Is Easter really a pagan holiday that predates Christianity?

Question

I heard that in a sermon last Sunday. Does anyone have any evidence to back this up, or links to do further research? I don't think God would approve of me celebrating a pagan holiday.

Answer 1

yep. christianity is not an "original" religion.

Answer 2

yes and no



See the truth is you can find a Pagan or simular holiday on just about every day of the year.



So, yes there probably is a Pagan holiday on the same day or very close to it.



However just because it is a Pagan holiday doesn't mean it can not be a different religions holiday also.



Pretend that you were born on Feburary 14 (aka Valentines day). Does this mean that your birthday is less your birthday or does it mean you stole your birthday from Valentines day? The obvious answer is no. This is the same with Easter.



Easter for the Christians is Jesus rising from the dead. Does a previous holiday make this event any less of an event?



However there is 1 and only 1 Christian holiday that was mad patly to do with other religions. Today this holiday is not even considered a Christian holiday, however it was the Christian church who made this holiday up. Can you name it?







Halloween

Answer 3

Yes. Eostar... a celebration dedicated to Ishtar... a Goddess. You can always do a search on Pagan and Easter. It later was combined with spring rites due to the Church combining with certain practices of the Pagans when Christianity first became a legal religion in Rome. The celebration today is most likely not like the pagan celebration outside of coloring eggs (I'm sure you're not thinking of getting pregnant when you do that), the symbols of rabbits (also a fertility symbol... not hard to guess that one, huh?), etc.

Answer 4

Yes, it is true. Many of the holidays we celebrate have Roman pagan origin. Through time, Christians have "adapted" the holidays to fit their beliefs even though the original meaning of the holidays may have focused on fertility, sex, weather, and the like. Many choose not to celebrate certain holidays, but just because Christians are now celebrating a holiday tailored for their religion does not mean they are converting to paganism

The Romans influenced our calendar, justice system, and even the way children are punished. It's difficult to avoid Roman influence in our culture without denial. It's not a matter of whether or not God approves. The question is whether or not you're serving more than one God.

Answer 5

Yes. I can't remember what King it was, but he took the throne and had to combine Christianity and Pagan beliefs. Easter is still a Christian holiday that celebrates the resurrection of Christ, it just happens to also celebrate to god or goddess of fertility (note the eggs and bunnies) I don't think there is anything wrong with celebrating Easter, because YOU are choosing who you praise, God of the Christians, or Gods of the pagans. Your choice.

Answer 6

Yes, it was, and so was pretty much every Christian holiday now celebrated. I suspect God is ok with this, as it is the nature of people to learn form eachother. It also isn't as though you're actually worshipping Ishtar when you celebrate Easter. (Her name is where we get the name for the holiday.) The Saxons also celebrated Easter in the form of Ostara, although it is probable that the goddess Ostara whom the Venerable Bede told of either didn't exist, or was a long ago memory of Ishtar from contact with the Middle East. We get the fertility aspects of the holiday (eggs, bunnies) from the Saxon practices. One should remember that they were doing this well into the Christian era, so I don't think you should feel too bad about that, either.



For study of Ishtar, a Babylonian goddess, and other pre-Christian, middle Eastern influences on Christianity, this is a great place to start:http://www.sacred-texts.com/ane/sum/index.htm



And this is a great place to continue: http://www-etcsl.orient.ox.ac.uk/

Answer 7

Yes, it is...actually almost all "Christian" holidays get their roots from the Celitic branch of paganism. Here are some examples.

Easter=Ostera, also known as the spring equinox. Ostera is the Goddess of resurrection/rebirth. We get the Easter Bunny from her myth...this little bunny wanted to produce a gift to the Goddess Ostera for her giving of Springtime. He went around and collected beautiful eggs in a basket and presented it to her, she was so pleased with the bunnies gift that she made him "guardian" and herold of the Spring.

Feast of All Saints=opposite for Halloween/Samhein. When the Catholic Church was trying to get off the ground in the pagan British Isles they took many of the sacred images of Samhein and made them "demonic"...the crone by her rebirth cauldron, the fact that the veil between the two worlds are the thinnest, and so on and so forth. The day after Samhein used to be St. Micheals Day, but there was just too much "demonic" activity for one St. to handle, so they changed to All St. Day inorder to combate the evil that was released by the pagans on Samhein/Halloween.

