Easter and Its Pagan origins

[Moonglow]

All the really fun holidays have Pagan origins

But there is a lack of grass skirts.....

That's because we like to dance nekkid.

Or parade in cool costumes!

I haven't been to one in ages....

 

[Coyote]

Well it's about time isn't then?

 

[Stephanie]

shoot. why do they hunt the eggs then? shouldn't be hunting the bunnies and drinking their blood?

brother

Na...it's the fertility aspect of the eggs

that must by why they boil them...or they would sucking them raw

 

[Moonglow]

Well it's about time isn't then?

Yes it is...

 

[Uncensored2008]

The importance of knowing history


The name "Easter" originated with the names of an ancient Goddess and God. The Venerable Bede, (672-735 CE), a Christian scholar, first asserted in his book De Ratione Temporum that Easter was named after Eostre (a.k.a. Eastre). She was the Great Mother Goddess of the Saxon people in Northern Europe. Similarly, the "Teutonic dawn goddess of fertility [was] known variously as Ostare, Ostara, Ostern, Eostra, Eostre, Eostur, Eastra, Eastur, Austron and Ausos." 1 Her name was derived from the ancient word for spring: "eastre." Similar Goddesses were known by other names in ancient cultures around the Mediterranean, and were celebrated in the springtime. Some were:

The Pagan origins of Easter

Uh-oh, the Christophobic Muslim bigot Batshit is going on another hate fest against Christians....

 

[The Irish Ram]

I'm surprised at all the others...

 

[dilloduck]

The importance of knowing history


The name "Easter" originated with the names of an ancient Goddess and God. The Venerable Bede, (672-735 CE), a Christian scholar, first asserted in his book De Ratione Temporum that Easter was named after Eostre (a.k.a. Eastre). She was the Great Mother Goddess of the Saxon people in Northern Europe. Similarly, the "Teutonic dawn goddess of fertility [was] known variously as Ostare, Ostara, Ostern, Eostra, Eostre, Eostur, Eastra, Eastur, Austron and Ausos." 1 Her name was derived from the ancient word for spring: "eastre." Similar Goddesses were known by other names in ancient cultures around the Mediterranean, and were celebrated in the springtime. Some were:

The Pagan origins of Easter

Shocker---you just now figured out that Christians hijacked a pagan festival for public relations ? Not a bad idea huh ?

 

[September]

I'm surprised at all the others...

I ain't hatin' on Christianity. It is Christians who tend to leap at the opportunity to hate on Pagans.

Christianity is a beautiful religion. And so is Buddhism. And Islam. Hinduism. I love every religion. Especially any that fall under the label of "Paganism".

​

 

[PostmodernProph]

The importance of knowing history


The name "Easter" originated with the names of an ancient Goddess and God. The Venerable Bede, (672-735 CE), a Christian scholar, first asserted in his book De Ratione Temporum that Easter was named after Eostre (a.k.a. Eastre). She was the Great Mother Goddess of the Saxon people in Northern Europe. Similarly, the "Teutonic dawn goddess of fertility [was] known variously as Ostare, Ostara, Ostern, Eostra, Eostre, Eostur, Eastra, Eastur, Austron and Ausos." 1 Her name was derived from the ancient word for spring: "eastre." Similar Goddesses were known by other names in ancient cultures around the Mediterranean, and were celebrated in the springtime. Some were:

The Pagan origins of Easter

Easter as Christians celebrate it has no pagan origins.....Easter as seculars celebrate it, with candy and bunnies, may have.....I consider that to be the pagan seculars problem.......

 

[PostmodernProph]

you do realize most myths have the 3 day death then rise thing......jesus was hardly the first

did you know that despite the fact AtheistRUs websites repeat that claim over and over, there is actually no truth to it?......congratulations on spreading the lie one step further......

 

[chikenwing]

The importance of knowing history


The name "Easter" originated with the names of an ancient Goddess and God. The Venerable Bede, (672-735 CE), a Christian scholar, first asserted in his book De Ratione Temporum that Easter was named after Eostre (a.k.a. Eastre). She was the Great Mother Goddess of the Saxon people in Northern Europe. Similarly, the "Teutonic dawn goddess of fertility [was] known variously as Ostare, Ostara, Ostern, Eostra, Eostre, Eostur, Eastra, Eastur, Austron and Ausos." 1 Her name was derived from the ancient word for spring: "eastre." Similar Goddesses were known by other names in ancient cultures around the Mediterranean, and were celebrated in the springtime. Some were:

The Pagan origins of Easter

You are gonna will your brain to Science, ain'tcha Guno?

humm... from a christer web site

The Truth On Easter

One couldn't be more wrong,christian s,celebrate Christ's resurrection,the secular world calls it Easter,you should and try and get your facts right.
What is a christer,some old car from the sixties,the Ford christer?

