Acts 12:4, 'intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people'.
That is the only time Easter is mentioned in the bible, plain and simple!
Amazingly enough ‘Ishter' as it was actually know around those times
A Babylonian pagan festival, which Paul called "the most sickening of crimes!"
Ishter was A fertility Goddess and festival, practiced on the Spring Solace
So actually if you're a Christian, I'd give Easter a miss
Turn a blind eye, become a pagan for the day
Because in 300BC, it was called Eostre
Celebrated by the Anglo Saxons on Eastre
The Saxon name for spring, A time for fertility
The Anglo Saxons celebrated The Earth Goddess; Ostra
Whose Pagan symbols were off the Egg and the Hare, not monsters
Easter has always been about fertility and new starts, and Earth Mothers
Easter has always been a festival of fertility
In Roman times the Egg was seen as a symbol of rebirth since 1500BC
Going back further, the Ancient Egyptians painted Eggs as symbol of promiscuity
Which was an early festival celebrated in springtime to promote sexuality
So how has Easter merged with the Christian faith?
Well, When the Romans invaded Europe they had a new Enemy to face
The Spread of Christianity coincided with the Romans hold on anothers country
By 476AD the official Roman religion was Christianity
The Romans were not stupid and they knew about religious pride
And so they came upon a religious compromise
Take away peoples Pagan Gods but keep their festival
Just call it a Christian one, and denounce the other as evil
Besides there were many similarities with the Jesus Resurrection
Within the religious believes that were Pagan
For example in 500BC the Goddess Attis worshiped in the Mediterranean region
Attis, a fertility Goddess died and was also resurrected three days later
Her Death was also on a Friday and she also arose 3 days later a saviour
The decaying of old faiths and the emergence of a new one
Has to have compromise and carefully done
Take away peoples pleasure and fun
And you'll find that they don't care about any chosen one!
Keep their festivals; give them a simple idea that they celebrate their old ways
And slowly, very slowly, incorporate a new religious ideology in years, not days!
So let us all enjoy Easter, but remember it's not just about Jesus
Remember the old ways, and how they treated us
I accept your faith and so you should accept others
So let us enjoy Easter, as a band of chocolate lovers!