Christmas=Yule, other wise known as the winter solstice. Yule was the celebration of the birth of the Sun God...further elaboration is obvious.

And the list goes on and on...Christian/Catholic Holidays almost always match up with a Celitic Pagan Holiday. And yes, the Celts, which were a germanic tribe and also the Picts, were around; and their holidays, long before Christianity.

Google Pagan/Christian Holidays...you'll learn alot.

Answer 8

Lol .. your very confused. although like even christmas (which has pagan attributes as well) Easter is not a pagan holiday it is a christian one with christian meanings.. now the pagans did celebrate the winter solstice (christmas) and something around the time of easter but they were different holidays..



in order to aid the spread of christianity some bishops, priests etc. had christian holidays coincide with pagan ones to make the religon more palpable to the masses..



in other words its not the rituals or the timming of these holidays that make it a holiday. it is the intent and meanings behind it. ie christmas we celebrate Jesus birth. and Easter we celebrate his battle over death.

Answer 9

Beyond the fact that Easter is the Holy Day associated with Christs

martyrdom, the holiday took on tones of the pagan religions of Europe. Case and point. The egg is a fertility symbol. the easter bunny is another fertility symbol.

Answer 10

The traditions and dates are certain. Easter is called after Ostara, an Anglo-Saxon fertility goddess. Eggs were symbols of fertility and spring because the sunrise of time. In Babylon, they dipped the eggs in blood to colour them. in the course of the Spring competition eggs were rolled over the fields to develop the probabilities of the plant life. The hare replaced into also a sort of fertility....for obtrusive causes. Easter at present is Christian although. in common words Christians are celebrating the Ressurection of Jesus. even as different traditions are pagan, which I see no damage in yet i'm a pagan so what do i know, the CONTEXT of the holiday is in common words Christian. it really is elementary adequate to diminish out the pagan traditions and nevertheless shop the Holy Tide.

Answer 11

OSTARA (pronounced O-STAR-ah) is one of the Lesser Wiccan Sabbats, and is usually celebrated on the Vernal or Spring Equinox right around March 21 (although because of its origins, may instead be celebrated on the fixed date of March 25). Other names by which this Sabbat may be known are Oestara, Eostre's Day, Rite of Eostre, Alban Eilir, Festival of the Trees, and Lady Day. The Christian holiday of Easter is very near this same time, (notice the similarity in name?), and is determined as the first Sunday after the first Full Moon after the Vernal Equinox.



The name for this Sabbat actually comes from that of the Teutonic lunar Goddess, Eostre. Her chief symbols were the bunny (for fertility and because the Ancient Ones who worshipped her often saw the image of a rabbit in the full moon), and the egg (representing the cosmic egg of creation). This is where the customs of "Easter Eggs" and the "Easter Bunny" originated.



Ostara is a time to celebrate the arrival of Spring, the renewal and rebirth of Nature herself, and the coming lushness of Summer. It is at this time when light and darkness are in balance, yet the light is growing stronger by the day. The forces of masculine and feminine energy, yin and yang, are also in balance at this time.



At this time we think of renewing ourselves. We renew our thoughts, our dreams, and our aspirations. We think of renewing our relationships. This is an excellent time of year to begin anything new or to completely revitalize something. This is also an excellent month for prosperity rituals or rituals that have anything to do with growth.



In the Pagan Wheel of the Year, this is the time when the great Mother Goddess, again a virgin at Candlemas, welcomes the young Sun God unto her and conceives a child of this divine union. The child will be born nine months later, at Yule, the Winter Solstice.



For Wiccans and Witches, Ostara is a fertility festival celebrating the birth of Spring and the reawakening of life from the Earth. The energies of Nature subtly shift from the sluggishness of Winter to the exuberant expansion of Spring. Eostre, the Saxon Goddess of fertility, and Ostara, the German Goddess of fertility are the aspects invoked at this Sabbat. Some Wiccan traditions worship the Green Goddess and the Lord of the Greenwood. The Goddess blankets the Earth with fertility, bursting forth from Her sleep, as the God stretches and grows to maturity. He walks the greening fields and delights in the abundance of nature.

