ANO NGA BA ANG EASTER

Easter is one of Christianity’s highest and holiest days, the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. But the origins of today’s very Christian holiday are firmly rooted in the ancient traditions of pagan religions from many parts of the world. With its blend of solemn religious symbolism and the fun of Easter eggs and bunny rabbits, Easter as we know it is a patchwork of beliefs and practices related to the themes of springtime, rebirth, and renewal. So, what does pagan mean and, more specifically, what involves a pagan Easter?

What Does “Pagan” Mean?

Pagan was originally a term used to describe people who practiced non-Christian religions. The term, which had a derogatory connotation, was assigned by early Christians. As Christianity was spreading in its early days in Europe, there were still many people who maintained their polytheistic beliefs. Those people were subject to the pejorative term, which served as a form of social pressure to convert to Christianity, and identified targets for discrimination. However, since the 21st century, certain people of non-Christian faiths, primarily those that adopted a form of spirituality, began to use the term to describe themselves. Paganism is now a religion of its own. But early pagans are credited with laying the foundation for the Easter as we know it today, and thus, some people consider it a pagan Easter.

Where Did the Name Easter Come From?

Easter most likely takes its name from the names of goddesses associated with spring, vernal equinox and renewal. Eostre was the Saxon mother goddess, the source of all things and the bringer of new life. Around the same time, Teutonic tribes worshiped the dawn goddess Ostara, who also represented fertility and rebirth.

Easter actually began as a pagan festival celebrating spring in the Northern Hemisphere, long before the advent of Christianity. 

Festival of Eostre, a great northern goddess whose symbol was a rabbit or hare. Exchange of eggs is an ancient custom, celebrated by many cultures.

Who is Eostre?

An ancient Northern goddess of spring and fertility like Ashtoreths.

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Who is Ashtoreths?

Astarte or Ashtoreths is well known as a goddess of sexual love and fertility :

Judges 2:13 " Because they forsook him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths."

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The Bible states:

♉"And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.-- ( Exodus 23:13)

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Other pagan cults and deities played a part in the formation of Easter, too. Around 200 BCE, the mystery cult of the goddess Cybele was popular in Rome and its surrounding areas. Cybele, another goddess of renewal and spring, had a lover named Attis, who was born of a virgin, and died and was reborn every spring.

The legend of Attis’ birth is also associated with other deities including Dionysius, Tammuz and Osiris – and, scholars believe, with the life and death of Jesus. As Christianity rose to prominence alongside those pagan beliefs, elements of the celebrations of Eostre, Ostara, Attis and other deities became inextricably intertwined with the Christian narrative of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

What Are the Pagan Easter Symbols?

Today’s Easter is a mix of symbols from Christianity and traditions far older. Alongside the overtly religious celebration of Jesus’ death and resurrection, people of all ages and beliefs enjoy colored eggs, egg hunts, candy rabbits, and chickens. Also, the Easter baskets filled with gifts, candies and springtime colors are an important part of today’s celebration.

If Easter is supposed to be a celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus, how did all these trappings get added to the fasting and feasting that marked the earliest celebrations within the church? The answers are complex and involve regional influences. I do not intend to examine every tradition but to focus on a few of the more popular symbols and examine them from a biblical perspective. Ultimately, each person must consider these practices in light of Scripture and his own convictions about worshipping the Savior regarding the Resurrection.

There is no question that a majority of these practices have their origins in pagan customs. These customs were assimilated into Christian practices throughout the early centuries of the church. Alexander Hislop and Ralph Woodrow1 chronicled the insertion of these practices into the life of the church, especially appearing in the modern rituals of the Roman Catholic and other churches. The celebrations linked to the Catholic Church calendar are admittedly tied to pagan celebrations. Though there are problems with the reasoning in the writings of Hislop and Woodrow, many of their ideas regarding the symbols attached to Easter are confirmed, even by the Catholic Encyclopedia.

Under the discussion of Easter in the Catholic Encyclopedia, we find statements like the following:

⏩EASTER EGGS :

The [use of Easter eggs] may have its origin in paganism, for a great many pagan customs, celebrating the return of spring, gravitated to Easter. The egg is the emblem of the germinating life of early spring. All of these Easter favorites clearly echo pagan beliefs. Many of those beliefs were very much in tune with nature – animal births, seasons and cycles of the moon and sun. The rabbit, symbol of fertility and agility, was sacred to Ostara. Eggs, chicks, green grass and sweets speak to the ancient celebration of new life and rebirth during warm spring days. Many ancient pagan cultures exchanged eggs as a celebration of the changing season into spring and blessing of fertility.

⏩EASTER RABBIT 

The rabbit is a pagan symbol and has always been an emblem of fertility. The Easter fire . . . is a custom of pagan origin in vogue all over Europe, signifying the victory of spring over winter. . . . The Church adopted the observance into the Easter ceremonies, referring it to the fiery column in the desert and to the Resurrection of Christ.

As the church spread throughout Asia, Africa, and Europe, it appears that the customs of various seasons and festivals were co-opted and incorporated into Christian practices. It is not easy to identify the exact date of the origin of the Roman Catholic Church, so to say that all of these practices are simply attached to the Roman Church may be an overstatement. As a result of the Reformation, some of these practices were separated from the celebration, but many remain in various cultures. Let’s examine some of the more popular ideas in the West.

