Was Easter Borrowed From a Pagan Holiday?

[Kevin H]

We all "Know" that celebrating Jesus'birth on December 25 and the holiday "Easter" were borrowed from the Pagans.

In either 2001, 2002 or 2003 I read an article in the November-December issue of Bible Review that convinced me that December 25 came from Jewish mythology and not Paganism.

This morning I just found in my e-mail an article from Christian History.net by Anthony McRoy Titled "Was Easter Borrowed From a Pagan Holiday" Anthony McRoy is a Fellow of the British Society for Middle East Studies and lecturer in Islamic studies at Wales Evangelical School of Theology, U.K.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/bytopic/holidays/easterborrowedholiday.html

I'm still reading it bu wanted to share it here where you can read it as well. So far I don't find it as compelling and as convincing as the Bible Review article on December 25 was, but it has still caught my attention as a keeper.

The article says "The usual argument for the pagan origins of Easter is based on a comment made by the Venerable Bede (673-735), an English monk who wrote the first history of Christianity in England, and who is one of our main sources of knowledge about early Anglo-Saxon culture. In De temporum ratione (On the Reckoning of Time, c. 730)"

And like the article in Bible review about December 25 points out that Easter was kept by the church at least as early as the second century (which The Bible Review article pointed out was a time where the church was very uncompromising with paganism)

The article also says "The second question is whether the name of the holiday "Easter" comes from the blurring of the Christian celebration with the worship of a purported pagan fertility goddess named "Eostre" in English and Germanic cultures. There are several problems with the passage in Bede. In his book, The Stations of the Sun, Professor Ronald Hutton (a well-known historian of British paganism and occultism) critiques Bede's sketchy knowledge of other pagan festivals, and argues that the same is true for the statement about Eostre: "It falls into a category of interpretations which Bede admitted to be his own, rather than generally agreed or proven fact."

This leads us to the next problem: there is no evidence outside of Bede for the existence of this Anglo-Saxon goddess. There is no equivalent goddess in the Norse Eddas or in ancient Germanic paganism from continental Europe. Hutton suggests, therefore, that "the Anglo-Saxon Estor-monath simply meant 'the month of opening' or 'the month of beginnings,'" and concludes that there is no evidence for a pre-Christian festival in the British Isles in March or April." and continues to show how many of Bede's "facts" about how anglo saxan culture borrowed from Paganism are not accurate.

"So why, then, do English-speaking Christians call their holiday "Easter"?

One theory for the origin of the name is that the Latin phrase in albis ("in white"), which Christians used in reference to Easter week, found its way into Old High German as eostarum, or "dawn." There is some evidence of early Germanic borrowing of Latin despite that fact that the Germanic peoples lived outside the Roman Empire—though the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes were far very removed from it. This theory presumes that the word only became current after the introduction of either Roman influence or the Christian faith, which is uncertain. But if accurate, it would demonstrate that the festival is not named after a pagan goddess.

Alternatively, as Hutton suggests, Eosturmonath simply meant "the month of opening," which is comparable to the meaning of "April" in Latin. The names of both the Saxon and Latin months (which are calendrically similar) were related to spring, the season when the buds open.

So Christians in ancient Anglo-Saxon and Germanic areas called their Passover holiday what they did—doubtless colloquially at first—simply because it occurred around the time of Eosturmonath/Ostarmanoth. A contemporary analogy can be found in the way Americans sometimes refer to the December period as "the holidays" in connection with Christmas and Hanukkah, or the way people sometimes speak about something happening "around Christmas," usually referring to the time at the turn of the year. The Christian title "Easter," then, essentially reflects its general date in the calendar, rather than the Paschal festival having been re-named in honor of a supposed pagan deity.

Of course, the Christian commemoration of the Paschal festival rests not on the title of the celebration but on its content—namely, the remembrance of Christ's death and resurrection. It is Christ's conquest of sin, death, and Satan that gives us the right to wish everyone "Happy Easter!"

