Holidays and Holy days

(What every Christian should know about the Easter bunny, eggs and the true meaning of EASTER)

Ezekiel 44:23--"And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.

Gal 4:8-11 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. But now that you know God-or rather are known by God-how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? YOU ARE OBSERVING SPECIAL DAYS AND MONTHS AND SEASONS AND YEARS! I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.

THE PAGAN YEAR. The pagan year usually has four cardinal days, or periods, for celebration; fall; midwinter; spring; and midsummer.

1) The Autumnal Equinox. This is the day (or period of days) in the Autumn when the days and nights are of approximately the same length. This is generally a time of celebrating harvest, but the main emphasis is on the dying of nature and death.

2) The Winter Solstice. This is the day (or period of days) in winter when the days are shortest and the nights longest. This is generally a time of drunkenness, revelry and debauchery. The pagan Romans called this celebration Saturnalia, in honor of their god Saturn, and the festival lasted from the 17th to the 24th of December, with gifts exchanged, especially on the last two days. Then, on the 25th, they celebrated "The Birth of the Unconquerable Sun," as the days began to lengthen and the sun began to regain its dominance (it has been generally believed among pagans that the sun dies during winter solstice, and then rises from death).

3) The Vernal Equinox. This is the day (or period of days) in spring when the days and nights are again of approximately equal length. This is a time of celebrating new life, the resurrection of nature from the dead, and it has typically featured fertility rites, merrymaking, and usually centers on orgiastic sexual activities. In ancient times there was the sacrificing of virgins, the worship of fertility gods and goddesses (Pan, Isis, Demeter, Ceres) and worship of the phallus. "May poles" almost certainly had their origin as phallic shrines, around which orgiastic celebrants danced to honor the male sex organ. Such practices are known to have been featured in spring festivals in ancient Egypt, Babylon, Greece and among the Druids in Great Britain and Europe. Eggs, as symbols of fertility and new life, have always been featured in such pagan festivals, as have rabbits (symbols of vigorous sexual activity and reproduction). Many of these practices continue today.

4) The Summer Solstice. This is the day (or period of days) in midsummer when length of day is greatest and night is shortest. The shortest night (about June 21) was known in Britain as Midsummer Night, and was a time of great revelry, drunkenness and sexual abandon. This was a wild and wicked night, and is the setting in time for Shakespeare's play "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

There were (and are), of course, many other times of pagan celebration in the year; but all existed (and still do) against the backdrop if these four most-significant times. Against this same backdrop, let's examine some of the facts about our holidays and holy days. We will look at EASTER.

THE MYSTERY OF THE PASSOVER RABBIT

Of all the Christian holy days reduced to popular "holidays", the only one with any real validity in the Scriptures, in terms of origin and time of year, is what we call Easter. Of course, as you might by now suspect, it has no scriptural validity at all in the forms usually practiced. What we probably should celebrate is the Passover, that is what Jesus celebrated with great enthusiasm and joy, and that is the valid source of our Easter celebrations. The Passover, the commemorative feast in memory of the passing over of the angel of death for those homes "under the blood of the Lamb," is the oldest continually observed feast in the history of mankind. This was the ritual meal that Jesus "desired with desire" and enjoyed with his disciples on the night in which He was betrayed. The early Christians continued to celebrate the Passover after His death, burial and resurrection. From the beginning, the Christians met every Sunday to celebrate the resurrection; and every year in Springtime (the Hebrew month Nissan, which corresponds to our March/April) they celebrated the Passover. But there was no Easter. There was a passover lamb, but no rabbit. Somehow, Easter arose in the Church's midst, and the Passover disappeared; the spotless passover lamb disappeared, and we got in His place a supernatural rabbit. How did all this happen? Let's see if we can sort out the evidence and solve the mystery.

Since the Resurrection took place in the Spring, and since the pagans had for many centuries been celebrating new life, fertility and the return of growing things each year at the same time (the Vernal, or Spring, Equinox when day and night were of equal length), the old pagan practices eased their way into this part of the life of the Church.

There was no Easter celebration, as such, in the Church in those early centuries. But the Springtime activities of paganism began to attach themselves to the annual time of the Passover, and slowly Easter grew, being finally embraced by the Church as an annual celebration of the Resurrection.

The following are the principal features of Easter customs, and their origins.

The Name "Easter". According to the Venerable Bede, Christian historian and theologian, writing in the 8th century, the name is from the festival of Oestre (sometimes spelled "Estre"), pronounced "Eestruh", the Anglo-Saxon Goddess of Spring, Fertility and New Life. It is easy to see how "Eastre time" became "Easter time".

The Egg-laying Rabbit. Since ancient times, pagans have worshipped rabbits as sex and fertility gods, and have looked upon them as symbols of lust, sexual vigor and reproduction. In the traditions of Egypt and Persia there are such rabbit gods, and they were particularly honored in the Springtime.

