Wabbit Season
EASTER AND PAGANISM
TWENTY-ONE
“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. 9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.” —Isaiah 53:4-9
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This has been an ongoing source of conflict
between myself and some of my brother ministers, some of whom
are steadfast and invested in the rituals of numerous holidays,
and who refuse to even examine the origins of these holidays or
to take a sober look at what we do and why we do it.
Choosing December 25th to celebrate Christ’s birth was a
political decision, not a spiritual one. By holding Christmas at
the same time as traditional pagan winter solstice festivals,
church leaders increased the chances that Christmas would be
popularly embraced, but gave up the ability to dictate how it
was celebrated. By the Middle Ages, Christianity had, for the
most part, replaced pagan religion. On Christmas, believers
attended church, then celebrated raucously in drunken orgies.
Christ was obviously not born in December, as no shepherds herd
their flocks in winter, Furthermore, the prophet Jeremiah left a
chillingly descriptive warning against erecting Christmas trees:
“For the customs of the peoples are worthless; they cut a tree
out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel.
They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with a hammer
and nails so it will not totter. Like a scarecrow in a melon
patch, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because
they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do no harm nor can
they do any good.” — Jeremiah 10:1-5 NIV
St. Valentine’s Day has its roots in The Feast of Lupercalia, a
Roman holiday to honor Juno, Queen of the Roman Gods and
Goddesses In Ancient Rome. Priests of the early Christian church
did away with the pagan custom by replacing the names of the
girls with the names of saints. They chose St. Valentine’s Day
as the day of celebration for the new feast.
Rituals and practices designed, from their inception, to deny
the holiness of God are inappropriate vehicles for evangelism.
Some have argued that we’re just taking satan’s tools and
turning them against him. By definition, satan’s tools are
satan’s tools. By definition they are FOREVER condemned and
ineligible for inclusion in worship to God.
Easter bunnies and eggs demean the value, the worth, the
significance and uniqueness of the cross by reducing a sovereign
God—who sacrificed everything to save us—to the level of Just
Another God among gods. Make all the excuses you like, the fact
is, when you allow this emulation of pagan tradition to take
place on your watch, you are saying God—our God, Jehovah God,
Jesus Christ—is no better than Isis and Juno and all the rest.
You are saying our God is not unique enough, not sovereign
enough, to be worthy of a little creativity on our part; that we
are so ideologically bankrupt we need to incorporate traditions
and rituals created specifically to deny the very holiness of
the God we allegedly worship and serve.
The fact is, most of us cling to these traditions out of a
simple lack of imagination. It’s not that we’re so in love with
Easter eggs, it’s that we can’t think of something else. That we
just sit and stare and shrug our shoulders and just decide to do
what we’ve always done, continuing in our ignorance even after
God has raised up those among us who are proclaiming His truth.
We set that truth aside because embracing that truth will force
us to actually come up with some other way to celebrate the
season.
The truth is, these holidays are part of satan’s trap, his
distortion of the truth, designed to weaken us and corrupt us
from the inside. Our blind allegiance to What We’ve Always Done
makes us cowards or, worse, too lazy to take a stand for truth.
Truth is hard. Truth takes investment and commitment. Truth
takes courage.
Letting go of something you’ve believed all of your life is
difficult and painful. But it is necessary for Christian growth.
To put away childish things—blind, irrational faith in these
holiday rituals even in the face of clear scriptural refutation
(or the absence of clear scriptural foundation)—requires a sober
examination of who we are and a willingness to change. Most
church folk dismiss me out of hand, refusing to even hear what I
have to say about these things, ignoring what the Bible has to
say. We’re so invested, so very afraid of change, terrified to
discover what we’ve believed, what we’ve done, all our lives has
been wrong, that many of us would frankly rather stick with the
lie. Drag Priest out of the church house and beat him in the
parking lot.
But, now is the time, now most especially, for us to be living
lives that please God. To be doing things that honor God. To
give God absolutely everything, including our own sense of who
we are. This is the day of authentic Christianity. Not Sunday
Christianity. Not Mama ‘Nem Christianity. Not Church Folk
Christianity. But the real thing—what it says there in the book.
I defy you to find Easter eggs in there.
Doctrinal issues
The Apostle Paul warned against the adoption of pagan
traditions:
I Corinthians 10:14, 20-21:
Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.
20 … the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God,
and I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You
cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you
cannot have a part in both the Lord's table and the table of
demons.
