2007-10-11 09:08:27 · 36 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
right.. typo. Easter
(What does the word "Easter" come from?)
2007-10-11 09:11:53 · update #1
The Easter Bunny, that ever-popular symbol of fertility and the Easter Eggs, more of the same, are associated with the orgiastic Rites of Spring, which celebrate the new-sprung fertility of the ground. The notion of the seed dying and giving birth to new life is played out in the story of Jesus, as well.
2007-10-11 09:11:55 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
What is the origin of Easter and the customs associated with it?
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.
2007-10-11 10:13:43 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The same thing Santa Claus has to do with Christmas. The Easter Bunny is the secular commercialization of the Christian holiday, Easter.
2007-10-11 09:13:15 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Rabbits and eggs are both symbols of the fertility goddess Eostre/Ishtar/Ostara. Her symbol is also the moon, in which some cultures see a rabbit instead of a face. Eggs also symbolize the moon and are the ultimate symbol of creation and new life. The basket is a symbol of the womb in which this new life is carried.
The feast day is pagan and was widely celebrated way before the time of Jesus. Like pretty much all holidays, it was adopted by Christians to help get more converts. However, since the point is to celebrate new life and the hope of continuance, Christian symbols of a Resurrection day and the old pagan symbols mean the same thing. Just like Christmas, we are all celebrating the same thing, just using different symbols.
2007-10-11 09:14:15 · answer #4 · answered by KC 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
When Easter was adapted from the pagan fertility festivals, some of the symbols were taken as well, in order to more easily bring pagans over to Christianity. Among these symbols were eggs (ymbols of new life), and rabbits or hares, associated with springtime rebirth and fertility.
2007-10-11 09:13:01 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Each time an Easter bunny lays an egg it's a miracle.
2007-10-11 09:11:44 · answer #6 · answered by Jack P 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Absolutely nothing. It is a symbol of fertility used throughout history for the Spring Equinox. Christianity absorbed this celebration into their beliefs to convince pagans to convert. Same can be said for the 'Easter egg'.
#Edit: the word Easter comes from a West Germanic goddess named Eostre (translated loosely as 'dawn servant'). Due to the very ancient origins of this diety's background, it is relatively unclear what she was supposed to represent originally. However, she came to be associated with the Spring Equinox and the day became known as Eostre's Day. When the Church adapted it for thier purposes, they also used the goddess's name to invalidate her as a diety, as they did with many other gods/goddesses names.
2007-10-11 09:11:29 · answer #7 · answered by Cave Dweller 3 · 5⤊ 0⤋
I haven't even carved my Halloween pumpkin yet.
Now, it's one thing to get an early start on discrediting Christmas...Santa Claus is still working on the sleigh and the toys for the kids. But, as ever, the children are a bit impatient.
*sigh*
But, for the love of the Tooth Fairy...it's too early to start on the Easter Bunny!
sheesh!
2007-10-11 09:15:51 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Its easter bunny not eastern bunny and the bunny itself has nothing to do with christianity
2007-10-11 09:10:29 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
The East bunny doesn't have anything to do with christians, other than he has become connected to the christian Easter tradition through commercialization.
2007-10-11 09:12:09 · answer #10 · answered by sunflower 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