Likewise, eggs have been, since ancient times, symbols of fertility, sex and new life. Likewise, eggs have always been an important feature of pagan Springtime celebrations of new life, fertility, etc. The Orphic legend of the origin of the Universe has the Earth being hatched out of an enormous egg (if you read this in some detail you will find a remarkable similarity to the current evolutionary (pagan) theory of the "cosmic egg" origin of the Universe). In a broad range of pagan societies, from Egypt and Mesopotamia to the British Isles, brightly-decorated eggs were (and still are) presented as gifts and charms to bring (supernaturally) fertility and sexual success each Spring.

This all comes together in our Easter customs in the pagan tradition of Oestre (Estre). the Goddess of Spring, etc. In that pagan story, there was a great bird who intensely desired to be a rabbit. The Goddess Oestre (Estre) graciously turned the bird into a rabbit, and in gratitude the rabbit (who could still remember how to lay bird eggs) came each Spring, during the Festival of Oestre (Estre), and laid beautiful eggs for the benevolent goddess. This is exactly how we got a supernaural, egg-laying rabbit god in our Easter tradition.

The Dates, and All the Rest. Since the pagan Festival of Oestre (Estre) coincided each Spring with the time of Passover, it isn't difficult to see how these pagan beliefs and customs eased into the life of The Church and replaced the Passover.

WELL, NOW WE KNOW

So, What Do We Do About It? What is done about it is a matter to be settled between the individual and the Lord; but I am convinced that if we are to be really free, we must stop lying to our children, we must stop deceiving them, and we must remove all traces of paganism from our homes and lives. All this ungodly fabrication about a benevolent, supernatural rabbit that comes and lays candy eggs, (and real and plastic) in our shoes, or our baskets, or in the yard for us to search and find, all this at least takes our eyes off the reality of the Lord Jesus and the most important single event ever to take place: His resurrection victory over death. No amount of "harmless fun" could be worth this, even if it were harmless.

Some Advice. In case you are still wondering what all this has to do with you living free or living hindered, it is this: all these holidays we have enjoyed so much have been thoroughly infiltrated with paganism, or were entirely pagan to begin with. Since paganism (even innocent paganism) is an open door through which the devil has a right to enter our lives, bringing trouble, sickness and bondage; and since most of us have embraced one form of paganism or another in celebrating these holidays, there is in them the potentiol for such trouble in our lives. This is one of the reasons for doing this series on Holidays and Holy days. We would need a book to give you all the examples of instances that people have been healed and/or delivered from being obedient to God's Word and turning from these pagan traditions.

But, the most important reason for doing this series is an issue of love and obedience. As children of God, we need to ask questions like: Does this bring glory to God? What is our motivation for practicing what we do? Does Jesus and/or His disciples give examples in the scriptures of practicing these kinds of celebrations and traditions? What does God's Word say about such things? Romans 12:1 says, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God&emdash;this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world . . ." Of course, whether we celebrate these days or not isn't a salvation issue, it's a love issue. The greatest commandment of all is "To love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." Do we love Him enough to obey His commands?

Deut. 18:9-13 When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord, and because of these destable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you. You must be blameless before the Lord you God.

1 Cor. 10:20-21 I say the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord's table and the table of demons.

2 Cor. 6:17 "Therefore come out from them and be separate", says the Lord, "Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you."

2 Cor.7:1 Since we have these promised, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.

1 Pet. 4:1-3 Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do&emdash;living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.

Joshua 7:11-13 (Amplified) Israel has sinned; they have transgressed My covenant which I commanded them; they have taken of the things devoted (for destruction); they have stolen, and lied, and put them among their own baggage. That is why the Israelites could not stand before their enemies, but fled before them; they are accursed (devoted) things among you. Up, sancify (set apart for holy purpose) the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow; for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel. There is an accursed thing in the midst of you, O Israel; you can not stand before your enemies until you take away from among you the thing devoted (to destruction.)

1 John 2:3 We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

John 14:23-24 Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching.

Titus 2:12 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age. . .

and 1 John 2:6 Whever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

Some Comforting Words. It is understood that these traditions are well established in our lives . . . at least most of them. They are often very difficult to give up. Many see the truth of these things and turn immediately and completely away from them; for others it is more difficult. It may take a year for this to become real to you; it might even take longer. Those Christmas stockings our children had used, year after year, with names stitched on them, were dear to us; but allow the truth to be revealed to you, and don't feel desperate if you can't change completely in one day. Commit it all to the Lord and let Him change you, whether it happens instantly or slowly. How about this year celebrating the Passover, a true Holy day the disciples and Jesus Himself enjoyed celebrating. All the more reason for us to celebrate after His resurrection.

Remember--". . . Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve. . . But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24:15)

Thank you to Tom C. McKenney for some of the information contained on this page. It has been edited, checked for accuracy and validated with a few changes from personal experience and personal and local resources.

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You can find this source document at http://www.got.net/~seasons/easter.html