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refuting Easter as being a Pagan festival....

michel

michel

Administrator Emeritus
Staff member
Easter is often depicted as being - like Christmas - a Pagan festival;

The paragraph below is a typical assertion and one I selected at random.........


The Curious? Easter Page

It might come as no surprise to discover that Easter was originally a pagan festival beloved by the ancient Anglo-Saxons who celebrated the return of spring with an uproarious festival commemorating their goddess of offspring and of springtime, Eastre. When the second-century Christian missionaries encountered the tribes of the north with their pagan celebrations, they attempted to convert them to Christianity and in the process, “Christianised” the existing pagan festivals As it happened, the pagan festival of Eastre occurred around the same time of year as the Christian observance of the Resurrection of Christ, which was originally at the time of the Jewish Passover. It made sense, therefore, to alter the festival itself, to make it a Christian celebration as converts were slowly won over. The early name, Eastre, was eventually changed to its modern spelling, Easter.

BUT to refute the Pagan claim.........

From:- Easter - Its Origins and Meanings

[FONT=arial,helvetica]Based on "Pesach:" In most of the remaining languages in countries with a Christian heritage, the name for Easter is derived from "Pesach." (פסח in Hebrew) the name for Passover: These include:[/FONT] [FONT=arial,helvetica]Afrikaans: Paasfees [/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica]Albanian: Pashkët [/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica]Amharic: (Fasika)[/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica]Arabic: عيد الفصح (Aīd ul-Figh) [/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica]Azeri Pasxa: Fish (pronounced fis`h) [/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica]Berber: tafaska (nowadays it is the name of the Muslim "Festival of sacrifice") [/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica]Catalan: Pasqua[/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica] Danish: Påske [/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica]Dutch: Pasen or paasfeest [/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica]Esperanto: Pasko [/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica]Faroese: Páskir (plural, no singular exists) [/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica]Finnish: Pääsiäinen [/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica]French: Pâques [/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica]Greek: Πάσχα (Pascha)[/FONT] [FONT=arial,helvetica]Hebrew: פסחא (Pascha) [/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica]Icelandic: Páskar [/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica]Indonesian: Paskah [/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica]Irish: Cáisc [/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica]Italian: Pasqua [/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica]Japanese: Seidai Pasuha, "Holy and Great Pascha"), used by Eastern Orthodox members [/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica]Latin: Pascha or Festa Paschalia [/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica]Lower Rhine: German Paisken[/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica] Malayalam: പെശഹ (Pæsacha/Pæsaha) [/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica]Northern Ndebele: Pasika [/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica]Norwegian: Påske [/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica]Persian: Pas`h [/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica]Polish: Pascha [/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica]Portuguese: Páscoa [/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica]Romanian: Paşte[/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica] Russian: Пасха (Paskha) [/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica]Scottish Gaelic: Casca [/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica]Spanish: Pascua [/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica]Swedish: Påsk[/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica]Tagalog: (Philippines) Pasko ng Muling Pagkabuhay (literally "the Pasch of the Resurrection") [/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica]Turkish Paskalya [/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica]Welsh: Pasg[/FONT]

Article Source: Afro Articles - Article Marketing Directory | FREE Content | Marketing, Webmaster & SEO Tools | - an extract from the artticle is as follows:-
Despite the fact that Easter and Passover are celebrated within days or weeks of each other, most Jews and Christians don't realize the link between their respective spring holiday observances. The reason for this lies simply in the fact that many Jews and Christians alike know little of the origins of the other faith's holidays, rituals or beliefs.

Although arose our of Judaism, many Christians do not recognize this. Christians do not talk about as a Jew, and, for the most part, Jews don't acknowledge Jesus at all, even though he was a great rebbe, or Jewish teacher. The celebration of Easter and Passover, however, provide a wonderful opportunity each year to acknowledge the connection between these two and these two holidays.

In fact, Easter and Passover share at least three common elements. First, many religious scholars have said that Jesus' Last Supper was a Passover seder. A seder is a service or ritual meal that commemorates the Biblical accounting of the Jews escape fromslavery. As a Jew, Jesus was obligated to participate in a seder, and during Biblical times many Jews traveled to Jerusalem to do so.

Many have instituted a seder before Easter Sunday as part of their Easter celebrations. This observance is called Maundy Thursday, Holy Thursday or Great Thursday. Those Christians who believe Passover was the last supper site Luke 22:15, in which Jesus says, "With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer." Mark 14:12 echoes this with the comment, "And on the first day of the Unleavened Bread, when the Passover [lamb] was being sacrificed, his disciples said to him [Jesus], ‘Where do you want us to go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?'"




Are there any Christians here who do believe the English - Pagan "tie" ?
 
Breathe

Breathe

Hostis humani generis
I agree, the word "Easter" is certainly Pagan (Eastre, Eostre), but I understand what you're saying and I agree with you. :D Sadly a lot of Pagan influences have seeped into modern Christian customs, but as far as I am aware the idea that the Easter rabbit/hare and eggs are symbols of a/the pre-Christian goddess of Europe is unsourced and unsound in my eyes.

