Is Easter still about Christ?

kefkat

kefkat

Vital Football Legend
This thread is not for a Christian row, so please don't treat it as such. Found this article on The BBC news and thought it was interesting.

60% of people still identify as being Christian, according to the 2011 census, in this country even though no where near of that goes to church on a regular basis.

With this I am now off to get ready for Church. Mr KK is coming with me today. I say that cos though he is a believer he is 1 of the many who do church at Easter and Christmas, and maybe an odd occasion during the year. He isn't involved like me
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Is Easter still about religion for most?

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A large, feathery Easter egg stands in the middle of a small street in a shopping area in north London.

Beneath it is an Easter message: "This egg is to remind people to shop at independent retailers".

I had thought that it might be to remind people of the other message of Easter - the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, for example, which churches across the country will be marking on Sunday.

But the message of shopping appears to be the louder one, with the magazine Retail Week announcing the glad tidings that footfall at shopping centres, retail parks and high streets will surge almost 5% over the Easter weekend "as shoppers splurge their payday cash".
It's not clear whether footfall at churches across the country will also surge by the same amount, although Christmas and Easter services continue to attract higher numbers than most weeks.
Some 1.3m people in the UK attended Easter Church of England services alone in 2013 - compared to 2.5m for Christmas.

For many years now, leading church figures have bemoaned the fact that in a country that is still officially Christian, with almost 60% of people identifying themselves as such in the 2011 census (although far fewer actually attend church services, or believe in God), the religious message of Easter has been drowned out by the secular festival of chocolate and shopping being celebrated at supermarkets across the country

Cont: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-32160786
 
It never was about Christ. The origins of Easter are rooted in European traditions. The name Easter comes from a pagan figure called Eastre who was celebrated as the goddess of spring by the Saxons of Northern Europe. Easter eggs and the Easter bunny are remnants of this goddess worship.



 
So hang on, the Christians stole the pagans eggs and bunnies?

Bit harsh.
 
No. It's about spending money on chocolate and making your kids sick.
 
HeathfieldRoad1874 - 5/4/2015 11:00

It never was about Christ. The origins of Easter are rooted in European traditions. The name Easter comes from a pagan figure called Eastre who was celebrated as the goddess of spring by the Saxons of Northern Europe. Easter eggs and the Easter bunny are remnants of this goddess worship.
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Not exclusively, there are various festivals around the world celebrated at this time, not least the Jewish festival of Passover.

 
It's about stuffing your face with chocolate and not feeling guilty about it. At least it used to be for me, but my mam doesn't buy me Easter eggs anymore, despite the fact that I ask her every year

 
No way, Chocolate Easter eggs and the Easter Bunny who i know for a FACT is real cos i seen it when i was a kid downstairs when i woke up early,,,,,,and you know i amas sane as they come so it must be true!!
 
Yeah family is knda important,,,,CHOCOAAAAAATE for brekkie dinner teatime and feeling sick all night is the joyous momentswe cherish ;)
 
There is no such thing as ''nothing'' FACT even in the vacuum of space they have proved there is something in the nothingness we thought it was, man om so clever sometimes ffs,,,,Guru Gran Clive comin at ya POW!
 
HeathfieldRoad1874 - 5/4/2015 10:00

It never was about Christ. The origins of Easter are rooted in European traditions. The name Easter comes from a pagan figure called Eastre who was celebrated as the goddess of spring by the Saxons of Northern Europe. Easter eggs and the Easter bunny are remnants of this goddess worship.
Click to expand...

You're being a trifle disingenuous, Heath. Without disputing anything you say about Eastre etc, Easter has also been about the resurrection of Jesus Christ for rather a long time now!
To answer the question posed by Kefkat, Easter is about Christ for those who believe that He was the Son of God. For those who don't, it's a nice long weekend.
For all, it can be a good time to spend time with family and friends.
 
The Fear - 5/4/2015 19:49

You've not met some of their families BBJ!
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Yes, Fear, we all love our families but sometimes absence can make the heart grow fonder!
 
Villan Of The North - 5/4/2015 11:28

HeathfieldRoad1874 - 5/4/2015 11:00

It never was about Christ. The origins of Easter are rooted in European traditions. The name Easter comes from a pagan figure called Eastre who was celebrated as the goddess of spring by the Saxons of Northern Europe. Easter eggs and the Easter bunny are remnants of this goddess worship.
Click to expand...

Not exclusively, there are various festivals around the world celebrated at this time, not least the Jewish festival of Passover.
Click to expand...


Paganism in it's various forms far predates Christianity, Judaism and all other manufactured religions, so any and all "religious" festivals that ally themselves to a pagan festival are just piggy backing, it doesn't matter how long ago the lie started, it's still a lie.

Thou shalt not steal :59:


 
BBJ - 5/4/2015 19:27

HeathfieldRoad1874 - 5/4/2015 10:00

It never was about Christ. The origins of Easter are rooted in European traditions. The name Easter comes from a pagan figure called Eastre who was celebrated as the goddess of spring by the Saxons of Northern Europe. Easter eggs and the Easter bunny are remnants of this goddess worship.
Click to expand...

You're being a trifle disingenuous, Heath. Without disputing anything you say about Eastre etc, Easter has also been about the resurrection of Jesus Christ for rather a long time now!
Click to expand...

The question was "Is Easter still about Christ?" I have to back Heath up and state that it never was, it is and always will be a pagan festival welcoming spring and fertility.

How long ago the Christian hierarchy decided to hijack it for their own uses towards their own ends is really immaterial and the same goes for Xmas.

Easter is a period that moves, it's not a fixed date, so how can it be the anniversary of anything?

To answer the question posed by Kefkat, Easter is about Christ for those who believe that He was the Son of God. For those who don't, it's a nice long weekend.
For all, it can be a good time to spend time with family and friends.
Click to expand...

The name “Easter” has its roots in ancient polytheistic religions (paganism). On this, all scholars agree. This name is never used in the original Scriptures, nor is it ever associated biblically with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.



 
Juan, if you or I went out and did a "vox pop" in the Bull Ring, I dare say that more people would associate Easter with the resurrection of Christ than with the long-forgotten (for most people, anyway) Eastre.
Yes, Constantine did purloin the time of year for this and Christmas for the birth of Jesus.
To which I say, so what?
I reiterate what I've said. People who believe that Christ was the Son of God do tend to celebrate the resurrection at this time of year. People who don't still enjoy getting a long weekend.
It's win/win!
Furthermore, very few people round these parts will be making votive offerings to Eastre (apart from scoffing chocolate eggs and dressing up in bunny outfits). Personally, I'm all for anything that'll increase my fertility but don't feel that, at my time in life, Eastre (or indeed anyone else!) is going to able to do much for me.
As an aside, one of my best memories of Easter is going to the library one Holy Thursday (that's what they call it in Ireland) and borrowing "His Last Bow" by Conan Doyle. This was my introduction to Sherlock Holmes.
 
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