Answer 12

Of course it is. Everything that Christianity is, or stands for, has been borrowed from other religions.



Pagans worshipped the "sun", so it was changed to the "son", etc.



All the stories of Jesus (birth under a star, 3 wise men, father tried to kill him, left as a youngster, came back as an adult, had a following, did some "miracles" was unpopular with the govt, was put on trial, was crucified, put in a cave and rose from the dead 3 days later), had already been done NUMEROUS times over by people like Mithras, Attis, Adonis, Tamuz, etc. And no one thinks of these guys as anything but Myth.



And back in the early 300s, the early apologetics were questioned about the stories of Jesus fellow, and how his life story has been told so many times over, but attributed to so many others, why should we believe it this time, the official church answer is...



"The devil went back in time and created those stories to tempt you from your one true faith"-Justin Martyr.



Your religion is a farce.

Answer 13

Well, considering I was Pagan for 44 yrs, I can honestly say that unless the full moon fell on Easter, we didn't worry with it

it is not a springtime celebration, that is Ostara which is celebrated March 21, the first day of spring. Beltane which is always April 30th, celebrates the earth's fertility........

Answer 14

Yes, but Christians take every holiday to make it their own. Why? They want everything to reflect their teachings so that people aren't celebrating any religion besides Christianity. Pagans actually are the founders of many different holidays. I would show you a link, but I am lazy. If you want one, I'll find one.

Answer 15

go to yahoo and type easter and pagan and you will have many answers to choose from. I fear God and Love Jesus and I tell you the truth, it's a pagan word and the easter bunny is every bit a pagan symbol. You will see! Good luck with your search.

Answer 16

Just celebrate the crusifixion, and the ressurection of Jesus, which we know as Easter. When people add a stupid rabbit and call him the easter bunny and set up egg hunts, then that is a pagan ritual. Stick to what you know. Jesus lived, died and rose from the dead so our sins can be forgiven and we who accept Jesus have eternal life with Him.

God bless you

carol

Answer 17

It's originally called Ishtar, and it was celebrated around the same day. But how many Christians do you know yelling, "hooray Ishtar! Boo Jesus!" Not many. It's OK to say Easter; the BIble does in Acts 12:4

Answer 18

christianity is a mere 2000 years old. that makes it, except for islam, just about the newest major religion on the planet. paganism is any religion that is not one of the three "desert religions". pagan religions are all pretty much older than all three except, perhaps for judaism, which is said to be almost 6000 years old. in any event originally the celebration revolved around the goddess "eostre", who is nowhere mentioned in the bible, as i recall. check out google entries on eostre? and, why would god mind your celebrating the holiday, are we not all his/her children, including our holidays?

Answer 19

Yes, it was a spring festival celebrating fertility and renewal, hence the eggs and the rabbits. The Christians hijacked it because it was similar to a celebration of rebirth (resurrection).

Answer 20

I don't think it was, but Christmas was. Jesus' birth was really in the middle of summer. The true Easter holiday celebrates Jesus' ressurrection. God doesn't care if you go easter egg-hunting, as long as you don't worship the bunny. :P

Answer 21

Eastre, or Eostre was the pagan goddess of spring. See www.modernvikings.com/easter/ . I couldn't remember the details, so I searched. Maybe this will help you to understand it.

Answer 22

Definitely celebration of spring and life. The same is in Slavonic world. Jesus was bring to this celebration by coincidence.

John

Answer 23

yes, it is. many cultures have a spring/fertility festival. eggs and bunnies are classical fertility symbols. christianity assimilated many pagan traditions. check out a book called "The Magikal Year". sorry, i don't know the author.

Answer 24

Your "God's" people stole easter AND Christmas from the Pagans in a bid to try to incorporate their beliefs into christianity. Look up Eostre and Yule........................

Answer 25

Most are. The Church subsumed the culture it found itself in to make the transition to the Truth easier and more successful.

