WHAT
IS THE MEANING OF EASTER?.
.
Easter is the most important Christian holiday of the year, according to an email we received recently from a Christian reader (namely whoisjesus@aol.com). The email made all the standard claims of the meaning of Easter, as shown in the following excerpts:"Easter celebrates the day Jesus Christ ROSE victoriously FROM THE DEAD. The resurrection, as described in the Bible, means that just as Jesus rose from the grave, ALL who believe in Him also can receive new life after death. The Biblical record shows that he... was crucified and then ROSE BACK TO LIFE three days after His death. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is what makes Christianity unique. In fact, the validity of Christianity hinges on the proof of the resurrection of Christ. If the resurrection never took place, then the Christian faith is based on a lie and people have no true hope for life after they die." {We're glad they stated this last sentence... it saves us from doing so! Remainder of the Christian claims deleted. Had continued for another 11 paragraphs!!!}
What is the origin of the actual Easter holiday? This is difficult to answer precisely because it has so many different meanings to different societies. However, it is generally accepted that the day chosen by the Christian Church to celebrate the resurrection, was a day which had been celebrated by pagans from antiquity...
The English term, according to the Venerable Bede (De temporum ratione, I, v), relates to Estre, a Teutonic goddess of the rising light of day and spring. Her festival was celebrated on the day of the vernal equinox.In many countries, an Easter Fire is lit on the tops of mountains such as Easter mountain in Osterberg. This is practiced in many places in Europe. The fire must be kindled as a new fire, drawn from wood by friction (nodfyr). This too has its origins as a pagan custom which signifies the victory of spring over winter.Going back to the earliest celebrations, Easter was actually a pagan holiday. Much later, Christianity took the holiday hostage and converted it to their own use. Originally, the Easter holiday had a great many pagan customs which celebrated the return of spring. The Easter Egg was the symbol of the germinating life of early spring. The Easter Bunny is a pagan symbol and has always been an emblem of fertility (Simrock, Mythologie, 551). [1], [2]
The use of eggs was forbidden during Lent, they were brought to the table on Easter Day, coloured red to symbolize the Easter joy. Many customs are found not only in the Latin but also in the Oriental Churches. The symbolic meaning of a new creation of mankind by Jesus risen from the dead was probably an invention of later times. The custom may have its origin in paganism, for a great many pagan customs, celebrating the return of spring, gravitated to Easter. Easter eggs, the children are told, come from Rome with the bells which on Thursday go to Rome and return Saturday morning. The sponsors in some countries give Easter eggs to their god-children. Coloured eggs are used by children at Easter in a sort of game which consists in testing the strength of the shells (Kraus, Real-Encyklop die, s. v. Ei). Both coloured and uncoloured eggs are used in some parts of the United States for this game, known as "egg-picking". Another practice is the "egg-rolling" by children on Easter Monday on the lawn of the White House in Washington. [1]
Why did Christians take over this pagan holiday? It is very difficult to get a culture to simply give up a ritualistic holiday. Far easier to just redefine it over time to celebrate a new definition... killing two birds with one stone, if you will.***** "Jesus dyed (eggs) for your sins!" ***** And, just who was Jesus? We're not really sure. It's likely that there was, in fact, a person called Jesus who had probably taught generally good concepts on how to live. However, that's about the extent of it. We don't believe in people 'rising from the dead' nor having 'virgin births'. So, that's two strikes for Jesus without even considering all the other miracles he did between his arrival and departure. So, if he didn't rise from the dead, nor ascend to heaven, where does that leave him now?
Additional Background on Easter
Prior to AD 325, churches in different regions celebrated Easter on different dates, not always on Sundays. The Council of Nicea (AD 325) clarified this a bit by stating that Easter would be celebrated on Sundays. Still a number of methods were used until a method defined by Dionyisius Exiguus was adopted in about AD 532. This was not widely accepted until it was described and defended by the Venerable Bede in his De temporum ratione (AD 725). Aloisius Lilius (d. 1576) devised the system that would become the basis of the Gregorian Calendar, as well as the tables that would be used to determine the date of Easter. Christoph Clavius modified the tables slightly, and was one of the prime defenders of the Gregorian calendar. Easter is the Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon. The Paschal Full Moon may occur from March 21 through April 18, inclusive. Thus the date of Easter is from March 22 through April 25, inclusive. The date of the Paschal full moon is determined from tables, and it may differ from the date of the the actual full moon by up to two days. To further confuse the issue, many countries did not start using the Gregorian calendar in October 1582, so Easter in those countries was celebrated at times different than is listed here UNTIL they began using the Gregorian calendar. And some countries that switched to the Gregorian calendar used a different definition of Easter for some time (parts of Germany and Sweden used tables based on the observations of Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) to determine Easter for many years after the Gregorian calendar was adopted in those locations). The algorithm is so complex that the cycle of Easter dates (in the Gregorian Calendar) takes 5,700,000 years to repeat. [3]
1 "EASTER", The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1909, Frederick G. Holweck, transcribed by John Wagner and Michael T. Barrett, New Advent, http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05224d.htm
2 Funk & Wagnall’s Standard Reference Encyclopedia, 1962, Volume 8, page 2940
3 "Calculation of the Ecclesiastical Calendar", Special thanks to Marcos J. Montes.
[Created: 4/24/2002]
[Last Update: 1/10/2004]