"O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth..." (Galatians 3:1a)What is the celebration of Easter all about? Have any of you ever researched the history of Easter, or can you be likened unto the Jews who ignorantly and without question blindly followed the traditions of the Pharisees? Have any of you ever questioned how Easter became connected with Christianity? In short, let me just say that it was (and still is) the Catholic Church’s modus operandi to combine paganism with Christianity. Like with Christmas, Easter became connected with Christianity by the Catholic Church’s taking of pagan celebrations and putting Christian meanings, names and/or people in place of pagan ones. Let me simply state it here that when the Catholic Church is involved with or in the starting of something, watch out. Christianizing something pagan does not make it right or acceptable in God’s eyes, no matter what the heart may be. The Apostle Paul thought that he was doing the work of God by persecuting and even putting to death Christians. Was that acceptable to God? Never. In fact, Christianizing something pagan is as wrong and corrupt as taking the music of Madonna and putting Christian lyrics to it. But that is another topic for discussion.
Most, if not all, of us have grown up celebrating Easter with bunnies and decorated eggs. We innocently accepted the notion that Easter was particularly the celebration of the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. As innocent as these things are, I found myself asking that if Easter is supposed to be the celebration of our Lord and Saviour’s resurrection, what does a bunny and decorated eggs have to do with it? Where in the Bible do we find these holiday additives to our Christian celebration? The answer to that is we don’t. And after further study of the scriptures and history itself, we find that Easter is in and of itself a pagan holiday. What Christians are actually celebrating when it comes to Christ’s resurrection is Resurrection Day. Many have grown so ignorant of Easter’s true nature that – with no thanks to the Roman Catholic Church – the most holiest of Christian days has been given the name of a pagan observance.
Where I come from, words mean things. Things should be called and labeled for what they actually should be called and labeled. Thus, the day for celebrating the resurrection of my Lord and Saviour should never be called by a pagan name. Unfortunately, almost all Christians and church leaders have grown lazy in their attitudes to where it does not bother them that the name of our most holiest celebration bears the name of a well documented pagan holiday.
You may ask, “But what about the celebrating of Easter? We don’t recognize or worship the goddess for which it is named. We don’t give tribute and honor to the pagan rituals. What harm is there to dying eggs and having egg hunts? The story of Peter Cottontail delivering Easter eggs in a basket to boys and girls is an innocent story......isn’t it?” The scriptures are clear in Romans 14 that one may observe a day and another not, and if both do it unto the Lord, so be it. But is that an allowable excuse for Christians to adopt pagan practices and to say that they are doing those practices unto the Lord? As Paul would say, “God forbid.” All through the holy scriptures, God warns his people to shun the pagan practices of those around them and to be separate. “But come on. It’s harmless fun and entertainment.” You may say that, but Satan makes his ways cute and fun, innocent and feel good. After all, he regularly transforms himself into an “angel of light”, making his ways seem alright to do.
“Well, I’ve done this all my life, and my parents did it, and their parents did it, and we all turned out alright.” I don’t now about you, but I want to turn out better than alright. And as it always happens, what one generation does in small amounts, future generations will end up doing in excess. Take, for example, the supposedly harmless 1960's television show Bewitched. What may have started out to most as something cute and funny and innocent in the 60's has surely grown into the societal cancer of the Harry Potter movies, the Twilight series and the acceptance of witchcraft and the Wican religion as being on par with and as acceptable as Christianity.
It is so disheartening to see how many Christians have become so morally corrupt and desensitized to sin and paganism and things which God hates, despises and detests. They have become that proverbial frog which has sat comfortably in the pot of water as the increasing heat is slowing cooking them to death. When are you going to jump out of this death pot?
Before closing this first day of postings on the pagan holiday of Easter, let us hear from a professed witch, Heather B., in an August, 2009 blog article she wrote titled “For A Religion So Opposed to Paganism, You Sure Stole a Lot of Our Stuff!”:
“Ah, yes Christians. Fascinating creatures they are.
“I grew up Christian; I guess you could say, as is the case with the majority of the booming Pagan population today, and yet I always found myself questioning the message. As I deepened my journey into the craft, I soon discovered that most Christian Holidays coincide with Pagan ones. Christmas and Yule, All Saints day and Halloween and Ostara with Easter, just to name a few. Further research tells us that the Roman Catholic Church did this to easily assimilate our ancestors into the church and the ways of Jesus Christ. …
“True, we do not always practice them the same way or even acknowledge where the traditions come from, but you have to realize there is something more powerful that holds these ideas together. With a sly smile and just a hint of sarcasm I can’t help ask of Christians “How’s that whole assimilation thing working out for ya?”
“It looks as if celebrations, or once Pagan holidays, have been an infectious tool, and yet we have not utilized it to the full extent yet!
“Be comforted Pagan Sisters and Brothers that today, in 2009 we are still celebrating our ancestors Sabbats. The face may have changed, but the message remains the same. Instead of fruits and nuts hand picked from trees in mass quantities, candy manufacturers, greeting card companies and retailers report record sales of their products during the holidays. Pumpkins are still being carved, Easter egg hunts commence...
“And even though the packaging is different, I smile as I reminisce on what our forefathers would have thought about some of the basic traditions that still stand today. Those little things such as dying Easter Eggs or lighting a Yule log…
“It’s a beautiful thing.
“I think our ancestors would be proud that our Pagan traditions still so heavily
“I grew up Christian; I guess you could say, as is the case with the majority of the booming Pagan population today, and yet I always found myself questioning the message. As I deepened my journey into the craft, I soon discovered that most Christian Holidays coincide with Pagan ones. Christmas and Yule, All Saints day and Halloween and Ostara with Easter, just to name a few. Further research tells us that the Roman Catholic Church did this to easily assimilate our ancestors into the church and the ways of Jesus Christ. …
“True, we do not always practice them the same way or even acknowledge where the traditions come from, but you have to realize there is something more powerful that holds these ideas together. With a sly smile and just a hint of sarcasm I can’t help ask of Christians “How’s that whole assimilation thing working out for ya?”
“It looks as if celebrations, or once Pagan holidays, have been an infectious tool, and yet we have not utilized it to the full extent yet!
“Be comforted Pagan Sisters and Brothers that today, in 2009 we are still celebrating our ancestors Sabbats. The face may have changed, but the message remains the same. Instead of fruits and nuts hand picked from trees in mass quantities, candy manufacturers, greeting card companies and retailers report record sales of their products during the holidays. Pumpkins are still being carved, Easter egg hunts commence...
“And even though the packaging is different, I smile as I reminisce on what our forefathers would have thought about some of the basic traditions that still stand today. Those little things such as dying Easter Eggs or lighting a Yule log…
“It’s a beautiful thing.
“I think our ancestors would be proud that our Pagan traditions still so heavily
influence the ways all who acknowledge the holidays celebrate. …
If any of you truly care about the truth, you will either look into the history of Easter and/or read the following postings about it. Otherwise, continue to be “willingly ignorant” and to allow yourself and those after you to be spiritually and morally cooked to death. The choice is yours.
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