For The Last Time...Easter Is Catholic!

Why is Easter Catholic?

It’s that time of year when we celebrate the most pivotal event of the Christian faith, when Easter is celebrated around the world to commemorate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. However, some people have claimed that Easter has pagan roots and it is not truly a Christian holiday. This falsehood gets shared around every single year like a virus. This has been the subject of much debate, but I am here to give you the reasons why Easter is most definitely catholic.

Firstly, Easter is not derived from any pagan holiday or deity. The popular theory that circulates every year is that Easter comes from the pagan deity “Ishtar”. The claim is that “Ishtar” is actually pronounced “Easter,” therefore the Christians are worshiping a pagan deity. Despite this, it does not change who Christians worship and where the word Easter truly comes from.

The old English Germanic word for Easter is “Eosturmonath” which roughly translates in to Easter Month. Christians noticed that they were celebrating the Resurrection in the Easter Month and began calling it “Easter”. The Christian celebration of Easter is based solely on the resurrection of Jesus Christ and has no direct connection to any pagan belief or practice.

Inevitably, atheists and anti-christians yell from the top of mountains that their are other deities that died and were resurrected and the Easter celebration of the passion is a “rip-off”. Admittedly, yes, there are stories of gods who died and came back to the living world. One popular god in this capacity is Osiris, who died and was resurrected however he died at the hands of his brother Set and was brought back to life by his mother Isis. Another popular god is Dionysus who died and was resurrected, however, his death was at the hands of the titans and his resurrection came by being born again after having his heart devoured by Semele.

While these stories exist, the story of Jesus' resurrection is unique and has no parallel in pagan mythology. The central belief of Easter is that Jesus rose from the dead three days after his crucifixion, and this event is the foundation of the Christian faith. There is no equivalent story in any pagan tradition that has the same theological significance. Now, other historians claimed that other gods were crucified, died and were resurrected but Jesus Christ pre-dates all of these stories. Christianity is popular for how His life touches our hearts, so Pagan leaders wanted a way to try and get new followers to their faith, coming up with false stories of how their deities went through the same hardships as Christ.

The date of Easter is determined by the Christian liturgical calendar, not by any pagan calendar or festival. Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox, which falls between March 22 and April 25 each year. This date is based on the date of the Jewish holiday of Passover, which commemorates the Israelites' liberation from slavery in Egypt. While some pagan festivals also occur around this time of year, the date of Easter is not determined by these festivals. Moreover, Easter is determined on the day the Last Supper was hosted which was on Passover Thursday and then (as discussed) Jesus was arrested, crucified and died on Friday. He then rose from the dead on Sunday which is the day we celebrate Easter.

The earliest Christian communities celebrated Easter without any of the pagan symbols or traditions that are sometimes associated with it today. The early Christian church celebrated Easter as a solemn occasion of fasting and prayer, and it was not until much later that the holiday became associated with Easter eggs, bunnies, and other secular customs.

During the Middle Ages, fasting was an important part of religious life, particularly during the season of Lent. Lent is a period of 40 days leading up to Easter, during which Christians traditionally fasted and refrained from eating meat and other animal products as a form of penance and sacrifice. Eggs were on this list and leading up to the Easter celebration, the peasants would collect eggs and hard boil them to preserve them and consume them in a feast once Lent had concluded. Lamb is a common protein for Easter and Seder meals but was harder to come by for the lower class but a more available protein was the hare which were in abundance in the spring time as it was mating season. The modern day Easter bunny is a product of commercialism and is far from the traditions of European Christians.

In conclusion, the Christian celebration of Easter is based solely on the resurrection of Jesus Christ and has no direct connection to any pagan belief or practice. The date of Easter is determined by the Christian liturgical calendar, and the story of Jesus' resurrection is unique and theologically significant. Therefore, when you’re celebrating Easter you’re always celebrating Jesus Christ.

Citations

https://news.web.baylor.edu/news/story/2016/why-easter-was-never-anything-christian-holiday