Who Owns Easter? Pagans Or Christians?
by Liz Lee
It’s that time of year again. Bunnies, eggs, pastels, plastic grass, baskets, and Jesus. Yep. It’s Easter time. Except for Jesus, bunnies and eggs have nothing to do with Christianity. So why the Easter bunny? Why eggs?
Despite the thoughts of some, Christianity is not the original religion. Many different symbols and themes seen throughout the Bible can be found in religions much older than Christianity including Easter. Many of our Easter traditions are rooted in traditions that originate earlier than Christianity and, in fact, have Pagan roots.
You can read more about these Easter traditions at Liberal America.
Click here for reuse options!Copyright 2015 Liberaland
By: Liberal America
viva_democracy April 2nd, 2015 at 14:33
Last I checked, the Easter Bunny owned Easter. Oh how I love those hollow chocolate bunnies. Bach! Bach!
nola878 April 2nd, 2015 at 14:46
Well, you asked for him, so enjoy! :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRgpKfhquME
StoneyCurtisll April 2nd, 2015 at 16:32
Cool~!!!
Larry Schmitt April 2nd, 2015 at 14:35
No, that can’t be true. Easter and Christmas were invented by American Jesus, that blond, blue eyed fellow with the flag tattoo on his chest and the bald eagle sitting on his shoulder.
Dwendt44 April 3rd, 2015 at 00:37
And run around leaving hard boiled and colored eggs all over. Then he had to rest up in order to have time to stock up on cheap toys for the winter solstice.
wpadon April 2nd, 2015 at 14:41
Blame it on the Italians. The Romans blended all the religions together
Tazru333 April 2nd, 2015 at 17:11
Sort of, but only after they burnt the books and buried the scholars. We would be living in a completely different world had they not committed serial genocide.
illinoisboy1977 April 2nd, 2015 at 14:49
The reason we have pagan components to our Christian holidays is simple. The church of the day realized that, in order to get people to more readily embrace this new religion, they’d have to be allowed to keep their more benign pagan traditions. So, suddenly, the spring festival becomes Easter, when we celebrate the renewal of life, by remembering the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.
The Romans were shrewd operators.
Tazru333 April 2nd, 2015 at 17:09
Burn the books and bury the scholars, then write one book to rule them all and in the darkness bind them.
FatRat April 2nd, 2015 at 15:01
Pagans > Christians.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcWhtI6Nlyg
Tazru333 April 2nd, 2015 at 17:14
That was an entertaining film, but was not a documentary. Don’t forget it was Romans who wrote everyone else’s “history” and called them all “barbarians”.
FatRat April 2nd, 2015 at 17:29
Excellent film. Virgin Catholic cop goes to island to get burnt to a crisp. A new Pagan religion took over the island and becomes the family business. Christopher Lee is freaking out over the failed crops, can’t blame the Christians god so they have to sacrifice a fool. He knows that Pagan religion is a lie and also that Christianity is a sham. Best he can hope is that the fires of the Wickerman keep him safe until the crops improve. He has bought himself time.
Don’t trust the Romans since they had that big bash and ran off with all them Sabine chicks. lol
fancypants April 2nd, 2015 at 15:10
it looks like the bunny owns the day
https://youtu.be/kcrg0B_yJAo?t=3s
Larry Schmitt April 2nd, 2015 at 15:16
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9gfUTNsey8
StoneyCurtisll April 2nd, 2015 at 16:34
Thats a classic!!!
Bunya April 2nd, 2015 at 15:10
I think eggs and bunnies had something to do with the Pagan fertility goddess.
katkelly57 April 2nd, 2015 at 15:23
Here’s some Caflik school humor from when I was a kid.
What did Jesus say to the apostles before he died?
“Don’t any of you bastards eat my eggs, I’m comin’ back on Sunday!”
What did he say to his mother before he died?
“Hey Mom, I can see our house from here.”
I can give two crapolas about the ones who will say, “Blasphamy!”, or who will write replies banishing me to hell….boohoo.
God had to have a sense of humor….look at us.
HAPPY EASTER!
Larry Schmitt April 2nd, 2015 at 15:25
They said blasphemy when Life of Brian came out too, and that’s one of the funniest movies ever. God has a sense of humor, a lot of Christians don’t. Including the nuns, who would have almost literally killed us if we had told jokes like those.
katkelly57 April 2nd, 2015 at 15:26
I still have a scare on the knuckles of my left hand…and I’m sure you can guess why.
Larry Schmitt April 2nd, 2015 at 15:23
What a coincidence. The ad on this page says “Interested in becoming a Pastor? Earn a degree in Pastoral Studies at home.” The sponsor is Christianstudies.com. Sounds legit.
katkelly57 April 2nd, 2015 at 15:23
Sounds legit.
