Ωmega on Nostr: I probably should have went for valentine first but it isn't typically branded as a ...
I probably should have went for valentine first but it isn't typically branded as a "Christian holiday" so i skipped to easter.
Understand that as with all topics, people denounce and debate the facts or points. I am well aware of that, with that said I believe I have a solid case to make against Easter an the celebration (at least in the traditional way) of it.
Let's go.
Starting with the most obvious point. Easter has been commercialized and stripped pretty much of any and all relevance today. As of 2023 a estimated $24 billion dollars was spent on easter celebrations. $3.3 billion alone on candy. This equates to an estimated $192 per celebrating household. $90 million chocolate bunnies were estimated to be sold.
"But Omega, its about Jesus!"
Hold on to that cope for a second. In 2023 gallup polls showed that only around 20% of people attend church weekly, 41% monthly and a dismal 57% attended seldom or never. The top 4 highest days of church attendance are as follows, Easter, Christmas eve, mothers day and finally planned/special church specific days. FATHERS DAY WAS ALL THE WAY AT NUMBER 8 EVEN 4TH OF JULY BEAT IT...shame on fathers and shame on us as Christians. Out of a dozen polls and lists on the "top 10 easter activities/traditions" only 3 even had any mention of church. One at number 7 had "learning he reason for the holiday". The other two had a mention of wearing your sunday best to church and gave tips on how to dress, the other was about how alot of people go to the vatican to see the pope......shameful. In conjunction with top attendance, Easter is generally also the highest day for church donations which help them get through the drier summer months and make it to thanksgiving/christmas time where donations increase again until the day after christmas. So churches have a financial dependency on this holiday to boot. This holiday has nothing to to with Jesus. It is a hand rubbing, money grubbing scheme.
As far as origins and symbology go, this will not be an exhaustive list but it will open that can enough for you to see the rotten contents at the very least.
The word "easter" is not found in the bible, except one passage in the KJV. This in my lackluster opinion was a error and shoved in there because it was already the customary name at the time of the KJV's inception. The term "easter" in the bible was actually referring to the Passover which occurred just after Jesus's death and burial (wednesday of that week btw). The term which is “pesach” in Hebrew and "Pascha" in Greek is what was translated as "easter" in that one faithful verse in Acts 12:4 of the KJV.
Easter has several theories floating about it's name. From it being from the old word Ostre which meant east, as in the suns rising. To it being another variation to the name of the goddess ishtar/astarte. The one last origin I have is from a christian monk named St. Bede which said the celtic month Estoremonath, which is our April was the month when the Celts celebrated their goddess Estore which was a goddess of fertility. Though any proof this goddess existed by this name is scant to nonexistent outside of this mention.
Let us turn our eyes to some of the common symbols of Easter. Rabbits and eggs were and still are seen as a sign of fertility along with chicks as a sign of new beginnings. What do you see your baskets decorated with? Flowers? Bees? Birds? We put "grass" in them. All signs of a renewal and rebirth of nature.
Easter is a holiday that moves dates year to year. The Passover was a stationary festival, it was to be on the 14th day of Nisan which is our April. It never moved dates. So why does easter you ask? Easter falls on the first sunday after the first full moon following the vernal (spring) equinox which is where the amount of daylight and nighttime are equal, from there on the day grows to be longer. The vernal equinox was celebrated by many peoples and it always fell on the sunday following the first full moon after the equinox. It was a week long festival of debauchery and lasciviousness. Given that this festivals actual date changes year to year, it can fall close or even on the same week as the Passover. This was likely the case in the time of Christ.
Pt. 2 incoming
Understand that as with all topics, people denounce and debate the facts or points. I am well aware of that, with that said I believe I have a solid case to make against Easter an the celebration (at least in the traditional way) of it.
Let's go.
Starting with the most obvious point. Easter has been commercialized and stripped pretty much of any and all relevance today. As of 2023 a estimated $24 billion dollars was spent on easter celebrations. $3.3 billion alone on candy. This equates to an estimated $192 per celebrating household. $90 million chocolate bunnies were estimated to be sold.
"But Omega, its about Jesus!"
Hold on to that cope for a second. In 2023 gallup polls showed that only around 20% of people attend church weekly, 41% monthly and a dismal 57% attended seldom or never. The top 4 highest days of church attendance are as follows, Easter, Christmas eve, mothers day and finally planned/special church specific days. FATHERS DAY WAS ALL THE WAY AT NUMBER 8 EVEN 4TH OF JULY BEAT IT...shame on fathers and shame on us as Christians. Out of a dozen polls and lists on the "top 10 easter activities/traditions" only 3 even had any mention of church. One at number 7 had "learning he reason for the holiday". The other two had a mention of wearing your sunday best to church and gave tips on how to dress, the other was about how alot of people go to the vatican to see the pope......shameful. In conjunction with top attendance, Easter is generally also the highest day for church donations which help them get through the drier summer months and make it to thanksgiving/christmas time where donations increase again until the day after christmas. So churches have a financial dependency on this holiday to boot. This holiday has nothing to to with Jesus. It is a hand rubbing, money grubbing scheme.
As far as origins and symbology go, this will not be an exhaustive list but it will open that can enough for you to see the rotten contents at the very least.
The word "easter" is not found in the bible, except one passage in the KJV. This in my lackluster opinion was a error and shoved in there because it was already the customary name at the time of the KJV's inception. The term "easter" in the bible was actually referring to the Passover which occurred just after Jesus's death and burial (wednesday of that week btw). The term which is “pesach” in Hebrew and "Pascha" in Greek is what was translated as "easter" in that one faithful verse in Acts 12:4 of the KJV.
Easter has several theories floating about it's name. From it being from the old word Ostre which meant east, as in the suns rising. To it being another variation to the name of the goddess ishtar/astarte. The one last origin I have is from a christian monk named St. Bede which said the celtic month Estoremonath, which is our April was the month when the Celts celebrated their goddess Estore which was a goddess of fertility. Though any proof this goddess existed by this name is scant to nonexistent outside of this mention.
Let us turn our eyes to some of the common symbols of Easter. Rabbits and eggs were and still are seen as a sign of fertility along with chicks as a sign of new beginnings. What do you see your baskets decorated with? Flowers? Bees? Birds? We put "grass" in them. All signs of a renewal and rebirth of nature.
Easter is a holiday that moves dates year to year. The Passover was a stationary festival, it was to be on the 14th day of Nisan which is our April. It never moved dates. So why does easter you ask? Easter falls on the first sunday after the first full moon following the vernal (spring) equinox which is where the amount of daylight and nighttime are equal, from there on the day grows to be longer. The vernal equinox was celebrated by many peoples and it always fell on the sunday following the first full moon after the equinox. It was a week long festival of debauchery and lasciviousness. Given that this festivals actual date changes year to year, it can fall close or even on the same week as the Passover. This was likely the case in the time of Christ.
Pt. 2 incoming