Question by Dezy: Jesus rose from the grave so we..hide the eggs..Christians your help please??
I know that the bunny and the eggs is just an attemp to get Pagans into our religion..just like Christmas but Christains justified Christmas because the three wise men gave Jesus presents..Sure I’ll buy that it doesn’t explan the tree but oh well..But Easter..that I don’t understand..I don’t know about Pagan rituals but I assume that eggs and a bunny has something to do with fertility…I’m sure that they teach you guys but I haven’t been in church for so long so… Could you tell me what justifies the hiding eggs and the bunny…Oh and heres a wierd thought…Did the bunny lay the eggs? Perhaps any of you Pagans can tell me what the original holiday was about..because that has also been plaugeing my brain
Best answer:
Answer by elizabeth p
it symbolizes a new life in christ….
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
Did the bunny lay the eggs?
Of course it did…. Where else would a rabbit get eggs?
Easter is really a variation on the mythological story of Jesus rising from the egg in which the world egg or cosmic egg is perceived as a mythological motif found in the creation myths of many cultures and civilizations. Typically, Jesus (the world egg) is a beginning of some sort, and the universe or some primordial being comes into existence by “hatching” from the Easter egg.
Eggs, like Easter Rabbits and hares, are fertility symbols of extreme antiquity; since birds lay eggs and rabbits and hares give birth (to large litters) in the early spring, these became symbols of the rising fertility of the earth at the Vernal Equinox.
Jesus got up after being dead two days, and started walking about like nothing ever happened.
Small rabbits were present.
Where do you get off knocking our easter?
Really, ma’am, I must denounce you.
you have to dye them first that makes the big religious circle come full
Eggs….and the way bunnies go at it constantly…are definitely symbols of fertility…even the name “Easter” comes from the Pagan “Ostara”, the spring rites.
(by the way…the tree comes from the whole Yule log thing)
Nothing justifies bringing in pagan trappings into the celebration of the Lord’s resurrection, in my opinion.
Just one point, if I may — we really do not know how many “wise men” there were — it doesn’t say in the Bible.
Rabbits have never been known to lay eggs, but what with evolution and all, maybe it’s only a matter of time.
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WOW Rhio9– have you been hitting the paschal wine or something…?! FYI Wikipedia is not a reliable source of information…
I don’t understand either how this got into the church, it is not right and Christians should not be doing this either. I think it is just demonic. It does have to do with fertility, but unsure about the origins. We Christians need to get back down on our knees and repent for all that we have gotten ourselves into during religious holidays, how we have opened ourselves up to other gods. We really need to change.
The eggs and the easter bunny are holdovers from the pagan holiday that Easter was borrowed from. They are signs of fertility (spring).
You’re over-thinking this.
Jesus freed us from the laws of sin and death by His death, burial and resurrection.
Candy and eggs fall under the freedom category.
spring (spring equinox)
fertility and birth, the end of winter (death)
rabbits, eggs, resurrection, (get it?)
either that or zombie jesus was after eggs
I’m going to be a little bit naive here and assume that there’s no dark ulterior motive here on anyone’s part, but a chance to tie in something harmless and fun for kids to do once a year while their parents are partaking in a religious ritual they couldn’t pretend to understand in a zillion years.
They grow up quickly and learn the truth. Let them have their easter bunny, Santa Claus and tooth fairy for a while. It does no harm.
Everyone knows that zombies seek brains to eat when they rise from the dead. The closest that people could think of to symbolize squishy brains inside a skull were eggs. So they hide the eggs to symbolize keeping your brain away from the zombies.
I think that JESUS loves anything that will bring a child to a loving laughter among themselves! I for one have no problem with the Easter Bunny or Santa Clause, as long as we do not make him out to be more important then the real reason of EASTER!
JESUS CHRIST< CALVARY and the RESURRECTION that brings us the grace to get to HEAVEN!!
Our easter should be “Passover” . instead of the doors being marked with the blood of lambs to prevent G-D’s judgment our hearts are marked with the blood of the perfect lamb.
Easter is based off of Ishtar & Ostara, and a spouse swapping holiday. The symbolisms of eggs and bunnies is well 9 months latter their were tons of babies all around.
this is the least Christian holiday most Christians just love.
