Easter Egg Hunt
Creative Commons License photo credit: lifelive~

First off I want to wish all of you a happy Vernal Equinox and/or Easter celebration. I hope that whatever faith you follow and whatever your plans this weekend you have a fun and safe time. Spring is by far my favorite time of year, and the Vernal Equinox is always a big deal in our household. So if your an atheist or don’t have a holiday this weekend enjoy the transition back to Spring.

Every morning we listen to talk radio as we make our commute and this morning I was flipping through stations trying to find one talking about something interesting. One of our local stations was talking about Easter and their plans for the weekend. All in all pretty standard morning radio stuff but it did catch my attention when they started pondering on the odd custom of painting eggs and the connection between Jesus and rabbits.

For those of you who don’t know, there is no connection between these traditional easter symbols and Jesus. The egg and bunny are pagan symbols of fertility and (re)birth and are tied to the original pagan celebration. Easter, like every Christian holiday was appropriated from older pagan beliefs and celebrations. Long before Christianity virtually every civilization on earth celebrated the end of winter and the Vernal Equinox, Easter is simply another ripped off pagan holiday complete with pagan traditions and symbolism.

Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against Christianity or their use of the Pagan holidays, traditions, and beliefs. In fact it works out well for many people who can celebrate Easter and Christmas with their families despite differences in religion. My concern is that a large number of Christians do not know the basic history of their religion. Belief without understanding is not faith, its slavery.

So please take the time to do some research on the pagan history of Christianity. I highly recommend this resource on the pagan origins of Easter from ReligiousTolerance.org and this quick primer on pagan history. Not only will you learn a little more about why Christians do many of the things they do, but it will shed light on the natural peace and beauty of the older pagan religions as well. Please don’t blame me though if you discover that not only Easter but every aspect of the Christian religion all the way down to Jesus can be found in much older religions and mythology.

Thanks and have a great weekend!
Who Would Jesus Vote For?
William

P.S. Even though the ecclesiastical vernal equinox is a set date on March 21st the real astronomical vernal equinox was yesterday. Its also important to note that obviously these are reversed for the southern hemisphere who had their autumnal equinox as they make the transition from Summer to Fall.

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