Monday, April 25, 2011

What is the Meaning of Easter?



Is it easter bunnies, chicks and colored eggs?  The truth of the matter Easter orginally was and at times is a pagan holiday of  celebration of the goddess Eastre.

The name "Easter" originated with the names of an ancient Goddess and God. The Venerable Bede, (672-735 CE.) a Christian scholar, first asserted in his book De Ratione Temporum that Easter was named after Eostre (a.k.a. Eastre). She was the Great Mother Goddess of the Saxon people in Northern Europe. Similarly, the "Teutonic dawn goddess of fertility [was] known variously as Ostare, Ostara, Ostern, Eostra, Eostre, Eostur, Eastra, Eastur, Austron and Ausos." 1 Her name was derived from the ancient word for spring: "eastre."

Wiccans and other modern-day Neopagans continue to celebrate the Spring Equinox as one of their 8 yearly Sabbats (holy days of celebration). Near the Mediterranean, this is a time of sprouting of the summer's crop; farther north, it is the time for seeding. Their rituals at the Spring Equinox are related primarily to the fertility of the crops and to the balance of the day and night times. In those places where Wiccans can safely celebrate the Sabbat out of doors without threat of religious persecution, they often incorporate a bonfire into their rituals, jumping over the dying embers is believed to assure fertility of people and crops.  Source: religioustollerce

In the New Testament, after the Romans crucified Jesus, he was buried in a new tomb but he rose from the dead and appeared to many people over a span of forty days before his return to heaven (Ascension). Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday, the third day after Good Friday which marks his crucifixion. Easter's date corresponds roughly with Passover, the Jewish observance associated with the Exodus.  source: wikipedia


But for me and my family we serve the Lord and we believe that our saviour Jesus Christ, son of God, came to this earth that we might have eternal life by accepting him as our Lord and Savior. We believe that Jesus died for our sins, was cruxified and was buried and on the third day rose from the dead and lives in heaven with his father, Jehovah God. We celebrate Easter as a rememberence of what Jesus did for us.
 

So whether or not you have easter baskets, eggs, bunnies, etc. the key here is to remember our savior for without Him we are nothing and without Him we perish for all eternity in hell.





1 comment:

  1. Thank you very much for following my blog. Following you back.
    XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

    ReplyDelete

Always love hearing from my readers. Thank your for stopping by. Appreciate your comments!