There are 5 choices, 8 votes for cosmosis' debate

Easter

there is something about easter i just don't understand. it was originally supposed to be about celebrated the resserection of jesus but some how today its about a rabbit that lays eggs and leaves them in your house. i mean how the hell does a egg laying rabbit have anything to do with someone rising from the dead? how did it turn out this way?


  • Why did Jesus steal Ostara's festival?

    Actually, Easter, alike Christmas, is largely derived from a Pagan festival.

    Ostara/Oestre the Norse goddess, as I understand it, who's symbol was the hare (for fertility) has been celebrated for many more thousands of years than Jesus supposedly rising from the dead.

    The etymological link is clear from Ostara/Oestre to Easter. This is also where we get the egg (fertility association) with the word oestrogen. The link is clearer in the German, where Easter is "Ostern".

    With this in mind, I suppose we should be asking, "Why did Ostara's festival become associated with some random southern prophet who supposedly rose from the dead three days after being crucified?"

    Now I wouldn't go all Dan Brown and suggest it’s another great Christian conspiracy-cover up, anymore than cultural shifts to accommodate the ancient religions under the wing of Christianity, in the natural evolution of religious thinking. However, I think it might be important to bear in mind that the hare and the egg of Ostara give us our modern day Easter bunny and chocolate eggs, which I for one certainly wouldn’t be without.

    Of course, Easter as the Christian festival is now hugely important too, I’m not denying that. Ostara’s bunnies and eggs festival was the festival of spring, all about new life and new beginnings (notice ‘Ost’ – possibly “east” (refer to German again) – think of the associations with sunrise and the new), and this is reflected in the celebration of Christians. But I think it’s important to remember Christianity drew its influences from the wide and varied cultures already long-established at the time – I don’t think this makes Christianity counterfeit in anyway – just an interesting example of societal progression, and the way we choose to maintain universal symbols and meanings.

    50%  Voted for by ennoia, Pleading Artichoke, cosmosis, Makessenseright.
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  • just to add

    the same thing can go with christmas, how did the birth of jesus wind up being associated with a man who climbs down your chimney and leaves presents. i think its because there was actually a saint nicholas but i doubt he actually did the things that santa claus does now. so how did these 2 holidays become so akward?

    Voted for by cosmosis.
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  • Paganism

    All those weird traditions that don't fit, both at Easter and Christmas, come from paganism. Even the word "Easter" does. Christians didn't always celebrate the birth of Christ, but had the idea to try to convert pagans by celebrating Christmas at the time they would celebrate Yule. Unfortunately, that has been turned around on Christianity, to show the supposed falseness of Christianity. Same thing with Resurrection Sunday. There is a pagan fertility celebration (very similar to "Easter", but the name somehow escapes me at the moment) around that same time. My guess is, somewhere along the way, someone (I think a Roman emperor) decided to blend it all together.

    Voted for by acresofhope.
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  • Humans

    Humans are truly dumb... although we are smarter than other creatures, I believe that we are retarded in the way that we only use 10% of our brain. Oh well. It was humanity and our society that has turned Easter into something else. Plus, if there wasn't something else to it you'd have all these people getting mad at it like you do Christmas... wait, you do have people getting mad about Easter.

    Voted for by Sharcu.
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  • Holidays.

    From world records the earliest recorded account of the Osterraeder festival date back to about 784 CE(or, AD) -- though true, some do believe that it has dated back quite a time before -- but if going on mere evidence, which is all that the past gives us -- you can place it there.

    Too many non-Christians get caught up in the idea (and at times, fact) that many of the Christian holidays are around the same time as the pagan holidays as well. Key they to note though -- is the meaning behind it. It doesn't exactly matter what day it celebrated/remembered on, but rather that it is observed. Easter could start tomorrow, and then in 3 days celebrate the resurrection. And it would hold just as much importance. Where the day falls on the calendar is very unimportant.

    Santa clause, bunnies, and things of that nature were most likely taken/borrowed from pagan holidays and just assimilated as part of the culture. Much in the same way that people who are not pagans or christians will celebrate the man in the big red suit and give gifts, and hide eggs around for easter. It has been assimilated into the society.

    Also, Judaism -- from which Christianity sprang from -- has been around a lot longer than most.

    Voted for by Simonic.
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