I hope all of you reading this will go back and read the entire article (and also may I invite you to read the other article from Bible Review, I'm sorry I forgot which one of the 3 issues it is in but it is the November-December of 2001, 2002 or 2003)

[phkrause]

Thanks for that Kevin, it sounds pretty interesting.

pk

[Woody]

Interesting Kevin.

I guess this gets back to the old question that we have beat around ...

Does it matter NOW ?

[nuff sed]

I guess that it is the same as some say about the Sabbath. "DOES IT MATTER NOW?

[Woody]

The difference as I see it Glad ...

IS that when God owns something it is permanent. When some unknown Pagan owns something ... it is NOT permanent. I think we give these pagans far too much. Paying them respect by claiming that they own something is not something I intend to do. Christians have taken over the day and turned it into something good and from God.

I will take the good rather than the bad.

Just my two cents worth friend ...

[Woody]

Good point dgrimm. That is why we as Christians need to take over those pagan holidays and replace them with good.

[missionlady]

Actually, I believe that the pagan forms of these holidays were stolen from God.

The Easter celebration--meaning the celebration of Christ's resurrection--was actually an updated celebration of the Passover. Didn't the Passover look forward to Christ?

I believe that in all false religions and false teachings there is some truth. Where did it come from?

Satan has an interesting was of disguising which event or teaching came first. Some people say that the trinity was a pagan teaching starting with Tamuz. Didn't Satan know about the trinity? So couldn't he have invented a false trinity before humans knew about the true trinity?

A false teaching would not be readily accepted unless there was some truth to it. That's unusually what catches people. Some get draw to the false by the little bit of truth in it. Others throw out that little bit of truth along with the false, so that some truth is lost (to them and their followers).

[missionlady]

I love this quote from Mrs. White. She is so balanced!

"Let not the parents take the position that an evergreen placed in the church for the amusement of the Sabbath school scholars is a sin, for it may be made a great blessing. Keep before their minds benevolent objects. In no case should mere amusement be the object of these gatherings. While there may be some who will turn these occasions into seasons of careless levity, and whose minds will not receive the divine impress, to other minds and characters these seasons will be highly beneficial. I am fully satisfied that innocent substitutes can be devised for many gatherings that demoralize." {AH 482.4}

[Dottie]

So, what about the Easter bunny, and all the egg hunts, etc.?

[delta]

Christmas day is the shortest day of the year while the Easter day is equally balanced between daytime and night time. All of the idea came from the sun--they must worship the sun since they believe that the sun was the very importance source of life due to their farming--harvest for food as the source of life.

Now the sun worship has been silently infiltrated in into the Christian worship services, hiding in the name of Celebrating His resurrection which never found in the Bible at all. We should celebrate Christ resurrection in our baptism.

The pagan system creates something to be added or celebrated in Christian worship services which are not found in the Bible while at the same time eliminates and insinuating then mocking certain things in which God's firmly commanded.

Certainly the majority shall choose the ones that looks good and fun (but dangerous-if you will), right? However, our Lord never give that kindda homework to make us busy with those stuffs for nothing but at the same time lazy and careless to do His commandments in the name of “not to become a legalist”.

It's not the time to diagnose any person with "Fanatics" or "Legalist" but forgetting our direction which is too much to compromise with the wordly standard. The truth is the truth though heaven falls. Sorry!

Anyway, we know the sun is very important. But shall we worship the sun?

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

So, what about the Easter bunny, and all the egg hunts, etc.?

I have hesitated in replying in this thread for a number of reasons. Ishtar was a fertility goddess of ancient Babylon, who is still worshipped by pagans today, especially around the Spring Equinox. Rabbits and eggs were/are considered to be symbols of fertility.

[delta]

Which one is the most dangerous: poisonous substance/toxic materials with label on it to be known by everyone or if those same deadly poisons poured in the nice food?

