Guest Post by Martin Armstrong
Easter is historically the most confusing holiday. Besides the calculation being complex, the traditions are also a blend of various different cultures. I have written how New Year’s Eve is really a Roman tradition celebrating the god Janus who was pictured with two faces one looking back and the other to the future. Christmas is December 25th was selected because it was a pagan festival for the sun god Sol. We have even borrowed how Sol was pictured with a halo that was the sunlight around his head. Today, like Veteran’s Day, the original meaning fades into history and people just enjoy the day off. More or less, December 25th was just embedded in the culture so it was easier to just rename it Christmas than outlaw the holiday.
Then there is the tradition of Easter. Where does the word even come from? Was this too a pagan ritual transformed into Christianity? The holiday was originally called Eostre as late as the 8th century. It is mentioned by Saint Bede who was an English Benedictine monk at the monastery in the Kingdom of Northumbria of the Angles. He noted the native Anglo-Saxon calendar in De Temporum Ratione (On the Reckoning of Time) had named April as Eostremonath after the goddess Eostre who he tells us she was associated with the spring and was a time when “feasts were celebrated” in her honor.
In Germany, there was Jacob Grimm, known for his fairytales. He seems to have borrowed the Anglo-Saxon goddess calling her Ostara explaining that she was “the divinity of the radiant dawn, upspringing light, a spectacle that brings joy and blessing.” In Christianity, Easter is preceded by Lent, which was to reflect a period of fasting in memory of Christ’s 40 days in the wilderness. Nonetheless, in medieval times, this was also a period of ending winter when the food stored from the summer was naturally running low. The spring fever we tend to feel is also felt by animals and this is when hens to start laying and cows begin to give milk. Easter was a natural feast celebrating the end of winter’s hardship.
The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci in the refectory of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie
We know that Easter is associated with the lamb which comes from Jewish tradition at Passover and of course, Jesus and his disciples celebrated with their Last Supper. The date is also tied to the Jewish festival of Passover. So Easter is not a pagan ritual historically as was Christmas. But it is still a blend of cultures that seem to have all come together to form what we call Easter retaining the Anglo-Saxon goddess name.
Now we have to understand where did the bunny laying eggs come from or the traditional Easter Egg hunt that they even practiced on the lawn of the White House. The earliest documented mention of decorating eggs for Easter comes in 1290 England. There, buried in the household accounts of King Edward I for 1290, we discover records for the purchase and decoration of 450 eggs that were dyed and some were gilded with gold probably for the special guests. The English tradition was for children to play with their “pace-eggs” by rolling them on the ground before eating them. Hence, the Easter eggs are rolled on the lawn of the White House, which seems to be a tradition that began in 1878.
The tradition of a bunny rabbit seems to have begun in Bavaria (southern Germany). There appears to be the origin of a hunt for children to find eggs that were hidden in the garden. They were supposed to have been placed there by a rabbit or hare. There are some accounts dating back to the early 17th century where they also eat the rabbit. This may be part of the spring feast. Accounts are not very clear from that period in time. But we know there was a hunt looking for eggs placed there by a rabbit, which they may have eaten as well. We do know that in England they would hunt rabbits and eat them for the spring which dates back to the 16th century.
An Easter tradition of eggs makes sense insofar as it was the symbol of life. The rabbit seems to be just the traditional meal after winter. Thus, Easter is a curious blend of customs that are connected with celebrating spring and the end of a hard winter, with the resurrection of Christ and thus the egg being life, the lamb is the sacrifice, and the rabbit was just a good meal.
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And, let’s face it, before there were industrial farms each yard had chickens in it and they lay eggs in the garden which had to be hunted down. If indeed spring is when chickens begin to lay, then hunting for eggs in the garden in the spring is probably one of the human constants. That I leave to HSF as I have no chickens.
gcp,
i clicked & it’s an 11 minute listen,so in a word,are holy week /easter biblical?
if no,why in a sentence or 2–
Tampa… It’s paganism with some Jesus mixed in to keep the masses under control, thinking they are good people.
Agreed. Eostre and Ostara are also names for Ishtar, the Babylonian goddess, aka Inanna the Mesopotamian goddess also worshipped by the Sumerians. She sure does get around.
Easter may be the result of the fertility cult aspect of christianity. Is it just a coincidence that bunny rabbit was associated with Hugh Hefner’s Playboy sex cult empire? You know, the “Playboy Bunny”? Isn’t it a common saying that rabbits are associated with hardcore fucking? Haven’t you heard the saying that so and so were “fucking like rabbits”?
So Easter is directly associated with fertility. A bunny laying eggs is indicative of fertility. The symbolism in this view is too obvious to be written off as coincidence.
So if you really want to celebrate Easter, get fucking like rabbits today.
.
Pretty obvious you F%^ked your brains out.
How Pathetic
Eostre sounds a lot like estrus.
The world becoming fertile again.
What rabbits fucking chickens and hiding the paternity has to do with the dead coming back to life is beyond me,some weird version of a Romero movie?
a different perspective from a confused & changed man–
The origin of Easter is traced back to ancient Babylon to Ishtar the goddess of fertility. In other cultures the Queen of Heaven was known as Asherah. In the old testament God wanted all the Asherah poles cut down and Gideon was one of the first to do so. Tammuz was the sun God who impregnated Ishtar and his phallus is surrounded by Asherah poles in cities around the world. Even in the Vatican where sunrise services take place today.