Lololol 16x’s!
Dwendt44 April 3rd, 2015 at 00:30
Mail order ministry certificates or degrees have been around for many years. I’ve had one for a while some 30+years ago.
Larry Schmitt April 3rd, 2015 at 04:35
But those just charge you a fee and send you a degree. This is actual courses.
Dwendt44 April 3rd, 2015 at 23:54
But it’s doubtful that it’s worth any more. Only a portion of the clergy have bothered to read the bible anyway. Dogma seems to hold sway over theology. neither have much use for facts.
Um Cara April 2nd, 2015 at 15:25
Both / Neither
burqa April 2nd, 2015 at 17:40
Nice one, Um Cara.
The question in the OP is only important if one is seeking to patent or purchase the holiday.
I strongly suggest the rest of us just enjoy it in our way and be pleased if others are enjoying it and having something positive and nice in their lives and leave it at that.
For the life of me I don’t understand why people seem to feel they need to take something other people enjoy and try to ruin it with stupid-ass arguments.
Good grief, in this time of stagnant wages, war talk, terrorism, nastiness to the left and right of us and the ordinary struggles of life, we all need things to help us relax and get away from various troubles we are confronted by. Holidays like this function as a sort of vacation from all that and it appears there are people who want to prevent others from having a harmless, good time, recharging their batteries and taking a break from the darkness that so easily besets us.
Um Cara April 2nd, 2015 at 18:32
For the life of me I don’t understand why people seem to feel they need to take something other people enjoy and try to ruin it with stupid-ass arguments.
Human nature – being horrible to each other is what we do.
burqa April 2nd, 2015 at 20:21
“Some Humans Ain’t Human,” by John Prine:
Some humans ain’t human
Some people ain’t kind
You open up their hearts
And here’s what you’ll find
A few frozen pizzas
Some ice cubes with hair
A broken popsicle
You don’t wanna go there
Some humans ain’t human
Though they walk like we do
They live and they breathe
Just to turn your old screw
They screw you when you’re sleeping
They try to screw you blind
Some humans ain’t human
Some people ain’t kind
You might go to church
You sit down in a pew
Those humans who ain’t human
Could be sittin’ right next to you
They talk about your family
They talk about your clothes
When they don’t know their own ass
From their own elbows
Jealousy and stupidity
Don’t equal harmony
Jealousy and stupidity
Don’t equal harmony
Have you ever noticed?
When you’re feeling really good
There’s always a pigeon
That’ll come shit on your hood
Or you’re feeling your freedom
And the world’s off your back
Some cowboy from Texas
Starts his own war in Iraq
Some humans ain’t human
Some people ain’t kind
They lie through their teeth
With their head up their behind
You open up their hearts
And here’s what you’ll find
Some humans ain’t human
Some people ain’t kind
Read more: John Prine – Some Humans Ain’t Human Lyrics | MetroLyrics
Dwendt44 April 3rd, 2015 at 00:27
And some of us are dedicated to factual information.
katkelly57 April 2nd, 2015 at 15:27
I love the day after Easter…I can stock up on all the marked down Reese’s peanut butter eggs!
Ronald L April 2nd, 2015 at 20:54
Yum… they are the best.
i also enjoy Peep s’mores
katkelly57 April 2nd, 2015 at 21:05
You can have my share of Peeps…never cared for them…but I do like marshmallow bunnies.
My daughter used to warm up Peeps in the microwave.
Dwendt44 April 3rd, 2015 at 02:28
Not a fan of peanut butter eggs but:
StoneyCurtisll April 2nd, 2015 at 16:30
This is easy,,,
It’s a pagan ritual…
If Christians want to join in, it’s all good…
Just dont try to claim it as your own.
Ronald L April 2nd, 2015 at 20:50
I don’t understand your line of reasoning at all.
Our Christian tradition of Easter is from Judaism. We may have incorporated a few of your symbols, but it’s a different holiday.
uzza April 2nd, 2015 at 21:21
You got your stuff by modifying the Jews’ stuff, and they got their stuff by modifying the Pagans stuff, and they got theirs from earlier pagans. The source of the whole thing is the spring equinox, which is the only thing about it that isn’t made up.
OldLefty April 2nd, 2015 at 16:35
Who Owns Easter?
Sort of, kind of relevent, maybe…
John Fugelsang said, (about whether or not Santa was white), “We know that Santa is Chinese, because that is what is written on all the toys and Christmas decorations”.
Ronald L April 2nd, 2015 at 20:42
that guy is great. Why he doesn’t have a show on MSNBC, I don’t understand.
