jesus, easter, and Christmas, which is it?

Question

from what i understand and believe, Easter is about the birth of jesus, many religious people i know say thats what it is, but there are a few who say thats what christmas is. From what i know, Xmas started out and grew from someone with the name like Saint Nick, gave presents to the poor around the end of the year ever year untill his death. then parents continued it and eventually you got christmas.
so all you religious and non-religious people, what do u think it is and why?
jesus and easter birthday, (i dont get the chocolate bunny that lays eggs)
saint nick and christmas
or what?

EBONY
next time can u just put what site u got info from instead of pasting what u copied

kerry:

thats what i ment, i forgot about the july 6 thing. ok, easter and july 6, which is it?


and it looks like christianity is very good and tricking people to convert, i wish i couldve been there to see the people who came up with that idea, then i wouldve punched them in the face and told them to never do that again.

squidface:

Saint Nick was real, but some how got morphed into santa, its the santa who is fake and commercialized

MARILYN:

i hate christians because of their history, i hate them because most believe blindly, most will not try to look for other answers, i hate them because of all the hate they have made in the world

i dont like people hating gays because they mainly hate them based on religious beliefs that they will burn hell.

i have a reason for hating christians, and a valid one, no matter how much u all say you are peaceful, most are hypocrites and have more hate in them then anyone i know. christianity has done more wrong in the past then can be made up for. that is why people have killed christians, not cause of their beliefs but what they did to there people

Answer 1

Christians celebrate Christmas as a reminder of the birth of Jesus. We exchange gifts to remind us of God's greatest gift to us, His Son. I can't tell you when/where the practice of Christmas originated, only what it means to us now. The modern-era commercialization/exploitation of it sickens me--anyhoo-- When you refer to St. Nick, I believe that is where the legend of Santa Claus got its start. Easter is actually the Christian celebration of Jesus' resurrection after being crucified on the cross--the basis of our faith in Him. As far as the chocolate bunny that lays eggs, it has its origins in ancient pagan fertility rituals--you know the theory about how rabbits reproduce and all, and they're chocolate just because--yum yum! I have never lied about either of these characters (Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny) to my children to support their existence, but rather included them as a fun part of the seasonal celebrations (no more important than the tree, lights, or Rudolph).

Answer 2

Christians normally celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas time and the resurrection of Jesus at Easter time.

However, it is helpful to know that these dates don't necessarily coincide with any estimation of the actual dates of the historical events. The dates of Christmas and Easter were established originally as pagan holidays. I think Christmas was the winter solstice, and Easter was the spring rites. Early missionaries seemed to think it was helpful to try to combine Christian meaning with the pagan holidays in an effort to make converts. This might help explain a lot of the odd or conflicting symbols, such as the easter bunny (a symbol of fertility for the spring rites).

Answer 3

Easter celebrates the death and resurrection. It's also the time of a pagan fertility festival. Rabbits and eggs are symbols of fertility.

Christmas is supposedly the birth of Jesus. If he existed, he was born in the spring, so that's false. It's also the time of many winter festivals, from Saturnalia, Mithras' birthday, Yule, etc.

Both festivals were Christianized to get converts.

Answer 4

It's just old traditional folklore, actually based on pagan religions. Just look it up? Just accept the days off and the opportunity for a good dinner or three, some fine wines, the company of your family and friends and forget all about the supposed religious connections. They don't actually matter anymore. As someone else said: It is my position that eventually, society will be freed from the shackles of religion, finally driving the last nail in the coffin of the dark ages, and banishing ignorance and intolerance forever. This, however, will likely not happen in my lifetime. Having said that, the tradition of the aforementioned holidays would still continue, even when religion was finally nailed as being a preposterous idea. People like having holidays. Don't you?

Answer 5

December 25 is the birthday of the Roman god Mithras. Saturnalia occurred the 7 days before it ending with his birthday.

Easter is the name of a pagan fertility goddess. Eggs and rabbits are her fertility symbols. They are supposed to ensure fertility (things getting pregnant, having good crops, etc)

They were added to Christianity when Constantine made RC church the required state religion on the condition it would blend all religions together ending the war between pagans and Christians so he could fight wars against outside enemies and prevent the fall of his empire.

Holidays weren't celebrated in the Bible so you cannot find any of these celebrations or names in the Bible except passover is once translated Easter in the NT....it is corrected to read passover in modern Bibles.

Debbie

Answer 6

Religious: Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Jesus
Easter celebrates the resurrection of Christ

Secular: Santa Claus is modeled after St. Nicholas, who
was a monk who gave gifts to children. Has no
Christian religious significance other than the fact
that he was beatified by the Catholic Church.
Easter bunny and eggs have no Christian religious
significance.

Answer 7

Christmas is celebrating Jesus' birthday and all the gifts represent God's gift to us which is Jesus, and Easter represents Christ death burial and raising from the dead which is a pathway for us if we believe to Heaven, and the eggs are a sign of new life that we have in God but the bunny just is cute so they threw that in there just for fun

Answer 8

Christmas was originally a Northern European holiday celebrating the changing of the seasons. Look up Yule or yuletide.

Easter was the celebration of Spring through the Goddess Oestre also known as Ishtar. She was a goddess of Fertility and her symbols were the Rabbit and the Egg

Answer 9

Christmas and Easter are pagan holidays that were introduced to Christianity by the Catholic Church.

The clergy are well aware of the pagan origins of Christmas, yet they encourage the celebration. For example, according to the Vancouver Sun, Anglican Church minister R. Desmond Kimmitt “says it is well-known that Christ was not born in mid-December. The early Christians, he says, found they could not do away with the pagan [Saturnalia] festival and so adopted it.” Yet Kimmitt said: “I would hate to see Christmas as we know it go.”

Also Louis H. Valbracht, as pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church, Des Moines, Iowa, wrote: “For those who say that Christmas is becoming just a pagan celebration, it should be remembered that Christmas was a pagan celebration.”

But the clergy do not care. Said Lutheran minister Valbracht: “As for me and for my house and for my parish, I say, let’s make Christmas bigger . . . more bustling than it has ever been.”—Successful Farming, December 1965.

What about Easter? The ostensible purpose of Easter is to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. This being so, it may well be asked, What do hot cross buns, eggs, rabbits, new clothes, and so forth, have to do with Easter? Little, except that both for long have been associated with the spring of the year. As An Encyclopedia of Religion, by Ferm, says: “Pagan practices were introduced into the Christian observance of Easter at an early age on account of the fact that the feast coincided with the beginning of spring. . . . At that season of the year, the New Year and the creation of the world were celebrated in ancient times by an exchange of gifts (Easter eggs) and by generous hospitality to friends, to the poor, and so forth.”

Whatever names they are called, Christmas and Easter are pagan holidays that true Christians avoid.

Answer 10

Well i guess other people already told ya Easte is about the resurection of Jesus christ not his birthday. since everyone else covered the answer pretty well can i ask you....Why are you so adamant about proving Christians wrong why not just read the Bible to find the answers to your questions?

WES!
YOU POSTED A ? LAST WEEK ABOUT HATING GAY PEOPLE AND HOW WE NEED TO WAKE UP REMEMBER?? So why is it ok to Hate us. Do you know how many /christians have been persecuted an killed because of what we beleive...Christians #1 job is suppose to be to love people not hate.....

WES- thst sounds hypocritical to me People have done wrong YES but when you HATE a group thats predjudice! Because you don't know ALL of us. period i used to follow ur ? i thought they were valid now i think u just like to stir the pot.