Lent:

Lent is the period of 40 days leading up to the Easter feast. The exact origin of this tradition is clouded by history, but there are two likely origins. Hislop proposed that this period of 40 days comes from the fasting that followed the Babylonian worship of Tammuz, who was honored by a period of weeping. Hislop cited current examples of this practice, but there is still no clear connection through time to the practice in the Christian community. Satan acts as a counterfeiter—he is the father of lies (John 8:44). Undoubtedly, he takes biblical ideas and tries to twist them to pervert the true worship of God. Some writings do seem to support that the 40 day period was introduced in the fifth century,4 but an earlier statement counters this idea. Irenaeus, writing of Polycarp visiting the Bishop of Rome around AD 150, stated:

For the controversy is not merely as regards the day, but also as regards the form itself of the fast. For some consider themselves bound to fast one day, others two days, others still more, while others [do so during] forty: the diurnal and the nocturnal hours they measure out together as their [fasting] day. And this variety among the observers [of the fasts] had not its origin in our time, but long before in that of our predecessors, some of whom probably, being not very accurate in their observance of it, handed down to posterity the custom as it had, through simplicity or private fancy, been [introduced among them]. And yet nevertheless all these lived in peace one with another, and we also keep peace together.

It is clear from this record that the period of the fast varied widely from a few days, apparently in honor of the period from the Cross to the Resurrection, to 40 days, apparently in reference to the fasting and temptation of Christ in the wilderness following His baptism (Luke 4:1–13). Despite the trappings that have been added since, there is nothing unchristian about setting aside a period of devotion to honor Christ. The danger comes when legalistic requirements with no connection to the gospel or the Bible are added.

Egg-laying Bunnies:

The hare has been celebrated as a symbol of fertility in many cultures throughout recorded history. Throughout Western celebrations, the hare or rabbit has been attached to the Resurrection of the Savior of the world. Exactly how this connection has come to be varies within cultures, but all are from outside the Bible.

The Bible states that the Bunnies is unclean:

In Leviticus 11:6 ►The Bunnies, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you.

A problematic aspect of the hare in our modern culture comes from the promise of treats to boys and girls who have been good. Not too unlike Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny magically and mysteriously appears in the middle of the night to hide a basket filled with candy for the child. Sadly, rather than waking to a morning focused on celebrating Christ’s victory over death and our assurance of faith in Him (1 Corinthians 15:13–17), the focus is on selfishly seeking a hidden basket of sweets. I ask you to question whether this is a wise practice for your family and yet to reserve judging those who choose to participate in such activities (Romans 14). Every Christian would do well to consider whether this type of activity leads to exalting Christ as Lord and Savior and to make that goal the measure of their decision whether to participate in egg hunts and the like.

Like the hare, eggs have also been a symbol of fertility cults and pagan rituals around the world. The coloring of eggs is common to many of these rituals. Many Christians across the globe have incorporated the use of eggs into their celebrations but with no specific biblical command to do so. While eggs have been symbols of the rebirth of the earth each spring in paganism, Christians have viewed the egg as a symbol of resurrection. From the apparently dead egg springs forth new life in the form of a chick. This raises an interesting question: If an object or action is used in pagan worship, can it ever be used to worship God? Answering this question is at the heart of the discussion over how to celebrate the Resurrection.

Can Christians Celebrate the Resurrection Using Pagan Symbols?

Scripture does not answer this question directly, so we must apply principles from the breadth of Scripture. In order to examine this question, we must set aside our preconceived notions about the alleged connections to pagan worship we have been handed and examine the claims individually as well as the motives of those participating in the “questionable” practices.

God is the Creator of everything, so any object from nature the pagans may use in their worship is actually a corruption of what God has created. Christians might use an egg to communicate the idea of Christ’s Resurrection without worshipping the egg, expecting increased fertility, or associating it with a pagan god. In fact, we might take the opportunity to explain how Satan has perverted God’s truth and His creation to deceive people through such practices.

Many people use Deuteronomy 12:1–32 to suggest that incorporating various cultural practices into worshipping God is forbidden. It is clear that in some instances the springtime worship rituals were simply adopted by Christians. However, Christians who use eggs in their celebrations today do not do so to honor a fertility goddess or with the impression they are worshipping God through the egg. Those who participate in sunrise services are doing so because that is the approximate time Christ rose from the dead, not because they are unknowingly worshipping the sun.

The Deuteronomy passage must be considered in its context. The commands of chapter 12 are for the conquest of Canaan. In verses 1–4, the Israelites are also called to destroy every altar and idol they encounter. Verses 29–32 are a reiteration of this command. We do not see such a command in the New Testament as the gospel was spreading around the globe. Paul did not topple the statues he found in Athens—he used them as an opportunity to teach about the real God who had created the earth and had risen from the dead.

In general, Christians have used formerly pagan symbols to represent the new life we have in Christ. Celebrating His Resurrection is the perfect time to be reminded of the new life each believer has in Christ. The grass and flowers that spring forth as the weather warms are a splendid analogy for the rebirth of the Christian. We should be constantly reminded of God’s active role in sustaining the earth He has given us to live on. Springtime offers a time to remember that it is God who causes the grass to grow (Psalm 147:8), just as He causes new birth for those who turn to the resurrected Lord Jesus in repentance and faith (1 Peter 1:3–5). We should acknowledge this wonderful truth every day, not just on Easter, as we praise God for His goodness and mercy.

Conclusion:

As you consider how best to acknowledge the Resurrection, take time to make sure your practices help you bring honor and glory to Christ. Christians should take care to be separate from the influences of worldliness and to live as a people called out of the world by God. Certainly, some will say Scripture does not command the celebration, and so it should be avoided. Others will say there are no commands against it and no shame in participating in cultural activities that are not sinful (1 Corinthians 8; Romans 14). Others will insist that we keep only the feasts given to the Israelites and that to do anything else is a perverted form of worship.

Although Easter has become known as a Christian holiday around the world, celebrating the sacred death and rebirth of Jesus, the true pagan Easter and its symbols is a clear testament to the historical melting pot of cultures and traditions that make Easter what is is today.