Easter

[4getmenot]

Ok can people tell me in terms of jesus being crucified, rising from dead etc what Good Friday is and Easter Sunday? And what have easter eggs, hot cross buns and bunnys got to do with it all? Ta

[brionon]

Easter is named after the Pagan Goddess Eostre. The Eggs and Bunnies signify the coming of Spring and Re-birth. I don't know about this jesus bloke, some sort of 'Johnny-come-lately'' interloper, I suspect.

[brionon]

PS. The buns are probably cross because they are so Hot.

[WaldoMcFroog]

Brionon's correct. As they did with Christmas and the annexing of the pagan festival of Saturnalia (which is where the gift giving comes from), the early church found it politically expediant (i.e. them naughty ol' pagan types were more inclined to convert if Christianity featured many of the characteristics of their existing practices) to do much the same with the pagan spring festival, and that is indeed where the entirely unbiblical notions of chocolate and bunnies come from. I believe the bunnies bit has something to do with Eostre turning someone into a hare or something.

[CLOWN TICKLE]

At the risk of taking this to seriously

Good Friday is the day that Christ was crucified

Easter Sunday was the ascent into heaven, his resurrection

When you are given an adult Baptism you are plunged beneath the water symbolising the death of the old ways in you and when you resurface it is the resurrection.

I have always believed that the cross on hot cross buns was a symbol of the cross

[jake-the-peg]

Whoops Clown Tickle

Easter Sunday was the resurrection but Ascension is later May 26th this year (40 days after the resurrection I think)

Funny how all these 40 days keep cropping up

[jake-the-peg]

Whilst I'm being cheeky and correcting people strictly speaking Christmas replaced the festival of Sol Invictus rather than Saturnalia.

This from Wikipedia:

Saturnalia was the feast at which the Romans commemorated the dedication of the temple of the god Saturn, which took place on 17 December. Over the years, it expanded to a whole week, up to 23 December. In the vagaring Roman calendar the Winter Solstice fell in this period; in imperial times that event was celebrated in honour of Sol Invictus and put on 25 December by emperor Aurelian in 274, so after the Saturnalia.

[jno]

wikipedia isn't entirely convinced about Eostre, I notice. Interesting.

[CLOWN TICKLE]

My mistake happy to be corrected

[nancie]

adsar-i find your answer extremley offensive. Your a prat, have some senstivity for people, im a christian. i reported you.

[vic13]

i don't know wot hot cross buns have to do with easter but i think that easter eggs are there in easter because the stone that covered Jesus' tomb was meant to be egg shaped, so that is why we have easter eggs because of the stone. I think that bunnies are used because they are a sign of spring and new life, i hope this helps,

the sprite

[nancie]

What do people think when Chrstian festivals are taken over by commercialism and money making fads. Why is Easter portrayed as being all about bunnies and chocolate,. every shop makes a big buck out of selling chocolate for their own profits with no mention of the true meaning of easter. Many kids do not realise that easter is actually a christain celebration that Jesus rose from the dead, meaning that through him there is everlasting life, yet society is bombarded with yellow bunnies with bows and chocolate. I understand the meaning of the egg (new life) but it is never portrayed that way.

At christmas it is worse. We get santa Claus and Father Christmas. Children have no idea that it is christian or a celebration of Jesus's birth. Father Christmas is actually a saint called St Nicholas who went around a poor town in Greece giving out presents, food and general support to children and families. But mention the fact that he was a chrstian saint and you get the politically correct brigade telling you off for mentioning the word Christmas, in case it offends other faiths, without even consulting the other faiths to see if it offends them. (Ive never heard anyone say it does, in fact they join in with Christmas) Its alright to say Diwali! or Ramadam etc
CLOWN TICKLE
I went into a High Street Card shop today and was amazed at the huge amount of Easter Cards for Sale ???? When did we start sending Happy Easter Cards. ???? I mean it was like a huge vast range of them, including packs of 5 and 10. Have to admit to buying a few for my children to send to Nanny and Grandad cause I am a sucker for anything pretty with lambs on. LOL BUT as with everything its all gone OTT in a crude way. Don't know the answer really apart from don't buy it all but for everyone who does not buy there are 10 who do.

[queenybee]

Jesus died on a Friday and was resurrected on the Sunday.

as for the rest, they have nothing at all to do with Jesus;-

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;

From someone who doesnt celebrate Easter.

[commonsense]

Whilst bakers were waiting to put their buns in the oven they would put a cross on them to 'stop the Devil sitting on them'. Anyway its all about money now, so dont bother with Easter eggs and the rest of it.

[adsar]

Sorry nancie, but you are being strung along by a false god...not me

:P

[brionon]

Doesn't take much to get Hate mail from Xtians,does it Nancie ?

[4getmenot]

Thank you all for your answers. Everybody has their own opinions and adsar your post made me chuckle, before it was reported. and nancie you gave some very good views, thanks to all.