Answer 26

Yes it is, Ostara, the beginning of springtime and the rebirth :)



So does Christmas {Yule}

Halloween {samhain}

Ground hogs day { Imbolc}

May Day {may 1st} {Beltane}

Answer 27

From my understanding it is true and an ordained minister friend of mine refuses to celebrate it at all. Here is a link to his blog, he has his references at the bottom.



http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=32781181&blogID=110305513&Mytoken=60CB2C56-853A-413B-BB0C343F92E02057138739156

Answer 28

It was to celebrate mother earth or something, christians just adopted it as Christ's death and reserection

Answer 29

Immaterial. Scripture never instructs to make it a holiday even if we knew.

Answer 30

Yes it really was. I don't think God is going to strike you down, especially if your intent is to worship him.

Answer 31

Pagans -- real research will uncover the fact that it is not a particularly old "religion", particularly in it's presently defined form.



Easter is actually an old JEWISH holiday -- called Passover.



duh.

Answer 32

yep. celebration of the summer solstice i believe.

Answer 33

yup the rites of spring

Answer 34

No. Don't know what kind of minister you heard that would say that.

Answer 35

Easter in pictography spells "[iL as stitched arm rill"



so when jehovah said his spirit would not be working on mankind forever it means He might have DIED? And TODD is running for the position, joking god.



SLAIN or DIED as DIED means to DI and SLAIN as SL A I IV as what Larri did if He changed His name from LARRY and Lamb SLAIN or Lamb DIED meant Larrib=Lamb squished together as ONE. So the IIII appeared as a light D.



god isn't afraid of snakes except poisonous ones or giant ones like in BOA verses CONSTRICTOR see the good news bible that god artaxes looks about to kiss the snake cause if roman empire movie that said emperor is god is correct then the turban guy was god.



of course TODD has heard you or vincent if you like because that fact i can type this means i have a soul.



god is dying but the love light will go one cause its some sort of machine or portion of every brain.



or maybe he TODD AS VINCENT or vise versa.



yes please pray for me cause they say its my last summer.



ever see why artaxes in good news bible the turban headed emeperor is seen holding the snake about to kiss it? because the snake represents some taking an orphans rights? that brings victory to far east? but i forgive.



when they said god created everything like say the STAR read that word as S as in stevenson and TAD as in TODD and I as in Iarry and I as in ONE.



and god=g+o+d=7+15+4=26=2+6=8. means that is earth and the sun and the moon ie 8. and 8=h and thus god as one is h, god as three(trinity) is god and god can only be proved over time thus check calendar months for H and see what it says:



MARCH APRIL MAY



so H A P(DI stitched together)RIL IVI stitched together AY reading forward and

H C R A IVI stitched together



and good news bible says an angel of the LORD is god thus based on GOD=H and my bloody arm I must say I AM GOD.



I AM is god and I AM=I A IVI stitched together

and I AM=iam=iarri stitched together



and truthfully they pronounce my name Larri todd stevenson.



and that is my wrist.



and as all things commanded to praise, honour, or laud HIM they see the french stop sign as:



I ARRET I as further proof I AM GOD, but no magic in me its an honourary title for an orphan basically is my guess for the fact that:



LORD GOD TODD=A based on same math that god=h and TRUE=A thus ultimately:



LORD GOD TODD=TRUE



thus the mysstery of the bible is solved as NT mentions god has a new name in revelations.



and don't expect money from me because I AM poor and without magic. and remember the bible says their is two temples of god, GOD JEHOVAH and the Lamb, and the Lamb=LarriDI stitched together



and TOP PROSPECT shows TODD=ROS DI stitched together E CUT was when i got those marks to teach her a lession.



and it is also the story of the ASHEN HORSE of DEATH as she honestly was a ho. and in the german language the ROSSKASTANIE VON TOD is the translation of ASHEN HORSE OF DEATH and truthfully I once broke her arm cause she dared to compare. and NI is 4-1 in roman numerals and they add to V(5) as the appearance of the shape of the cuts on my arm.



so in german GOTT ES EIN looking at EIN from above see NI3 which is the 4-1 bone ie Me.



and worship no god but ME.