Dwendt44 April 3rd, 2015 at 00:25
And most of the gifts under the christmas tree (forbidden by the bible).
rg9rts April 2nd, 2015 at 16:52
the last supper was a passover seder
bpollen April 2nd, 2015 at 19:39
Easter is named after Eostre, a germanic goddess. For whom the bunny rabbit and egg were used as fertility symbols. Goddess of spring and the dawn. I’d say pagans for the win, Alex.
burqa April 2nd, 2015 at 20:23
Um, no, I think it goes back further to Astarte….
Ronald L April 2nd, 2015 at 20:41
For the timing, you have to go to some Jewish roots for Passover.
but aren’t the eggs and bunny from European paganism? I think so.
burqa April 2nd, 2015 at 22:25
I’ve forgotten a lot of what I once knew about it. The eggs go back at least to the Romans and I wouldn’t be surprised if they, as a fertility symbol, goes back further to the Babylonians or Sumerians.
Dwendt44 April 3rd, 2015 at 00:23
But B, facts don’t matter to the religious fanatic.
bpollen April 2nd, 2015 at 20:34
http://www.history.com/topics/holidays/history-of-easter
Ronald L April 2nd, 2015 at 20:59
Nobody owns the solstices and equinoxes. Not the pagans, not the Jews, not the Hindus not we Christians.
This whole line of reasoning is absurd.
bpollen April 2nd, 2015 at 22:02
Easter is an astronomical event? I apologize, I had been taught that it was a celebration – something to do with Jesus as I remember. Surprising that they are holding an astronomical event a couple weeks after it physically happened.
Dwendt44 April 3rd, 2015 at 00:22
That happened when the church took over much of Europe. The chrstian holiday movers according to church dictates. The original Pagan feast day was more or less set by the Equinox.
bpollen April 3rd, 2015 at 02:40
Indeed. That was essentially the reason why I say that the pagans… well, maybe not own… but at least had the first parties celebrating rebirth. I’m not the least put out that religions tend to incorporate their competitors to some extent – co-opting feast days, naming the Gods of the other religion to be demons in your own, rewrite and incorporate myths, etc. It’s simply what they do. Cultures, above and beyond religion, do that too.
Long before the Egypt of the Pyramids, before Sumer and Babylon and Akkad, there was a civilization that appeared near Varna, Bulgaria, on the Black Sea (very close to Turkey and access to the Mediterranean.) In the 5th Century BCE, they produced the world’s first known gold jewelry. This culture seemed to appear full-blown at this site – some have postulated that they migrated there when the Black Sea flooded (which is one of the possible explanations for the Flood myth.) Any earlier settlements would then presumably be under water. Whether that Flood hypothesis is fact or fiction, it’s obvious fairly advanced civilization(s) existed before farming came to Egypt and long before the Fertile Crescent cultures we know. They quite likely had a lot of influence on the later deities of Egypt and the Middle East.
Which pagan wins? I don’t know. But it is obvious that vernal equinox celebrations existed before the Jews were monotheistic.
Ronald L April 2nd, 2015 at 20:36
>> Who Owns Easter? Pagans Or Christians?
Can’t we share?
Seriously, I’m a devout Christian and it doesn’t bother me at all that some pagan things were incorporated into our holidays. We Christians know that eggs and bunnies are not from the bible.
It’s harmless fun, especially for the kids. We do very little of that in church.
I certainly don’t confuse it with the biblical account of Jesus.
burqa April 2nd, 2015 at 22:32
I agree. It’s like Christmas, which has become a whole mish-mash of things. With both it is a waste of time to get into meaningless arguments about them. Instead we should just enjoy it in our own way and if we choose not to participate at all, be happy for those who get something positive from it instead of trying to stomp all over their fun like a bunch of humorless scrooges.
Dwendt44 April 3rd, 2015 at 00:19
Easter, named after a Pagan goddess Isther, was a Pagan feast day celebrating the arrival of spring and the re-newel of life after the winter dormant period.
Hence the eggs, Lilies, and bunnies. Like christmas, it was adopted by early christians at least in part to take over the Pagan celebration. Nearly all of the christmas traditions, rituals and symbols are Pagan in origin. Easter is similar.
Dwendt44 April 3rd, 2015 at 00:51
As an addition there are/were two Pagan goddesses that more or less were combined.
Eostre was the ancient Germanic goddess of spring and rebirth.
Ishtar was the Babylonian goddess of fertility, love and sex.
frambley1 April 2nd, 2015 at 22:17
I am pretty sure it is owned by Hershey’s and Mars. Buck meow, buck meow.
fahvel April 3rd, 2015 at 04:27
oh hell, spring’s arrival has been celebrated fro millenia – long before the troglodytes crawled out of their chilly caves.
Abby Normal April 3rd, 2015 at 21:49
Who cares? After a cold, dark winter, it’s beautiful. Warm weather, bright blue skies, sunshine, flowers, bunnies, easter baskets, easter eggs, jelly beans. I love everything about it.