This whole argument about “pagan customs” in Christian feasts is baffling to me. Where do you guys draw the line between culture and religion? I’m not European, so I recognize European Easter customs and can differentiate them from my own country’s customs that were carried over into Christianity. For example, we don’t call it “Easter,” we call it the “Feast of the Resurrection.”
There’s nothing wrong with keeping cultural aspects and traditions when converting religions. You can keep the heritage of your nation alive while denouncing idol worship and turning to the One True God.
I don’t know why Europeans hide eggs. I know that it’s an old Ukranian/Polish custom to paint eggs. I know that the egg has been called a symbol of the resurrection of Christ (as is the phoenix rising from its own ashes).
And of course, bunnies and baby chicks represent the celebration of the return of Spring which is not restricted to a particular religion. Spring returns every year. Whether you believe in one God or many. Flowers and baby animals are a cause to rejoice.
Cultural Tradition is not equal to Pagan Ritual. If a particular pre-Christian country believed in killing a virgin to appeal to the gods, that is a pagan ritual. Giving each other presents is not a “pagan ritual” — it’s a cultural tradition.
The interesting thing about the Magi (no number is specified in the Bible) who attended Jesus is, if you read carefully, you’ll see that they DID NOT find him in the manger in Bethlehem. It was probably 2 years later, and Jesus was living with his family in a house. It wasn’t December 25th and the offerings were for who they perceived as a king. The tree thing is a cast off of pagan celebration as well.
But, for what you’ve brought up, I think this should help. The Encyclopædia Britannica comments: “There is no indication of the observance of the Easter festival in the New Testament, or in the writings of the apostolic Fathers. The sanctity of special times was an idea absent from the minds of the first Christians.”—(1910), Vol. VIII, p. 828.
The Catholic Encyclopedia tells us: “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. . . . The rabbit is a pagan symbol and has always been an emblem of fertility.”—(1913), Vol. V, p. 227.
In the book The Two Babylons, by Alexander Hislop, we read: “What means the term Easter itself? It is not a Christian name. It bears its Chaldean origin on its very forehead. Easter is nothing else than Astarte, one of the titles of Beltis, the queen of heaven, whose name, . . . as found by Layard on the Assyrian monuments, is Ishtar. . . . Such is the history of Easter. The popular observances that still attend the period of its celebration amply confirm the testimony of history as to its Babylonian character. The hot cross buns of Good Friday, and the dyed eggs of Pasch or Easter Sunday, figured in the Chaldean rites just as they do now.”—(New York, 1943), pp. 103, 107, 108; compare Jeremiah 7:18.
So, I hope that helps. No, I do not celebrate this holiday. I will be with my brothers and sisters Saturday night after sundown to commemorate the Lords Evening Meal, the one thing he did tell us to keep doing in remembrance of him. This coincides with the passover and really has nothing to do with the pagan rite.
EDIT: Just a reminder for those who think it’s okay as long as the kids are having fun, or that we give something a nice Christian name.
Eph. 5:10, 11: “Keep on making sure of what is acceptable to the Lord; and quit sharing with them in the unfruitful works that belong to the darkness, but, rather, even be reproving them.”
2 Cor. 6:14-18: “What fellowship do righteousness and lawlessness have? Or what sharing does light have with darkness? Further, what harmony is there between Christ and Be´lial? Or what portion does a faithful person have with an unbeliever? And what agreement does God’s temple have with idols? . . . ‘“Therefore get out from among them, and separate yourselves,” says Jehovah, “and quit touching the unclean thing”’; ‘“and I will take you in, . . . and you will be sons and daughters to me,” says Jehovah the Almighty.’” ( See 1 Corinthians 13:6.)
EDIT: Ahh, Anglete… We observe the Memorial after sundown on Nisan 14, according to the reckoning of the Jewish calendar that was common in the first century. The Jewish day begins at sundown and extends until the following sundown. So Jesus died on the same Jewish calendar day that he instituted the Memorial. The beginning of the month of Nisan was the sunset after the new moon nearest the spring equinox became visible in Jerusalem. The Memorial date is 14 days thereafter. (Thus the date for the Memorial may not coincide with that of the Passover kept by modern-day Jews. Why not? The start of their calendar months is set to coincide with the astronomical new moon, not the visible new moon over Jerusalem, which may come 18 to 30 hours later. Also, most Jews today keep the Passover on Nisan 15, not on the 14th as did Jesus in harmony with what was stated in the Mosaic Law.) This year that day is this Saturday.