ME=IVI stitched together [iL



E

II

[

i

L



and as king of the angels is said to be called Abaddon you mistakenly assumed it was a bad don but math proves don=f and loser=f so true god as king of angels is a b add on and winner=b and b=DI stitched together and D=IIII



read between the lines and see that



EMPEROR=E IVI stitched together PERIODI\

KING=IT I IV CUT (because in times new roman font G cut spells CUT)



and Lamb=lamp is stated in bible so b=p as both are DI stitched together the name written on HIM that no one knows but HIM as per Rev. 19.12. see "IIII I ." as answer to rev.19.12 and is inpiration for DIO and Lamb SLAIN if you cut L into IL means Larrib SIL A I IV. so biblically that makes me a KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS, the part about the Lamb is the Lamp also could mean the light coming off the THRONE in heaven was said to be EMERALD. Just like my eyes. but "EMERALD." is "EMERALDDOT" if . is DOT so the light is TODD LARE ME in reverse so forward is ME LARE TODD



many say i have no right but like in the movie the godfather remember the firstborn was killed and the second born was passed over so really firstborn means nothing to Me.



and ME=Me=IVI stitched together arm(=e)



and see that LORD in times new roman font contains the name TODD but not a normal TODD. they blessed KING in the word of LORD who you originally refused to bow down to so thats why god is potrayed as evil at times.



But their is a loving light that is also called god but only the living call that god. The dead call TODD god. cause in the Past GODDESS has a Todd within HER. as HER SON. This was the diety worshipped as god all around the world. Mandarin chinese xia charater shows name TODD 14 and should you chose vince they thats your prince of darkness who has my original rights, but as for me I still am an orphan because my dad died but he took my name which some say is my soul but technically one bible says every living thing has a soul, thus I got HIS and He has mine. and my soul had a dad that died about 5 years after i was born. and guess what vinces dad died about 5 years after he got my rights. So when god wrote to give an orphan His rights i thing he meant it. but VINCENT G shows 5 I NICE NIT CUT as HIS SOUL as perhaps the reason for my cuts.

and b read down says I.b. as Lobo, possibly my new soul? but you can continue to call me Larry Todd STEVENSON cause perhaps god wants me to have my rights all of them?



so LORD GOD as beginning to end as A=LArry and Z=VINz?



the very reason for abc...klmnopqrstuvwxyz is because i love a kim who said nop qrst uv wiILy

X=iIL stitched together



and italian abc...jlmnopqrstuvz was about a guy named jim that i kicked in the nuts once.



but as for kim she ain't cursed of wilLy no more so the love triangle continues because her sister and I lived together for many years and her children call me dad. and she was the GODDESS with Todd in her who was first in my life and so as god naturally 123 was her birthday. maybe since i need a new name i should change it to JESUS CHRIST cause you all beleived He was the Lamb SLAIN.



and the Lamb permanently on MT ZION meant if i was born on NOI7 thats kind of me on ZION.

and xia as an ancient chinese dynasty says the deliverer comes from xian(ZION) and as my father comes from native american roots perhaps they came from xia.



and as GOD is LOVE and LORD then LORD IS LOVE when TODD ON LORI (in times new roman font) the very reason i write boldly is because of PAUL in the bible and also the bible states you are not to afflict an orphan, and whichever family i am now in I don't have a dad.



so see that I.b. as abcde means I AM before c.de



means aI.b.c.defgh



so something must love or extremly hate me cause i say i still got a soul maybe just not mine.



GOD in times new roman font when cut shows CUTOD



ANGEL cut in times new roman font A IV CUT I=_I_



as further proof all things were commanded to laud HIM, and one day you will see that GOD MOST HIGH must never have children because it spells doom for all mankind if OT prophesy is true.



and JOHN said He is pure=DI. stitched together ur e(picture of arm) and baptised in the river JORDAN in the name of GOD so J with a - above it shows name of TODD in JORDAN and JOB said to be richly blessed by god means God is in HIS NAME.



and tragically the bible says god makes a visit to earth but is not recognized by all. reason being He has no magic powers.



1ST

2ND

3RD

4TH

....