It would be good for you to discuss the true origins of the now-secularized festival of Easter, such as the origin of the hares and the eggs and what they symbolized. I'm pretty sure we can all agree they are fertility items adopted by Christians, but this does not mean that the Christian Easter itself is a pagan festival (as many often say) and nor are the eggs "evidence of pre-Christian goddess worship surviving through Christian persecution" but merely observation and tradition (hares are ready for reproduction during spring, and eggs were forbidden by the Catholic Church during Lent in times gone by - my pagan ex-friends hated me pointing this out :D).

Do you think that modern Christians should return to a more Jewish way of celebrating passover? And I'd be curious as to what you think of the idea of Christianizing pagan festivals, and if you think long-Christianized pagagan festivals such as Easter and Christmas should return to a more Judæo-Christian, "non-Paganized" way? :)
 
H

Humanistheart

Well-Known Member
Easter, like all christians holidays, owes it's origins to pagan rituals. Rabbits and eggs are both symbols of the fertility goddess Eostre/Ishtar/Ostara. Her symbol is also the moon, in which some cultures see a rabbit instead of a face. Eggs also symbolize the moon and are the ultimate symbol of creation and new life. The basket is a symbol of the womb in which this new life is carried.

The feast day is pagan and was widely celebrated long before the time of the New Testament. Like pretty much all holidays, it was adopted by Christians to help get more converts. You see this stratigy used often with Mary mother of god or the adoption of Saints by the catholic church, which replace local indegenous dieties. But the symbols overlap well, as before they celebrated the new life braught by spring and now people celebrate new everlasting life braught by jesus.
 
Breathe

Breathe

Hostis humani generis
Humanistheart said:
I've yet to see any evidence or proof of any kind that easter originates with chrisitianity.
Click to expand...
I never said it did. In fact, Christians should really follow Pesah as opposed to the Paganized Easter.

However, that doesn't alter my statement. Where is the evidence that eggs and hares were symbols of the Pre-Christian goddess Eostre/Ostara?
 
AlsoAnima

AlsoAnima

Friend
:pent:Hi, you might have noticed me around here.

Most Christian holidays were placed over the times of Pagan holidays so that the transition of the society from Pagan to Christian would be made easier, that does not mean they don't have their own merit, it simply means that they are at the times they are because celebration already took place on those days.

It's really not a big deal unless you make it a big deal.:cross:
 
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ayani

ayani

member
Odion ~

Jesus certainly celebrated Passover, His last meal with His disciples being the Passover meal.

the liberation of Jews from Egypt, and the salvation of the Jews from death by the spilled and painted blood of a lamb took on a new but familiar light in Jesus words- that His blood would be shed as a new promise between man and God, for the forgiveness of sins, and freedom from death. He described Himself as the bread of life in more than one passage, linking that bread to the matzo eaten the first Passover, and the manna which fed the Hebrews in the desert.

the Jewishness of a lot of what Jesus was talking about can't be understated, and for a Christian can be seen to have echoes all throughout the Hebrew scriptures. i'm not a Jew, though i certainly believe Jesus to be the Jewish Messiah, my Messiah, and Savior, and God's Son.

Easter, for me, is about the Judeo-Christian commemoration of Jesus' resurrection from the dead. and that, really, is what it comes down to. how one celebrates and understands the holiday.
 
Breathe

Breathe

Hostis humani generis
Very tue ayani. :)

I wonder why Passover lost its usage with the early Christians though; perhaps it was because the new, gentile audience and how it had no meaning to them?
 
ayani

ayani

member
Odion ~

i bet that's the case.

i've read that in parts of the world where Christian faith kept its ties to Judaic culture and heritage (like Indian and Ethiopia) many Jewish festivals or traditions were kept.

similar things can be seen in the Syriac and Assyrian churches, too. it's neat, and it makes one thankful for that diversity.
 
Dunemeister

Dunemeister

Well-Known Member
Most arguments about the so-called paganization of Christianity or pagan sources of our rituals dissolve on closer analysis. Historically, the church set its festivals on or near ancient pagan festival days as a pastoral measure. Newly converted Christians would frequently go to the pagan festivals, under pressure as they were from the larger society to participate. So the church supplanted the pagan festivals by putting her own in their place. Rather than a paganization of Christianity, it was a process of Christianizing the pagans. That's not to say there was no influence from paganism on Christianity. No doubt there was. But it's not the wholesale sort of influence usually assumed in the detractors' arguments.
 
keithnurse

keithnurse

Active Member
That's right. The Church "Baptized" pagan festivals. December 25, which honored Mithra a son of god was baptized and became the birthday of Jesus the son of god.
 
H

Humanistheart

Well-Known Member
keithnurse said:
That's right. The Church "Baptized" pagan festivals. December 25, which honored Mithra a son of god was baptized and became the birthday of Jesus the son of god.
Click to expand...

This is what I've read as well. I've also read though that little on mithra has actually survived, or at least his history in Europe, as the Roman Catholics had as much of the gnostic texts as well as pagan objects (and sometimes believers) as they could find. Some things may be lost forever, and the answers with them. Who knows?
 
Jordan St. Francis

Jordan St. Francis

Well-Known Member
In most other European languages, the name for the Christian holy day we call Easter is connected to the word "Pesach", from the Hebrew "Passover". English inherited from the German the word Easter, which was the name of a goddess who was celebrated at a similar time Christians celebrated Easter. The Germanic peoples were converted to Christianity.

Easter is not about bunny rabbits or Easter eggs, really. Whoever reduces the essence of this holy day to that completely misses the point. Easter, for Christians, is about the passion, death and Resurrection of Christ and the true Passover which starts the Exodus from sin.
 
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