 

[Meriweather]

The importance of knowing history


The name "Easter" originated with the names of an ancient Goddess and God. The Venerable Bede, (672-735 CE), a Christian scholar, first asserted in his book De Ratione Temporum that Easter was named after Eostre (a.k.a. Eastre). She was the Great Mother Goddess of the Saxon people in Northern Europe. Similarly, the "Teutonic dawn goddess of fertility [was] known variously as Ostare, Ostara, Ostern, Eostra, Eostre, Eostur, Eastra, Eastur, Austron and Ausos." 1 Her name was derived from the ancient word for spring: "eastre." Similar Goddesses were known by other names in ancient cultures around the Mediterranean, and were celebrated in the springtime. Some were:

The Pagan origins of Easter

Problems with Bede's claims:

1. Scholars have found no goddess with that name at the time--or any festivals in her honor.

2. A common conclusion is that Bede assumed that the month "Eosturmonath" was named for a goddess. In fact, just as "April" is taken from a Latin word meaning "opening" (of buds and leaves), "Eosturmonath" has the same meaning ("opening") in the Germanic language.

3. There is clear evidence of the celebration of the resurrection around the Mediterranean Sea by the second century--five hundred years before Bede's comments.

4. When Christianity (and its holidays) spread to the Germanic countries, this celebration occurred during Eosturmonath--or the month of the opening (of buds and leaves).

5. There is another argument that "Easter" may have come from eostarum, or "dawn."

In any case, the argument that Easter was borrowed from a pagan holiday as been debunked for years--as was the argument that Christmas also came from a pagan holiday. In fact, it turns out that pagan rulers created a pagan holiday to crush the Christian celebration of epiphany.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

The importance of knowing history


The name "Easter" originated with the names of an ancient Goddess and God. The Venerable Bede, (672-735 CE), a Christian scholar, first asserted in his book De Ratione Temporum that Easter was named after Eostre (a.k.a. Eastre). She was the Great Mother Goddess of the Saxon people in Northern Europe. Similarly, the "Teutonic dawn goddess of fertility [was] known variously as Ostare, Ostara, Ostern, Eostra, Eostre, Eostur, Eastra, Eastur, Austron and Ausos." 1 Her name was derived from the ancient word for spring: "eastre." Similar Goddesses were known by other names in ancient cultures around the Mediterranean, and were celebrated in the springtime. Some were:

The Pagan origins of Easter

Many Christian observances have pagan roots as the early Catholic Church sought to incorporate the many pagans into their clutch. Since pagans naturally didn't want to, the Church had to sweeten the deal by letting them bring in their various celebrations like Easter, Christmas, etc.

 

[Meriweather]

Many Christian observances have pagan roots as the early Catholic Church sought to incorporate the many pagans into their clutch. Since pagans naturally didn't want to, the Church had to sweeten the deal by letting them bring in their various celebrations like Easter, Christmas, etc.

Not true. Many seasons of the year have been celebrated by different cultures for different reasons. No one had to "sweeten" any "deal." On the other hand, we do see decorations and games crossing cultures and being used for different reasons in different celebrations.

In my family, atheists celebrate both Christmas and Easter with those of us who are Christians. Funny thing is, they never insist they are celebrating a pagan version of the holiday. Rather like birthdays that are not their own, they gather to be with family and enjoy family interactions. The reason doesn't matter to them, being with family does.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

Many Christian observances have pagan roots as the early Catholic Church sought to incorporate the many pagans into their clutch. Since pagans naturally didn't want to, the Church had to sweeten the deal by letting them bring in their various celebrations like Easter, Christmas, etc.

Not true. Many seasons of the year have been celebrated by different cultures for different reasons. No one had to "sweeten" any "deal." On the other hand, we do see decorations and games crossing cultures and being used for different reasons in different celebrations.

In my family, atheists celebrate both Christmas and Easter with those of us who are Christians. Funny thing is, they never insist they are celebrating a pagan version of the holiday. Rather like birthdays that are not their own, they gather to be with family and enjoy family interactions. The reason doesn't matter to them, being with family does.

The Pagan Origins of Jesus Christ and Christianity

...Wanna keep talking or just admit you were wrong, have been corrected and go on with life?

 

[Uncensored2008]

Easter as Christians celebrate it has no pagan origins.....Easter as seculars celebrate it, with candy and bunnies, may have.....I consider that to be the pagan seculars problem.......