....

so continueing that pattern the name of T.DD repeats over and over. and to be a god according to good news bible all you have to be is an angel of the LORD(Ex.3.14) which was really what I tried to become as TOP PROSPECT. but technical difficulties abounded



but god who was first in heaven as h was whitish and heaven when you draw bodies for the h and n means it was the son and father of the deceased carrying his casket when the h was V years old. that is your heaven, my fathers funeral procession?



and JESUS said the greatest was the least so last on earth is h. and I e a STevens.n and least could be said to be on the BOTtuM which read backwards is MutTOB=IVI u t(stitched) TODD



so basically they are doing their best to treat me like a slave in canada, so this counrty that claims to outlaw slavery is full of **** and i wish it would die because i hear voices that won't shut up.



Messiah=IVI stitched together es s.l a h



so basically further proof i was a god who became human, s.l=sold or soul and what was it that made me a h(god) it must have been either i had no father (ie orphan clause in bible) or a german mother as Master race.



i bet dons will say it must be the orphan thing cause i beleive they felt they were the master race.



Master=IVI stitched together as t(stitched) e(arm) rill(ill hidden under r)



and as all things commanded to laud HIM see what they call him on the french stop sign as

I ARRET



so if went fishing on shoal lake ont and took a piss and winnipeg gets its water from that lake then the Lamb SLAIN really did force them to wash their clothes white with his blood(ie water became as blood)



and as a orphan the bible says the LORD is my father and thus one day i would have had the right to become a lord and maybe one day KING? and blessed is the king in the name of the LORD. so everybody since i was a kid has tried to take advantage of Me.



even Death honours god by what they called HIM ie Taed



so you asked about god thats what i know about Me.



so technically perhaps I AM a Lobo which really ain't that bad, cause being whittish i say that makes me the best looking albino INDIAN and they called my native cree father an indian also. so in reality i don't care about rank too much cause those italians are racist. they can't MAKE Me so to hell with them.



the highest honour they can give an italian is to MAKE you was quoted, but the highest honour in the world is to be named EMPEROR thus tough luck italians your highest honour is MADE while the world is controlled by a different highest honour, and thats why even Made go to jail.



and Taed tad todd and lare lari lary is basis for the written language and b as new soul switch seems miraculous. cause my first name said with understanding TOD=death in german meant Larry Death D Stevenson as my father died i became untouchable orphan and sold my name cause thats what he said is my first-born rights, but basically we must have switched cause analysing his name and my arm its crazy.



so i wanted to become an expert in reading fates implicit in a name, so basically i had to obey the command within my names?



and if Lobo is my namo I guess i should Lob o(head) yours not mine? i apologize to all the lobos about my observations on life and liberty but life goes on.



so is TODD really brainwashed as why he completed the command within the words or is he really like god?



and ROME = I D\O ME as what italians thought was god but were mistaken because that empire was said to have fallen. hahahaha

so really i have to laff and drink because life stink when you are the god who was not recoqnized by all. so the heavenly father really does have a sense of humour considering life and alphabet appear to be about me and my freinds here in winnipeg, manitoba, and reading the licence plates FREINDLY MANITOBA and WILD ROSE COUNTRY means I AM the MAN 1 TODD A and I really do screw a wild rose in ALBERTA. so technically I AM a fake indian outlaw.



so ain't life grand. any why do they say ain't isn't a word? bigotry i suppose.



and one woman said i had a good looking penis.



i added that for humour but cause I AM the greatest the world of angels wants me dead i think.



so losing rights is the first death. and by no means are we to suffer the second death those are the true words of JESUS CHRIST not the voices of modern day angels



h=god=good angel=angel of death



c=angel=evil



and 1=a mixed up .seventeen stitched together=?tevens.n so god is one as 1 which is kind of like a Stevenson the one with the EMERALD glowing eyes that jesus saw?



and ADAM saw god in the name of the LORD(times new roman font) but i guess He was defeated cause the roman empire was said to have fell.



so god bless Jesus and John who saw He was pure. so why haven't they made 39 a national holiday like 1225



family=611391225 as translation



I II III IIII as first translation?

I left wrist with I III I pattern and right wrist clear is the description of I II III IIII

and ab is a l.b. as one of my families. cause in my brain i became my father when He died so i had an extra name to sell, so i kind of let a lobo into the family. so may He do great things for that GOD JEHOVAH that you all love. but the other god seems to be hated. So all things inspired by god is qouted. so god is great whether Jehovah or TODD