.

However i am sure even if you do not accept this concept you are able to grasp it. In that we are no long bound to the specific celebration of certain days as a means to earn or maintain righteousness.

And yes, of course I know Dec 25 in the year 0 was not Jesus' birthday as there was no year 0 as well as the fact that he was said to have been born in the year 4.

4 to 6 BC

Because we know Herod the great died in 4BC

 

[ebia]

This is quite ironic as I 'celebrate' Passover, or 'Pesach' as we call it, as I am part of a (secular) Jewish family and I also have a Jewish education which involved me doing Jewish Studies for 12 years; so I do know a thing or two about passover.

And yes, of course I know Dec 25 in the year 0 was not Jesus' birthday as there was no year 0 as well as the fact that he was said to have been born in the year 4.

Obviously this is acceptable because you don't pretend it is your birthday on that Saturday; this is simply a means of celebrating it at some stage rather than not at all. In the case of Easter, it is not simply because you're busy one day so you delay it.

I wish we had Melbourne Cup off in Sydney. I think productivity in Sydney goes down by about 90% between 2.50 and 3.20 on that Tuesday.

But you do have Queens Birthday up there? On a date that has nothing to do with the date the Queen was born?

 

[mulimulix]

But you do have Queens Birthday up there? On a date that has nothing to do with the date the Queen was born?

Yes, we do, but that is only because there are too many holidays around her birthday (Easter, Anzac Day) that we do it some other time and no one actually celebrates it, so it is different. But I would rather trade in Melbourne Cup than the silly Queen's bday

 

[ebia]

So if we don't feel tied to celebrating the queens birthday on the date she was born simply because we fancy a holiday on an arbitrary day later in the year, how much more justifiable is celebrating the Resurrection on a day calculated to echo the original timing?

 

[mulimulix]

So if we don't feel tied to celebrating the queens birthday on the date she was born simply because we fancy a holiday on an arbitrary day later in the year, how much more justifiable is celebrating the Resurrection on a day calculated to echo the original timing?

The difference is we don't actually celebrate anything on the Queen's birthday except for the fact we get a day off work/school. The purpose of the Queen's Bday isn't to celebrate it, but an excuse to have a public holiday which would just be replaced with something else if the Queen didn't exist. If people wanted to celebrate the Queen's birthday, then they WOULD do it on the PROPER day (late april, I believe).

 

[Bear.Fr00t]

It is the 1st of April here in Australia (not yet in USA) which means Easter is soon, and I can't help think two things (one which I have asked before):

1. Do you actually realise that Easter is not on the day(s) when Jesus' crucifiction occurred?

2. Does this fact not bother you?

I mean, this is like celebrating your birthday which is really on April 12, but actually celebrating at a random date somewhere between end of March and April. THIS MAKES NO SENSE!

Why is this not mentioned more often?

It doesn't matter. Christians celebrate the death and resurrection of Christ everyday, not just Easter. Using your logic, I should only celebrate the birth of my children on their exact birthday, and every other day I should just ignore their birth.

 

[AlexBP]

It doesn't matter. Christians celebrate the death and resurrection of Christ everyday, not just Easter. Using your logic, I should only celebrate the birth of my children on their exact birthday, and every other day I should just ignore their birth.

This is exactly what I was going to say.

 

[razeontherock]

1. Do you actually realise that Easter is not on the day(s) when Jesus' crucifiction occurred?

It's not supposed to be and yes, EVERY Christian is well aware of this

2. Does this fact not bother you?
Why is this not mentioned more often?

Actually, it is mentioned ALL THE TIME AD NAUSEUM, by a certain poster on another sub-forum. I now know far more about this than I ever cared to. Sorry to disappoint, but it's a real yawner. No earth shaking scandals to uncover.

Now it is interesting to look into what "day of the week" events of our Holy week (Palm Sunday - Easter Sunday) took place on. (HINT: time wasn't recorded that way, and Easter isn't a Christian term)

But basically, Good Friday is pretty accurate, except it's pushed to a long weekend w/ the resurrection as the culmination, as it should be.

 

[razeontherock]

In the case of Easter, it is not simply because you're busy one day so you delay it.

You were answered quite thoroughly before I responded, and this is the best you can come up with?

If you were a Christian you'd be a quarto-decimian. And you'd celebrate Easter (nearly) alone.

 

[ebia]

Our celebration might go no further than the name, but a celebration is what it is.