Question about Easter

by Adonai438 6 Replies latest jw friends

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  Adonai438

  I read a post on here recently about the origin of the word 'Easter' and was wondering what it said (I only skimmed it the first time). It was some info that contradicted the JW argument that it came from the fertility goddess, Ishtar. Anyone want to fess up or know where it is?
  Any other posts on research on the holiday is welcome
  (Just for the record-- I do celebrate it and it's original meaning--Christs resurrection) Thanks ! <><
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  Kenneson

  I read something about Easter on page 7 of this forum. Towards the bottom of the page see "Christmas and other Holidays?" by Iv4fer.
  I don't know if this is the same one you have in mind????
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  anewperson

  EASTER, WHAT'S THE REAL TRUTH: Previously, and as found in most encyclopedias, most scholars took the view of "the Venerable Bede" who in 8th Century England speculated that the name Easter may have come from the name for the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eastre. But more research research shows several other possibilities. One is that the name more likely came from the Latin for "White Week," that spring week when people wore white to be baptized as Christians. The Latin expression "Hebdonada Alba" (White Week) was misunderstood as the plural for the word dawn and mistranslated into Old High German as Eostarum. Another possibility is that Easter came from the Anglo-Saxon word "eastre" akin to the words easterly or eastern, that is something that came from the East. This is possible because Christianity entered Germany and England in Western Europe from the east, the Middle East. A lesser possibility is that it derived from the Bible's speaking of Christ as someday returning to resurrect people from out of the east. Of course there might also be a combination of possible reasons for the name.

  In any event, when Christianity reached Germany in the 1500s the Christians there symbolized the resurrection hope, that is new life, via rabbits and eggs. This was because from eggs clearly come new life, and also because rabbits were well-known for appearing first here and then there which is exactly how Christ did, appearing in first one place then another, after he was resurrected. Some modern persons have attacked the celebration of Easter by promoting in writing their theory that the continuing usage today of Easter rabbits and eggs is a vestige of ancient fertility or sex rituals that pre-dated Christianity, and so this day that is so highly esteemed by those of different beliefs is, they contend, tarred with an immorality that God could not possibly find acceptable. Such criticism from some persons is well-intended because it comes from a lack of full knowledge and such critics having been mistaught, and it is true that some ancient cultures used colored eggs to symbolize different ideas or as part of worship as when, for example, the Chinese, have used eggs dyed red to symbolize good luck.

  Therefore let can conclude that those not celebrating Easter from lack of correct knowledge, or who out of honest doubts and sensitivity do so, deserve our respect too but yet we can also feel free to educate them to the real truth about Easter, the rabbits and eggs, even as those who honorably observe the day and its traditions also deserve full respect, which is exactly what Paul counsels at Colossians 2:16. This carries over to other things, for usually those with misinformation the call "the truth" about Easter are also persons taught that Christmas trees and Santa are pagan instead of the real truth which is that the tree began as the tree of paradise used in Medieval church plays and Santa came from Saint Nicholas who was a Medieval gift-giver also in Medieval times. Visit our nonprofit Jah Christians egroup at the following to request more free Bible information: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jahchristian, or contact: jahchristian at yahoo.com
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  anewperson

  The name may be from Eostre a pagan goddess, the Anglo-Saxon word for East, a combination or some other source. The absolute Truth that you seek is no living person can now be 100% sure. But it is sure that the day has for well over 1,000 years been accepted as Christian & has been used to attack & replace pagan observances.
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  Francois

  Ya know, it's gotten to be that I really don't give a rat's ass where some celebration came from. It's current application is what matters, as I'm sure I'm busily preaching to the choir here.

  The wedding veil was used to disguise the bride from the "evil spirits" and in fact, many of the marriage ceremonial practices came from pagan beliefs. I don't notice the JWs rejecting things like the veil, or the marriage party - the best man, the grooms, the bridesmaids, the rings (and certainly not the diamonds), and all that jazz - all of which had paganistic origins Days of the week, months of the year? All pagan. In fact, the list of things the JWs practice that came from paganism is a helluva lot longer than the list of things they avoid for the same reason.

  Is Easter special to you because in your heart and mind it represents what you believe to be the sacrifice of Jesus for the redemption of all? Fine. Celebrate it in the way that makes you most spiritually complete. Your relationship with Jesus and with God, for that matter, is personal, unique, sacred, direct, and PRIVATE!

  How can JWs strain out the gnat in matter like this and then gulp down the camel of protecting and giving safe harbor to grown men who screw little girls? Contemptuous bastards.

  I say Jehovah's Witnesses constitute a cult, and I say fuck 'em.

  Francois
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  ThiChi

  ""Pagan origins of Easter:
  Many, perhaps most, Pagan religions in the Mediterranean area had a major seasonal day of religious celebration at or following the Spring Equinox. Cybele, the Phrygian fertility goddess, had a fictional consort who was believed to have been born via a virgin birth. He was Attis, who was believed to have died and been resurrected each year during the period MAR-22 to MAR-25. "About 200 B.C. mystery cults began to appear in Rome just as they had earlier in Greece. Most notable was the Cybele cult centered on Vatican hill ...Associated with the Cybele cult was that of her lover, Attis ([the older Tammuz, Osiris, Dionysus, or Orpheus under a new name). He was a god of ever-reviving vegetation. Born of a virgin, he died and was reborn annually. The festival began as a day of blood on Black Friday and culminated after three days in a day of rejoicing over the resurrection." 15

  Wherever Christian worship of Jesus and Pagan worship of Attis were active in the same geographical area in ancient times, Christians "used to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus on the same date; and pagans and Christians used to quarrel bitterly about which of their gods was the true prototype and which the imitation."