That’s correct. The obelisk like the one pictured are plastered all around for one to see. Even the Washington Monument. It is basically symbolic of a big dick.
“…If Jesus were a myth like Ishtar, he would have come back for revenge. He would have killed his Roman persecutors and their religious allies. He probably would have murdered his cowardly disciples. But Easter is no myth. It’s Gospel. It’s the Good News that God doesn’t seek revenge, but rather offers forgiveness and peace to the world…”
from an interesting link I received from the white witch…It made for good reading.
The Germanic goddess named Eostre or Ostara is called the ‘Daughter of Heaven’
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C4%92ostre
In spite of name differences over time and in various nations they all originated in ancient Babylon and will be celebrated in the new Mystery Babylon too.
You mean like we do in the US.
Jesus is a myth like Ishtar. In fact, Jesus IS a myth based on Ishtar.
‘There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done.’ All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. Those who knock it is opened.’
― C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce
Luke 16; 19-31;
19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house:
28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
ralph stanley tells it in song–
The parable of the rich man is a parable, see Lk. 15:3.
No such thing as free will. Read Eph. 1:11
The problem with isolating verses [especially out of context] to form doctrine, compare Deu. 30:19 or Jos. 24:15. Without choice life would be meaningless. YHVH wants you to choose life through Him.
And also on churches everywhere.
The Vatican obelisk sit in the middle of a giant sun dial. It’s curious that they would call it St. Peter’s “Square” when it is round. As for the provenance, this particular obelisk came from Heliopolis, the Egyptian “City of the Sun”, and its sister pole still stands outside the airport there. This demonic monument used to reside in the Circus of Nero, where many Christians spent their last moments on Earth. Peter was crucified there, which is the cover story for moving it to the Vatican. It is an abomination, full stop.
PS – If you aren’t feeling the sun worship vibe yet, take a look at the monstrance (interesting name) where the giant white disc is held. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monstrance
@ DD,
I found a way to use season in my Requiem for Ego and Complaint ditty.
I find the theme of forgiveness embedded in Easter is preferable to having sin eaters over my dead body.
Faith is the death of reason
Death is the mother of beauty
Love is the beginning of duty
Forgiveness has its season
And who can not enjoy looking for valued nuggets in our lives, temporal and spiritual?
That doesn’t make it any better Maggie.
Lovely thoughts whosie susie.
Am at a Veterans clinic contemplating the meaning of life with a bunch of old coffers. I appear to be one.
Codgers
But now that I think about, coffer works.
This is the root for the word “oestrogen” (estrogen). Easter = sex worship.
That is, an orgy.
So let’s stick Jesus’ name on it; he’ll love that.
This article gives some information on the prehistoric origins reflected in Sumerian/Babylonian tradition.
http://mystery-babylon.org/easter.html
Some commenters have it right: “Easter” isn’t a “Biblical” holiday in the sense that Passover is. Jesus of Nazareth and His followers celebrated Passover right before He was offered as the Kinsman Redeemer. Passover was meant to be a type of His atonement for humanity’s rebellion.
“Ishtar”, the Babylonian goddess revered since the days of the Sumerian dynasties, also went by the name of “Ashtoreth” and, especially in Canaananite paganism, was associated with carved idols and sacred groves known as “Asherah”. “Astarte” was another frequently-used name for the same deity.
The Egyptians, Greeks and Romans all worshiped Ishtar under different names. The goddess Diana was an alias employed by the latter two cultures.
It’s important to not just look at names of these deities across the different cultures and times of these practices–rather, research the functional aspects of these gods and goddesses and you’ll find that the same deities show up in these cultures under different names. Their personalities differ only slightly.
As both a scientist and an ordained minister, I find it helpful to predicate my interpretations on the rather counterintuitive realization that humanity was far more mobile, and thus interconnected, than is commonly understood. A great deal of cultural and religious cross-fertilization (so to speak) ensured that these spiritual entities would continue to receive worship and devotion right up to the present. The “Queen of Heaven” is worshipped around the world in 2019.
Having noted these things, I can still celebrate what many call “Resurrection Sunday” on “Easter”, despite the latter’s pagan roots and heritage. And, despite the syncretism that has left the world with high holy days otherwise nominally devoted to pagan personalities, Christmas and Easter can be quite meaningful and special celebrations provided the worship is aimed in the right direction and to the actual Biblical Creator.
I write these things as a Christian, of course; non-Christians and/or others can of course have different takes on the original and functional meanings of these practices.
Yesterday it was so windy, one of my chickens laid the same egg 4 times.
Yesterday I saw the most amazing thing ….. a WILD TURKEY was drinking water from our backyard fountain, and then it walked to the gravel driveway, sat down, and laid an egg!! Really. Truly.
It’s amazing because I live in North Central Fucking New Jersey (25 miles from NYC). Never seen a wild turkey here ever before. It was a beautiful and large bird. But, my landlady crushed the egg. Really. Said that turkeys damage cars (they peck on the doors when they see their reflection). Also, she doesn’t want to see turkey shit all over the yard. She’s a wonderful human being and I support her totally.
Easter celebration at Maggie’s Double Dee Plantation