How did the celebration of Easter originate?

Answer 1

• Easter is a pagan holiday that Christians adopted into their religion. The idea of an Easter egg hunt within this Holiday comes from the Goddess of fertility that the pagans had.
• Easter eggs were originally known as "isthar eggs" to celebrate His resurrection from the dead.
• Rabbits have lots of babies, and eggs are where babies come from. In pagan cultures it was popular to paint the maidens and hide them in the Forrest and fields before the young men went and found them. It's in the spring when a lot of animals are born. To Christians the resurrection of Jesus fell nicely into this pagan celebration of life.
• In addition, the ancient pagans of Europe had a spring-fertility goddess known as, Eastre. Her symbols were the swan. In one legend, she is tricked into turning into a rabbit, not realizing she cannot turn back. She still retains her powers of fertility (symbolized by the egg) however, and thus you have an egg-laying rabbit. So the symbols of rebirth (the egg) and of Spring ( when it seems rabbits overrun the woods) were joined and survived with the coming of Christianity. It was then quite easy for the missionary Christians to bring together an ancient concept of Easter, the important pagan time of rebirth with the idea of a "reborn" or resurrected god in Christ. It may not seem it in these times, but Easter is the most important day of the Christian world. It is the day of resurrection and proof of everlasting life. Thus, for a large population, already accustomed to spring-rebirth celebrations, it was quite easy to transition to the new religion.
• "The Westminster Dictionary of the Bible says that Easter was originally the spring festival in honor of the Teutonic goddess of light and spring known in Anglo-Saxon as Eastre, or Eostre. In any case, the Encyclopedia Britannica (11th Edition) states: 'There is no indication of the observance of the Easter festival in the New Testament.' "The book Medieval Holidays and Festivals tells us that the holiday is named after the pagan Goddess of the Dawn and of Spring, Eostre. And who was this goddess? Eostre it was who, according to the legend, opened the portals of Valhalla to receive Baldur, called the White God, because of his purity and also the Sun God, because his brow supplied light to mankind, answers The American Book of Days. It adds: 'There is no doubt that the Church in its early days adopted the old pagan customs and gave a Christian meaning to them. As the festival of Eostre was in celebration of the renewal of life in the spring it was easy to make it a celebration of the resurrection from the dead of Jesus, whose gospel they preached.'
• "This adoption explains how in certain lands the Easter customs, such as Easter eggs, the Easter rabbit, and hot cross buns, came about. Concerning the custom of making hot cross buns, with their shiny brown tops marked by a cross, the book Easter and Its Customs states: The cross was a pagan symbol long before it acquired everlasting significance from the events of the first Good Friday, and bread and cakes were sometimes marked with it in pre-Christian times.
• "The book Curiosities of Popular Customs answers: It was the invariable policy of the early Church to give a Christian significance to such of the extant pagan ceremonies as could not be rooted out. In the case of Easter the conversion was peculiarly easy. Joy at the rising of the natural sun, and at the awakening of nature from the death of winter, became joy at the rising of the Sun of righteousness, at the resurrection of Christ from the grave. Some of the pagan observances that took place about the 1st of May were also shifted to correspond with the celebration of Easter. So Easter is actually a Pagan ritual that was absorbed by the church.
• Easter was originally a celebration of the fertility god Ashtoreth of Babylon. More commonly known as Ishtar (Easter) is the praise of fertility, (eggs) birth, (mother and child) and was incorporated into celebration of Jesus resurrection because the catholic church didn't want to stop the pagan worship they folded it into ours to keep the peace and money flowing. It will be exposed and punished severely in the near future by King Jesus. The Christians first celebrated this holiday, because Jesus rose from the dead on the third day, (Easter).

Answer 2

Easter is the highest holy day of the Christian calendar and the most important religious feast in the Christian liturgical year. Christians believe that Jesus was resurrected from the dead three days after his crucifixion, and celebrate this resurrection on Easter Day or Easter Sunday, two days after Good Friday. It is the most ancient of Christian holiday celebrations. The English name for the holiday, "Easter," comes from the Old English word Ēastre or Ēostre, and refers to Eostur-monath, a month of the Germanic calendar attested by the Venerable Bede as named for the goddess Ēostre of Anglo-Saxon paganism. In other languages, the holiday is referred to as "Pascha" or versions of "Great Day." Easter is a moveable feast, as its precise dating depends on the lunar and solar calendars. Easter traditions vary from culture to culture. Northern European cultures (and those derived from them) have adopted many of the ancient fertility symbols and rituals of paganism, e.g. Easter Bunny and painted eggs. Many cultures decorate eggs in spring, but perhaps the best-known are Ukrainian Easter Eggs, also called Pysanky. You can learn more about this art form by checking out the Pysanky Egg Art section of Wiki Answer under Hobbies and Collectibles/Arts and Crafts (see link below).

Answer 3

Easter is the celebration of Jesusâ?? Resurrection. It is not exactly clear when the Jewish Christians first began celebrating it as a distinct event separate from Passover. However, texts from the second century C.E. allude to Easter as a well-established celebration by this time.

Answer 4

Easter is a 50 day season in the Catholic Calender, that comes after Holy Week and starts on Easter Sunday.

Easter is the day Christians celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