Interesting aside, I recently watched the European "Borgia" series, which is not the Showtime "The Borias." It became apparent that the populations of Europe were bored during the Renaissance and that holidays and festivals were a vital part of the cultural life. The Catholic Church searched for any and every excuse to create a holiday. Pagan was fine, as long as it could be recrafted. Easter incorporates pagan rituals because it added fun and color to an otherwise dreary existence. There is nothing more sinister to it than that.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

Never ceases to amaze me how little theists know about their own religions while atheists know so much more.

Parallels between the Christian gospels and Pagan mythology

"Many early Christians celebrated Jesus' birthday on JAN-6. Armenian Christians still do. In Alexandria, in what is now Egypt, the birthday of their god-man, Aion, was also celebrated on JAN-6.
bullet Christians and most Pagans eventually celebrated the birthday of their god-man on DEC-25.
bullet According to an ancient Christian tradition, Christ died on MAR-23 and resurrected on MAR-25. These dates agree precisely with the death and resurrection of Attis."

Christianity and Paganism - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

"In the course of the Christianisation of Europe in the Early Middle Ages, the Christian churches adopted many elements of national cult and folk religion,[1] resulting in national churches like Latin, Germanic, Russian, Armenian, Greek and so on. Some Pagan ceremonies were brought in and the festivals became modern holidays as pagans joined the early church.[1] The Pagan vernal equinox celebration was 'Christianized'[1] and then referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary or Annunciation of the Lord and celebrated as the Feast of the Annunciation. The Germanic Pagan solstice celebrations (Midsummer festivals) are also sometimes referred to by Neopagans and others as Litha, stemming from Bede's De temporum ratione and the fire festival or Litha was a tradition for many pagans. This pagan holiday was basically brought in and given a name change, and in Christianity was then associated with the nativity of John the Baptist, which now is observed on the same day, June 24, in the Catholic, Orthodox and some Protestant churches. It is six months before Christmas because Luke 1:26 and Luke 1.36 imply that John the Baptist was born six months earlier than Jesus, although the Bible does not say at which time of the year this happened."

Pagan Roots 5 Surprising Facts About Christmas

" 3. The Church was slow to embrace Christmas

Despite the spread of Christianity, midwinter festivals did not become Christmas for hundreds of years. The Bible gives no reference to when Jesus was born, which wasn't a problem for early Christians, Nissenbaum said.

"It never occurred to them that they needed to celebrate his birthday," he said.

With no Biblical directive to do so and no mention in the Gospels of the correct date, it wasn't until the fourth century that church leaders in Rome embraced the holiday. At this time, Nissenbaum said, many people had turned to a belief the Church found heretical: That Jesus had never existed as a man, but as a sort of spiritual entity.

4. The Puritans hated the holiday

But if the Catholic Church gradually came to embrace Christmas, the Protestant Reformation gave the holiday a good knock on the chin. In the 16th century, Christmas became a casualty of this church schism, with reformist-minded Protestants considering it little better than paganism, Nissenbaum said. This likely had something to do with the "raucous, rowdy and sometimes bawdy fashion" in which Christmas was celebrated, he added.

In England under Oliver Cromwell, Christmas and other saints' days were banned, and in New England it was illegal to celebrate Christmas for about 25 years in the 1600s, Nissenbaum said. Forget people saying, "Happy holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas," he said.

"If you want to look at a real 'War on Christmas,' you've got to look at the Puritans," he said. "They banned it!"

 

[Meriweather]

Many Christian observances have pagan roots as the early Catholic Church sought to incorporate the many pagans into their clutch. Since pagans naturally didn't want to, the Church had to sweeten the deal by letting them bring in their various celebrations like Easter, Christmas, etc.

Not true. Many seasons of the year have been celebrated by different cultures for different reasons. No one had to "sweeten" any "deal." On the other hand, we do see decorations and games crossing cultures and being used for different reasons in different celebrations.

In my family, atheists celebrate both Christmas and Easter with those of us who are Christians. Funny thing is, they never insist they are celebrating a pagan version of the holiday. Rather like birthdays that are not their own, they gather to be with family and enjoy family interactions. The reason doesn't matter to them, being with family does.

The Pagan Origins of Jesus Christ and Christianity

...Wanna keep talking or just admit you were wrong, have been corrected and go on with life?

I'm not wrong. Try looking at scholarly reports and originals of many mythological stories, and you will see this for yourself. Then add the history and cultures where mythology and various religions originate and you will be convinced.

I have always had a strong interest in both religion and mythology. Take any of your stories (Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Norse) and you will find the differences between any of them and Christianity more interesting than trying to force similarities to fit the same mold. The disservice to all is equal--why is it that uniqueness, where ever it surfaces, there are those who insist on stomping it into a boring uniformity?

