The Origins and Practices of Easter

Everybody love’s Easter, we dress with our finest outfit, we buy the kid new clothes, we go to Church, basically showing off how good we look. The kids love it, you get to dye eggs with them, you have Easter egg hunts, and they get the Easter baskets. When my kids where young, we would do these thing with our kids. My wife would make my kids these beautiful little baskets with candy.

That’s all great, but we don’t want our kid to think that’s what Easter is about.

 Easter: A Pagan Tradition; comes from the ancient goddess fertility and Spring “Eostra” Our words for the "female hormone" estrogen derives from her name. It’s said that Eostra brings an end to winter. To Eostra the rabbit was a sacred animal.

Legend has it that Eostra, feeling guilty about arriving late one spring, the Goddess Eostra saved the life of a poor bird whose wings had been frozen by the snow. Filled with compassion for since he could no longer fly, Eostra turned him into a snow a rabbit. In celebration of his earlier form as a bird, she also gave him the ability to lay eggs in all the colors of the rainbow, but only one day out of each year. Easter eggs and Bunny are both featured in the spring festival. Brightly colored eggs, chicks, and bunnies were all used at festival to express appreciation for Eostra's gift of abundance.

 Egg dying, and decorating would bring with them a wish for the prosperity of the abundance during the coming year. Egg hunts arose in Europe. Instead of giving the eggs as gifts, the adults made a game of hiding them, gathering the children together and encouraging them to find the eggs. Shaping candy, Easter eggs and bunnies where made to celebrate the spring festival as a way to celebrate the symbols of the goddess Eostra, while laying claim to her strengths, vitality, growth, and fruitfulness.

The enemy keeps tricking Christians into believing the it’s an innocent holiday.

But that’s not the meaning of Easter, the meaning of Easter is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord and saver. The resurrection proves that Jesus is the Christ (Messiah) and the Son of God. Everything He said and did was true. Through resurrection, Christians believe life has triumphed over death, good over evil, hope over despair. The resurrection is a sign of God's great power.

Matthew 28: 5-6 (NKJV)

 ⁵ But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 

The resurrection of Jesus Christ also provides believers with spiritual power today. However we choose to celebrate Easter Sunday, we should not allow the associated fun and games to distract our attention from what the day is truly all about the glorious resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Christ Himself should be celebrated every day, not just Easter Sunday. He is the Resurrection and the Life, and He is worthy of praise more than once a year.

God Bless, Israel