6 Clear Reasons that Show Easter is a Pagan Holiday

First of all, I am a devout believer. I am also an independent thinker, and I am capable of reading the Bible for myself. In my research I primarily consulted

The Two Babylons
by Alexander Hislop.

Easter is not a Christian name

Easter bears its Chaldean origin on its very forehead. Easter is nothing else than Astarte, one of the titles of Beltis, the queen of heaven, whose name, as pronounced by the people Nineveh, was evidently identical with that now in common use in this country. That name, as found by Layard on the Assyrian monuments, is Ishtar.

Easter is not a Christian holiday

The festival, of which we read in Church history, under the name of Easter, in the third or fourth centuries, was quite a different festival from that now observed in the Romish Church, and at that time was not known by any such name as Easter. It was called Pasch, or the Passover, and though not of Apostolic institution, * was very early observed by many professing Christians, in commemoration of the death and resurrection of Christ.

That festival agreed originally with the time of the Jewish Passover, when Christ was crucified, a period which, in the days of Tertullian, at the end of the second century, was believed to have been the 23rd of March. That festival was not idolatrous, and it was preceded by no Lent. "It ought to be known," said Cassianus, the monk of Marseilles, writing in the fifth century, and contrasting the primitive Church with the Church in his day, "that the observance of the forty days had no existence, so long as the perfection of that primitive Church remained inviolate."

*Socrates, the ancient ecclesiastical historian, after a lengthened account of the different ways in which Easter was observed in different countries in his time--i.e., the fifth century--sums up in these words: "Thus much already laid down may seem a sufficient treatise to prove that the celebration of the feast of Easter began everywhere more of custom than by any commandment either of Christ or any Apostle." (Hist. Ecclesiast.) The word Easter in the KJV of the Bible is a blatant mistranslation of the word Passover. This is one of the many places the translators should an exceedingly great bias.

The Easter traditions are pagan

The hot cross buns of Good Friday, and the dyed eggs of Pasch or Easter Sunday, figured in the Chaldean rites just as they do now. The "buns," known too by that identical name, were used in the worship of the queen of heaven, the goddess Easter, as early as the days of Cecrops, the founder of Athens--that is, 1500 years before the Christian era. "One species of sacred bread," says Bryant, "which used to be offered to the gods, was of great antiquity, and called Boun." Diogenes Laertius, speaking of this offering being made by Empedocles, describes the chief ingredients of which it was composed, saying, "He offered one of the sacred cakes called Boun, which was made of fine flour and honey." The prophet Jeremiah takes notice of this kind of offering when he says, "The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven."

The hot cross buns are not now offered, but eaten, on the festival of Astarte; but this leaves no doubt as to whence they have been derived. The origin of the Pasch eggs is just as clear. The ancient Druids bore an egg, as the sacred emblem of their order. In the Dionysiaca, or mysteries of Bacchus, as celebrated in Athens, one part of the nocturnal ceremony consisted in the consecration of an egg. The Hindoo fables celebrate their mundane egg as of a golden colour. The people of Japan make their sacred egg to have been brazen. In China, at this hour, dyed or painted eggs are used on sacred festivals, even as in this country. In ancient times eggs were used in the religious rites of the Egyptians and the Greeks, and were hung up for mystic purposes in their temples. From Egypt these sacred eggs can be distinctly traced to the banks of the Euphrates. The classic poets are full of the fable of the mystic egg of the Babylonians; and thus its tale is told by Hyginus, the Egyptian, the learned keeper of the Palatine library at Rome, in the time of Augustus, who was skilled in all the wisdom of his native country: "An egg of wondrous size is said to have fallen from heaven into the river Euphrates. The fishes rolled it to the bank, where the doves having settled upon it, and hatched it, out came Venus, who afterwards was called the Syrian Goddess"--that is, Astarte. Hence the egg became one of the symbols of Astarte or Easter; and accordingly, in Cyprus, one of the chosen seats of the worship of Venus, or Astarte, the egg of wondrous size was represented on a grand scale.

Easter has nothing to do with the Biblical Feast of Passover

Easter can be as much as three weeks away from the Passover, because the pagan holiday is always set as the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox. Easter is celebrated according to a pagan sun calendar developed in Babylon in accordance with the worship of Nimrod. Passover is celebrated according to the observance of the Biblical new moon and ripening of the barley in the land of Israel.

Reasons the Church adopted the celebration of Easter

The original community of believers was predominately Jewish (as was the Messiah and the Apostles). These believers had a full understanding of Torah, the prophets and followed the God ordained Feasts and Shabbath. As the community of believers grew, the number of Gentiles increased much faster than Jews. These Gentile believers had little or no knowledge of the Torah, and the prophets. As time passed Greek (Hellenized) thought and mythology began to be incorporated into the church beliefs. The Bar Kochba revolt in 135 CE (AD) left Jews as enemies of Rome, and the church moved swiftly to distance itself from the Roman persecution of the Jewish remnant.

As the church separated itself from the Hebrew root it was grafted into, pagan practices began to quickly infiltrate it. With the victory of Constantine in the early 4th century (300's), the paganization of the church accelerated rapidly and was given the official state seal, protected and enforced by law. Overnight Pagan temples became churches, and former pagan priests became "Christian" Priests. Statues of Jupiter, became Peter, others represented other saints.

The Council of Nicea & Imperial edicts sealed pagan practices, with Shabbath now being outlawed (replaced by the day to honor the sun god, called Sunday, not to honor Messiah) and the resurrection celebration (originally 3 days after Passover) moved to the pagan celebration of Easter.

Constantine ended the persecution of the church brought by Diocletian, and thus to many was seen as a type of 'savior'. However, far from being a benefactor of the church, he became its worst enemy, by marrying pagan and true worship, Holy and unholy. He, in fact, was a Sun worshipper, professing Christianity for political reasons. He professed allegiance to Messiah was in reality a faith based on Mithras (Tammuz). His edict making Sunday the official day of worship was in honor of Deis Solis, Day of the invincible Sun-god, not the Son of God.

We have inherited lies, vain worship, and pagan gods

Jeremiah said that in the last days, Israel would return to their own lands and the Gentiles would come unto the sons of Israel and cry out in repentance, “Surely our fathers have inherited nothing but lies, vain worship, and passed down to us pagan gods…”

“It is because your fathers have followed after the ways that the heathen worshipped their gods and they said they were doing it for me. Your fathers forsook my Torah, my instructions, and developed their own religion by following their own imaginations.” (Jeremiah 16: 9-21)

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, by following after the tradition of men, and following after the rudiments of the world, and not following after Messiah…. (Colossians 2:8)

Take heed to thyself [or You beware] that thou be not snared by following them [whom? The pagan sun god worshippers]. Thou shalt not inquire how these nations served their gods, and do the same unto YHVH, they Elohim! Everything they do is an abomination. YHVH hates that they have burned their sons and their daughters as a sacrifice to their gods. (Deuteronomy 12:30)

Therefore, let no man beguile you of your reward … if your old way of life was buried with the Messiah and you died from following after the rudiments of the world, why are you subjecting yourself the their rules and regulations by following after the commandments and doctrines of men? (Col 2: 15 on)

I will not be celebrating the pagan holiday of Easter. Rather, I will celebrate the Biblical holiday of Passover, and remember the sacrifice of Our Savior, Master Yeshua (Jesus) Messiah.

How about you?