  Many religious historians believe that the death and resurrection legends were first associated with Attis, many centuries before the birth of Jesus. They were simply grafted onto stories of Jesus' life in order to make Christian theology more acceptable to Pagans. Ancient Christians had an alternate explanation; they claimed that Satan had created counterfeit deities in advance of the coming of Christ in order to confuse humanity. 11 Modern-day Christians generally regard the Attis legend as being a Pagan myth of little value. They regard Jesus' death and resurrection account as being true, and unrelated to the earlier tradition.

  Wiccans and other modern-day Neopagans continue to celebrate the Spring Equinox as one of their 8 yearly Sabbats (holy days of celebration). Near the Mediterranean, this is a time of sprouting of the summer's crop; farther north, it is the time for seeding. Their rituals at the Spring Equinox are related primarily to the fertility of the crops and to the balance of the day and night times. Where Wiccans can safely celebrate the Sabbat out of doors without threat of religious persecution, they often incorporate a bonfire into their rituals, jumping over the dying embers is believed to assure fertility of people and crops.

  Judeo-Christian origins of Easter:
  The Christian celebration of Easter is linked to the Jewish celebration of the Passover. Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were observed by the ancient Israelites early in each new year. (The Jewish people followed the Persian/Babylonian calendar and started each year with the Spring Equinox circa MAR-21) "Equinox" means "equal night;" on that date of the year, the night and day are approximately equal. The name "Passover" was derived from the actions of the angel of death as described in the book of Exodus. The angel "passed over" the homes of the Jews which were marked with the blood obtained from a ritual animal sacrifice. The same angel exterminated the first born son of every family whose doorway was not so marked - one of the greatest acts of mass-murder mentioned in the Bible.

  Liberal theologians trace Passover to an ancient pre-Israelite Pagan ritual practiced by wandering Semitic shepherds. The Feast of Unleavened Bread was originally a traditional Canaanite agricultural harvest which was adopted by the Israelites. It marked the start of the barley harvest; barley was the first crop to ripen. Because they occurred at about the same time each year, the two celebrations became merged into a two day observance. The Passover became associated with the exodus of the Jews from Egypt.
  Conservative theologians generally believe that these observances were originally created by God as described in Leviticus 23:5-14, and recorded by Moses.

  Passover was the most important feast of the Jewish calendar, celebrated at the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox. (The Equinox typically occurs on March 20, 21 or 22 according to our present calendar.) Most Christians interpret the four Gospels of the Christian Scriptures (New Testament) as implying that Jesus Christ was executed and buried just before the beginning of Passover on Friday evening. A minority believe that the execution occurred on a Wednesday or Thursday. Various dates have been suggested:

  30-APR-5 CE, a Wednesday
  30-APR-6 CE, a Thursday
  30-APR-7 CE, a Friday; this is perhaps the most common date
  31-APR-26 CE, a Thursday
  32-APR-10 CE, a Thursday
  33-APR-3 CE, a Friday. ""
  Yisrayl Hawkins,"Ancient Pagan Religious Expression," at: http://yahweh.com/pages/pw3_96/1_396pg1.shtml
  Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod Q & A Set 15, "Why do we celebrate a festival called Easter?" at: http://www.wels.net/sab/text/qa/qa15.html
  Anon, "Easter: The Pagan Origins of Common Easter Traditions," at: http://www.multiline.com.au/~gregm/easter.html
  Arnold Gordon, untitled essay at: http://www.misslink.net/zephyr/bible/bibleah.htm This essay is no longer available online.
  Larry Boemler "Asherah and Easter," Biblical Archaeology Review, Vol. 18, Number 3, 1992-May/June reprinted at: http://www.worldmissions.org/Clipper/Holidays/EasterAndAsherah.htm
  A. J. Dager, "Facts and Fallacies of the Resurrection," Page 5. Cited in: R.K. Tardo, "Rabbits, Eggs and Other Easter Errors," at: http://syscdj1.gmu.edu/sermons/base/EASTER.TXT
  J.G. Walshe & S. Warrier, "Dates and Meanings of Religious & Other Festivals," Foulsham, New York NY (1997)
  B.G. Walker, "The Woman's Encylopedia of Myths and Secrets," Harper & Row, San Francisco CA, (1983)
  J.C. Cooper, "The Dictionary of Festivals," Thorsons, London, UK, (1995)
  C. Panati, "Sacred Origins of Profound Things: The Stories Behind the Rites and Rituals of the World's Religions," Arkana/Penguin, New York, NY (1996)
  J Farrar & S. Farrar, "Eight Sabbats for Witches," Phoenix, Custer, WA, (1988)
  G. L. Berry, "Religions of the World" (currently out of print)
  R.W. Mallem "Easter Dating Method," at: http://www.assa.org.au/edm.html

  “We all fell down from the milky way, hanging around here for the judgement day, heaven only knows who’s in command.”- Jimmy Buffet
• 

  badboy

  Adonai438 IT WAS I WHO put something about Easter on the Forum.

  Under`members' you can locate my posts