Webster's Dictionary (College Edition) defines Easter as,
“...originally the name of pagan vernal festival . . . Eastre,
dawn goddess.” Eastre is a pagan goddess known variously as
Eostre, Ishtar, Semeramis, and Astarte. This is the same
Babylonian “Queen of Heaven,” whose worship is condemned in the
Bible (Jeremiah Chapters 7 and 44). The trappings of the modern
Easter, and its associated days are all pagan in origin. Lent is
not found in the Bible as a Christian holiday, but is borrowed
from the 40 days of mourning for Tammuz, the lover/husband/son
of Astarte. God's Word condemns its observance in Ezekiel 8:14.
The word Easter is mentioned but once in the Authorized (KJV)
Version of Scripture (Acts 12:4). There it is being observed by
the pagan King Herod, not by any Christian.
Easter, also known as Pascha (Greek Πάσχα: Passover), the Feast
of the Resurrection, the Sunday of the Resurrection, or
Resurrection Day, is the most important religious feast of the
Christian liturgical year, observed between late March and late
April (early April to early May in Eastern Christianity). It
celebrates the resurrection of Jesus, which his followers
believe occurred on the third day after his death by crucifixion
some time in the period AD 27 to 33 (see Good Friday). In the
Roman Catholic Church, Easter is actually an eight-day feast
called the Octave of Easter.
Easter also refers to the season of the church year, lasting for
fifty days, from Easter Sunday through Pentecost.
In most languages of Christian societies, other than English,
German and some Slavic languages, the holiday's name is derived
from Pesach, the Hebrew name of Passover, a Jewish holiday to
which the Christian Easter is intimately linked. Easter depends
on Passover not only for much of its symbolic meaning but also
for its position in the calendar.
The English and German names, “Easter” and “Ostern", are not
etymologically derived from Pesach and according to the 8th
century Christian monk and historian Bede are instead related to
ancient name for the Saxon goddess, Eostre, who was celebrated
at the spring equinox, and whose name is associated with the
month of April (Eostremonat (Eosturmonath) and Ostaramanoth
respectively).
Christian denominations that do not observe Easter
Easter traditions deemed “pagan” by Reformation leaders, along
with Christmas celebrations, were among the first casualties of
the Protestant Reformation. These holidays were eventually
restored (though Christmas only became a legal holiday in
Scotland in 1967, after the Church of Scotland finally relaxed
its objections). Some Christians (usually, but not always
fundamentalists), however, continue to reject the celebration of
Easter (and, often, of Christmas), because they believe them to
be irrevocably tainted with paganism and idolatry.
Their rejection of these traditions is based partly on the words
of 2 Corinthians 6:14-16. “Be ye not unequally yoked together
with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with
unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he
that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the
temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living
God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them;
and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (King
James Version)
Some fundamentalist groups, including many independent and
Baptist churches, maintain that Easter and Christmas are of
pagan origins. As such, these celebrations were originally
designed to worship pagan gods, and therefore are an affront to
God. To these Christians, Easter, Christmas and other festivals
are extra-biblical, and therefore should not be part of
Christian worship.
Some groups feel that Easter, or as they prefer to call it,
"Resurrection Sunday (Day)", is properly regarded with great
joy, but marking not the day itself, but remembering and
rejoicing in the message it commemorates—in Christ's
resurrection. In this spirit, these Christians teach that each
day and all Sabbaths should be kept holy, in Christ's teachings.
(Wikipedia)
The Pagan Origins of Easter
The name Easter comes from a pagan figure called Eastre (or
Eostre) who was celebrated as the goddess of spring by the
Saxons of Northern Europe. A festival called Eastre was held
during the Spring equinox by these people to honor her. When
second century Christian missionaries wanted the Saxons to
accept Christianity, they decided to use the name Easter for
this holiday so that it would match the name of the old Spring
celebration. This made it more comfortable for those converts to
accept Christianity and still retain some of their heritage. The
goddess Eastres' earthly symbol was the rabbit, which was also
known as a symbol of fertility. Originally, there were some very
pagan (and sometimes utterly evil) practices that went along
with the celebration. In our day, Easter is almost a completely
commercialized holiday, with all the focus on Easter eggs, the
Easter bunny, etc.
Because of the commercialization and pagan origins of Easter,
many churches are starting to refer to it as Resurrection Day.
This is a positive development. The more we focus on Christ the
better. The resurrection of Christ is the central theme of
Christianity. Paul says that without this, our faith is futile
(1Cor 15:17). What more wonderful reason could we have to
celebrate! What is important is the true reason behind our
celebration, which is that Christ was resurrected from the dead,
making it possible for us to have eternal life (Rom 6:4)! Should
we celebrate “Easter” or allow our children to go on Easter eggs
hunts? There is nothing essentially evil about painting eggs,
hiding eggs, and having children search for them. Again, what is
important is our focus. Is our focus on Christ, or the silly
eggs? Do our children understand that the eggs are just a game?