The Christmas tree, Santa Claus, the huge Christmas dinner, and all the rest of it, have absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with Christ’s birth. We aren’t even sure He was born on that day.
The Easter Bunny, the colored eggs, the pretty baskets, the candy, and the pretty new dresses and hats have absolutely nothing to do with the Resurrection.
We do have a pretty good idea when that happened, based on the Jewish Passover, but we always celebrate on Sunday…which means we aren’t really celebrating the Resurrection on the exact day that it happened, obviously.
What difference do you think it makes?
We do what we do in honor of our love for God, and His love for children…
We have borrowed “traditions” everywhere we’ve gone.
Christianity is not a religion of strict rules about how to celebrate our love for God…
Quite the contrary, it is a religion of freedom TO celebrate our love for God.
And, remember, God knows our hearts.
Let’s leave the judging to Him…since He is imminently more qualified to juge our intentions than anyone of us…
Deal?
EDIT:
Ummm…Suzette? The Passover meal didn’t happen on Saturday evening…it happened the eve of Jesus’ arrest, which would have been Thursday evening. Jesus died on Friday, and had to be taken down before sunset on Saturday, because it was “the Jews Passover”.
What were the guys celebrating in the Upper Room?
They were celebrating something called “The Fast of the First Born”, a little known ancient rite in which the first born children of the Jews fasted before the Passover, to show their gratitude that the Angel of Death “passed over” their homes, taking only the first born of the Egyptians.
I found this while I was researching for “The Book of Barabbas”, I’ve forgotten exactly where, now, but I’m sure if you research Hebrew sites you’ll find it.
Anyhow, the Jew’s Passover began on Friday at sundown, which, for them, would be Saturday, since the days are counted from sundown to sundown. So, if you are celebrating Saturday AFTER sundown, you are really celebrating on Sunday…and the Passover is already over.
(It helps to read.)
Sure, the egg thing was borrowed from pagans, but come on… it’s simply become a GAME for children. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with sharing some chocolate, decorating eggs, having an egg hunt. Lighten up just a snit and you might ENJOY the holiday. Egg coloring and chocolate need not be “justified.” Especially since many who are secular enjoy Easter just for the heck of it.
I am not sure that I understand it either, but I will tell you what I do understand.
the eggs was a part of Jewish tradition, representing the new birth, of them coming out of Egypt.
over the years Christians started decorating these eggs, with jewels and giving them as gifts.
but since Christianity was a forbidden religion these eggs were hidden where the recipient could find them.
much like the fish symbol they were a was of identifying that they were believers in the new birth of Jesus Christ.
over the years this practice evolve to where it is today.
but you can still find many of these eggs in museums today.
Fabergé eggs are still being sold on E Bay.
easter is named after the earth goddess eostre. the pagan sabbat of ostara is the vernal equinox, seen by the celts as a time to bless the land to insure fertility and to celebrate the abundance of new life coming into the world. the sun god is believed to come to maturity at ostara, and it is a celebration of his gift of fertility as well. seeds also play a major role in ostara since it coincides with the start of the planting season.
basically, ostara is about new life and fertility, so the egg and bunny have come to be its most prominent symbols. the public sabbats are kept simple so that people from various traditions can share them.
Dear sweey Dez… I dislike the whole commercialization of holidays… that is why I love the pagan holidays that are not sold in every store window for a buck. As far as ritualistic contortion goes concerning the origins of bizarre and meaningless modern Easter (or any other Holiday) symbols, well… they are for the kids.
problem I have is what is it teaching? it does not say anything about the true origin of either pagan or Christian traditions (both which I am very close to). It is all the stores wanting to gain a profit and the churches that go along with it are only playing into the money game.
Not trying to sound like I know everything, but this has been a very important issue on my mind recently……… since Christmas of ’99.
I look at the true meaning (or meanings) of what the day was meant to be and not at what Wally-World and all the others make it out to be. I would like to do some research into the original pagan side of these holidays, seeing as how the modern versions come from the “Church’ (Catholics) merging the two together. Maybe then I will be more able to answer your question, but for now, this is all I have.
I would love to see the Easter craze and all other silly holidays abolished for good. i do so hate screaming children.
You should stop this trying to make trouble for everyone. I would hope you are seriously asking out of curiosity but you do not sound like it!