Atheist comparisons to mythologies and religions are pathetic at best. They should at least do a little more in depth study on one, even if they are too lazy to do it on both.

 

[Meriweather]

Never ceases to amaze me how little theists know about their own religions while atheists know so much more.

Parallels between the Christian gospels and Pagan mythology

"Many early Christians celebrated Jesus' birthday on JAN-6. Armenian Christians still do. In Alexandria, in what is now Egypt, the birthday of their god-man, Aion, was also celebrated on JAN-6.
bullet Christians and most Pagans eventually celebrated the birthday of their god-man on DEC-25.
bullet According to an ancient Christian tradition, Christ died on MAR-23 and resurrected on MAR-25. These dates agree precisely with the death and resurrection of Attis."

Christianity and Paganism - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

"In the course of the Christianisation of Europe in the Early Middle Ages, the Christian churches adopted many elements of national cult and folk religion,[1] resulting in national churches like Latin, Germanic, Russian, Armenian, Greek and so on. Some Pagan ceremonies were brought in and the festivals became modern holidays as pagans joined the early church.[1] The Pagan vernal equinox celebration was 'Christianized'[1] and then referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary or Annunciation of the Lord and celebrated as the Feast of the Annunciation. The Germanic Pagan solstice celebrations (Midsummer festivals) are also sometimes referred to by Neopagans and others as Litha, stemming from Bede's De temporum ratione and the fire festival or Litha was a tradition for many pagans. This pagan holiday was basically brought in and given a name change, and in Christianity was then associated with the nativity of John the Baptist, which now is observed on the same day, June 24, in the Catholic, Orthodox and some Protestant churches. It is six months before Christmas because Luke 1:26 and Luke 1.36 imply that John the Baptist was born six months earlier than Jesus, although the Bible does not say at which time of the year this happened."

Pagan Roots 5 Surprising Facts About Christmas

" 3. The Church was slow to embrace Christmas

Despite the spread of Christianity, midwinter festivals did not become Christmas for hundreds of years. The Bible gives no reference to when Jesus was born, which wasn't a problem for early Christians, Nissenbaum said.

"It never occurred to them that they needed to celebrate his birthday," he said.

With no Biblical directive to do so and no mention in the Gospels of the correct date, it wasn't until the fourth century that church leaders in Rome embraced the holiday. At this time, Nissenbaum said, many people had turned to a belief the Church found heretical: That Jesus had never existed as a man, but as a sort of spiritual entity.

4. The Puritans hated the holiday

But if the Catholic Church gradually came to embrace Christmas, the Protestant Reformation gave the holiday a good knock on the chin. In the 16th century, Christmas became a casualty of this church schism, with reformist-minded Protestants considering it little better than paganism, Nissenbaum said. This likely had something to do with the "raucous, rowdy and sometimes bawdy fashion" in which Christmas was celebrated, he added.

In England under Oliver Cromwell, Christmas and other saints' days were banned, and in New England it was illegal to celebrate Christmas for about 25 years in the 1600s, Nissenbaum said. Forget people saying, "Happy holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas," he said.

"If you want to look at a real 'War on Christmas,' you've got to look at the Puritans," he said. "They banned it!"

Try going a little more in depth. The answers to all are out there.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

Many Christian observances have pagan roots as the early Catholic Church sought to incorporate the many pagans into their clutch. Since pagans naturally didn't want to, the Church had to sweeten the deal by letting them bring in their various celebrations like Easter, Christmas, etc.

Not true. Many seasons of the year have been celebrated by different cultures for different reasons. No one had to "sweeten" any "deal." On the other hand, we do see decorations and games crossing cultures and being used for different reasons in different celebrations.

In my family, atheists celebrate both Christmas and Easter with those of us who are Christians. Funny thing is, they never insist they are celebrating a pagan version of the holiday. Rather like birthdays that are not their own, they gather to be with family and enjoy family interactions. The reason doesn't matter to them, being with family does.

The Pagan Origins of Jesus Christ and Christianity

...Wanna keep talking or just admit you were wrong, have been corrected and go on with life?

I'm not wrong. Try looking at scholarly reports and originals of many mythological stories, and you will see this for yourself. Then add the history and cultures where mythology and various religions originate and you will be convinced.

I have always had a strong interest in both religion and mythology. Take any of your stories (Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Norse) and you will find the differences between any of them and Christianity more interesting than trying to force similarities to fit the same mold. The disservice to all is equal--why is it that uniqueness, where ever it surfaces, there are those who insist on stomping it into a boring uniformity?

Atheist comparisons to mythologies and religions are pathetic at best. They should at least do a little more in depth study on one, even if they are too lazy to do it on both.

Kinda figured. Takes a mature adult to admit when they're wrong.