I suppose children could possibly participate in an Easter egg
hunt as long as the true meaning of the day is explained and
emphasized - but this must be left up to the discretion of
parents and churches.
Pagan origins of Easter Symbols
Have you ever wondered where the celebration of the Christian
holiday celebrating the resurrection of Christ acquired its
unusual name and odd symbols of colored eggs and rabbits?
The answer lies in the ingenious way that the Christian church
absorbed Pagan practices. After discovering that people were
more reluctant to give up their holidays and festivals than
their gods, they simply incorporated Pagan practices into
Christian festivals. As recounted by the Venerable Bede, an
early Christian writer, clever clerics copied Pagan practices
and by doing so, made Christianity more palatable to pagan folk
reluctant to give up their festivals for somber Christian
practices.
In second century Europe, the predominate spring festival was a
raucous Saxon fertility celebration in honor of the Saxon
Goddess Eastre (Ostara), whose sacred animal was a hare.
The colored eggs associated with the bunny are of another, even
more ancient origin. The eggs associated with this and other
Vernal festivals have been symbols of rebirth and fertility for
so long the precise roots of the tradition are unknown, and may
date to the beginning of human civilization. Ancient Romans and
Greeks used eggs as symbols of fertility, rebirth, and
abundance- eggs were solar symbols, and figured in the festivals
of numerous resurrected gods.
Pagan fertility festivals at the time of the Spring equinox were
common- it was believed that at this time, when day and night
were of equal length, male and female energies were also in
balance. The hare is often associated with moon goddesses; the
egg and the hare together represent the god and the goddess,
respectively. Moving forward fifteen hundred years, we find
ourselves in Germany, where children await the arrival of
Oschter Haws, a rabbit who will lay colored eggs in nests to the
delight of children who discover them Easter morning. It was
this German tradition that popularized the 'Easter bunny' in
America, when introduced into the American cultural fabric by
German settlers in Pennsylvania.
Many modern practitioners of Neo-pagan and earth-based religions
have embraced these symbols as part of their religious practice,
identifying with the life-affirming aspects of the spring
holiday. (The Neopagan holiday of Ostara is descended from the
Saxon festival.) Ironically, some Christian groups have used the
presence of these symbols to denounce the celebration of the
Easter holiday, and many churches have recently abandoned the
Pagan moniker with more Christian oriented titles like
'Resurrection Sunday.'
Origin and Traditions
Long before Easter became the holiday it is today, the spring
festival was celebrated by the people around the world. Although
associated with the sun and the Vernal Equinox, the celebration
was originally based on the lunar calendar. The name Easter is
derived from the Saxon Eostre (which is synonymous with the name
of the Phoenician Goddess of the Moon, Astarte), a Germanic
goddess of spring and the deity who measured time.
Curiously, a Jewish festival, Purim, also celebrated in the
spring, has as it central character and heroine, Esther who, as
queen, kept the evil Haman from killing her people. Even the
very word moon derives from the Sanskrit mas or ma, meaning “to
measure.”
Many scholars have suggested that the reason that the moon was
chosen by the ancients as the way to measure time was the link
between the female cycle and the cycle of the moon. A lunar
month of 28 days gave 13 periods in 364 days, which was the
solar equivalent of 52 weeks. The ancient Hebrews had long
followed a lunar calendar, as had most other ancient cultures.
Thus humans could match their natural lives with the nature of
the night sky above them.
As Christianity grew and spread throughout the world, it was
common practice to adopt, modify, convert or take over existing
non-Christian festivals, sacred locations and even names, and
assimilate them into the Christian theology. The Romans used
this method of cultural absorption for centuries as a way of
expanding and firming up the Empire. Given the fact that
Christianity had its roots in Roman ways, it is not surprising
that the same technique was used to spread belief in Christ.
The best example of this was in ancient Britain where the
bearers of the Cross built their churches and monasteries on the
very sites where far more ancient rites had been held.
Because Eostre, also know as Ostara, was the goddess of spring
and her symbolism dealt with renewal and rebirth, the Christian
belief in the resurrection of Christ fit well with these themes.
The connection between Christ's Resurrection and Jewish
Passover, which, in addition to the dramatic story of the flight
from Egypt, also contains elements of a spring celebration, made
the merging of the two religious traditions easily accomplished.
Christopher J. Priest
1 April 2007
editor@praisenet.org
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