Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Should we Celebrate Easter or Resurrection Day?

Back when I was a fundamentalist Christian and young, I thought how awful it was to celebrate a Christian holiday of remembrance with a pagan name and pagan symbols. However upon further study this is what I discovered. Which came first the pagan goddess Oestre or Easter? I have read conflicting accounts. "Easter", in old English, was a word that meant spring or springtime. It was not a specific day. Several accounts say the goddess was named after the word for spring, but even if the season was named after the goddess so what? Yes the word became associated with the Christian Resurrection because Christians remember Christ's Death and Resurrection in the springtime. The word "Easter" is only used in English speaking countries. In most of the rest of the Christian world they use the word Paschal derived from the Hebrew word Pesach for the Jewish passover.


So Easter is a word with pagan roots. Well England was pagan before it was Christian and many English words have pagan roots.


Look at it this way:

Most Christian go to church on Sunday and have Sunday School. No one sees a problem with that, but "Sunday" is a word with pagan roots. It is the Sun's day not Son's day. "Thursday", is Thor's day. "Friday" is Frie's day. "Saturday" is Saturn's day. They are named after pagan gods. Should Christians rename all the days of the week? Should they not have Sunday service or Sunday school? They are only words.


Now onto bunnies, and spring eggs etc. God made the spring. Spring is a time of renewal after winter. Plants bloom, animals are born. Yes little bunnies, flowers, chicks are all signs of spring. Can we as Christians not marvel at God's creation and abundance and renewal in the season of spring? Can a Christian not have any of these symbols around because at one time, long ago, or even now some pagan religion also used these as symbols? I love God's creation giving him the wonderful credit he is due.

Gen 1:31. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.


I can enjoy the spring that God made and all the wonderful symbols of spring.

Acts 11:9 "The voice spoke from heaven a second time, 'Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.


So I no longer struggle with Easter. I see no conflict.


3 comments:

Molly said...

Hi!
Although this doesn't apply to your post per se, I just wanted to invite you to "Kids say the darndest things Friday" blog hop at:
http://mysticalrosedesign.blogspot.com/2010/03/post-signature_19.html
We’d love to have you join the fun and share your stories. I’m sure that you have some real gems!
In Christ,
Molly

Shannon said...

We avoid "doing" Easter mainly because I am disgusted at how the focus is on SUGAR SUGAR SUGAR!!! We go to church, have a nice dinner at my mom's, and I hide plastic eggs with little toys like cars in them and maybe a handful of jellybeans, but I don't take the boys to public easter egg hunts because it's all about the candy. I can't stand it!

Deeny said...

Yes maybe it is too much about the candy but my babies are too old for Easter Egg hunts so sad :-( although they still like to get a basket with some goodies and my special needs 22 year old still expects a cheep cheep LOl. That is a little toy chick that when you hold it in your hand, it chirps. They are usually around 3 dollars.