Well, look at another picture:

To be attacked by our enemy or to be attacked by our families and friends.

Which one is the most dangerous?

The same question should be asked by ourself in Christian world today.

Now let's look closer home:

Keep in mind that Satan in most cases should always attacks the Adventist church NOT by using outsiders or terrorists, yet he is using the insiders, the Adventists itself including the leaders effectively rather than as if he's using non-Adventists.

“Compromising” VS “Legalism” issues are the key words here.

[Woody]

I think we can guage something on current value rather than what the value was for some unknown pagan a thousand years ago. So, I say lets celebrate Easter and God will be blessed.

[Kountzer]

Easter wasn't borrowed from a pagan holiday, Easter IS a pagan holiday.

[Woody]

Do you not believe that we serve a risen Saviour?

[delta]

Dear Redwood,

Do you not believe that we can't use any fake money? If you believe that you can use fake money, well give me all of your real money....c'mon....then print from your printer the currency you want. It's the same, right?

The issue here is not about celebrating the risen Saviour....

[delta]

Is it too hard for you to convince your heart that there must be fake and false worship in Christian world?

Everything should be fine.

Everything should be OK.

As long as you praise the Name of the Lord...That's fine...No matter how; No matter the way you choose to worship Him. And the Bible doesn't give us the guideline anyway, right?

[phkrause]

That was awesome missionlady. What does AH stand for?

pk

[True-believer]

Easter is a pagan holiday... yes.

We as Christians, what are we meant to do over that pagan period?

Well, we can spread the TRUE MEANING of Easter...

Jesus Christ dying on the Cross on Good-Friday for the sacrifice of our sins, and resting in the tomb on the Sabbath, and then Resurrecting from the tomb on Easter Sunday.

By Jesus death on the Cross, He torn the veil of the curtain in two from top to bottom, to give us complete access to God through Himself Jesus Christ by His Holy Ghost POWER.

We have been made free, been set free, been washed clean, the Blood has CLEANSED US.

[Kevin H]

Easter wasn't borrowed from a pagan holiday, Easter IS a pagan holiday.

Kountzer, then I am sure you can back up that statement by giving a detailed criticism of the article and show where the author was wrong and thus defend your oppinion. Please, while I don't find this artical as convincing as the one I read about how we got December 25 for Christmas from Bible review a few years back, I still found this article to be quite compelling. Since I've obviously been deceived by the arguments presented please save me by pointing out where he is wrong.

Or are you just going to either be quiet, or throw up tradition and the traditional arguments?

[nuff sed]

Did anybody get the same reaction I got from a well-meaning religious broadcast group offering plastic Easter eggs? Inside the eggs are a series of pamphlets telling all about Jesus and the meaning of Easter.

This is supposed to make it more appealing to children. Give me a break!

[Woody]

Did anybody get the same reaction I got from a well-meaning religious broadcast group offering plastic Easter eggs? Inside the eggs are a series of pamphlets telling all about Jesus and the meaning of Easter.

This is supposed to make it more appealing to children. Give me a break!

Our church is planning to do just that or at least very similar.

[Kountzer]

The basic formula for determining when Easter occurs is this: it is the first Sunday after the first full moon, after the vernal equinox, or the beginning of spring. Christmas is linked closely to the winter soltice, or beginning of winter. That stuff has paganism written all over it. There's lots more information available to nail down the argument, but I am not interested in going into detail. Anything having to do with soltices and equinox is probably pagan. Pagans, and wiccans go crazy over that kind of stuff.

Having said that, I enjoy both Easter and Christmas. I like the music and the sermons that can be heard during those seasons. Not to mention fellowshipping with friends and family.

[antcreations]

if we have to take out everything that has pagan associations - we might be as well be very good at it and be consistent and not cherry pick.

let's start with our church hymnals. :)

[Kountzer]

Who said something about taking out something???