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Happy Easter!
#1
I wish the Christian members of the RAT community a happy Easter and a good day celebrating the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ
AVLVS GALERIVS PRISCVS-Charlie Broder
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#2
Thank you for the well wishes, Gallus Priscus

On this weekend honoring the ultimate martyr, I introduced the thread, "Fritigern: a Christian Prior to 376?"
I don't belong to any denomination, but respect the actions of conscionable men. :-)
Alan J. Campbell

member of Legio III Cyrenaica and the Uncouth Barbarians

Author of:
The Demon's Door Bolt (2011)
Forging the Blade (2012)

"It's good to be king. Even when you're dead!"
             Old Yuezhi/Pazyrk proverb
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#3
Happy Eastern to you, too.

Just came back from mass.
Stefan (Literary references to the discussed topics are always appreciated.)
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#4
I had a wonderful easter with the family that included a heated discussion about the connection between Easter and the pagan celebration of the bablyonian fertility goddess Ishtar.
There are some who call me ......... Tim?
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#5
Was this Ishtar goddess depicted as holding a snake in each hand?
Alan J. Campbell

member of Legio III Cyrenaica and the Uncouth Barbarians

Author of:
The Demon's Door Bolt (2011)
Forging the Blade (2012)

"It's good to be king. Even when you're dead!"
             Old Yuezhi/Pazyrk proverb
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#6
I was listening to a debate on the radio about this very subject last night and the group of commentators basically formed two groups. One group went for Easter originally being a spring fertility rite for the goddess Ishtar by the Babylonians and Assyrians. Image below.

[attachment=9669]Ishtar.jpg[/attachment]

The other group claimed it was named for a Saxon goddess who was known by the names of Oestre or Eastre, and in Germany by the name of Ostara. She is a goddess of the dawn and the spring, and her name derives from words for dawn, the shining light arising from the east. Timed for the first full moon after March or Spring Equinox. Our words for the "female hormone" estrogen derives from her name. Eostre had a hare as her companion. The hare symbolizes fertility and rebirth. Later Christians changed the symbol of the hare to the Easter bunny. Image below.

[attachment=9670]eostre.jpg[/attachment]
Not really sure on the origins of Easter eggs though.
Regards
Michael Kerr


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Michael Kerr
"You can conquer an empire from the back of a horse but you can't rule it from one"
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#7
Interesting stuff.
Oddly enough, or not, Ishtar does appear to be holding snaky-kinda-creatures... which are exactly the same animals the Minoan fertility goddess held in her hands. Paganism died a hard death. :dizzy:

Obviously, Easter eggs are laid by Eostre's bunnies. ;-)
Alan J. Campbell

member of Legio III Cyrenaica and the Uncouth Barbarians

Author of:
The Demon's Door Bolt (2011)
Forging the Blade (2012)

"It's good to be king. Even when you're dead!"
             Old Yuezhi/Pazyrk proverb
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#8
Actually I couldn't find a decent image of Eostra. The one I found as you can see has cute little bunnies but originally hares were her sacred animals but somehow they are not as cute as bunnies. Tongue Ishtar's festival was for fertility and sex so a little bit too much for the early Christians.
Regards
Michael Kerr
Michael Kerr
"You can conquer an empire from the back of a horse but you can't rule it from one"
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#9
IIRC from my religious studies courses, there was a ressurection aspect to Ishtar having something to do with her descending into the underworld and then someone else needing to die before she could return.
There are some who call me ......... Tim?
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#10
Michael,

That makes sense, since bunnies (even hares) are a lot cuter than two sweaty people doing WHATEVER! :woot:

Tim,

That rings a bit like... "on the 3rd day, he arose from the dead...."
Alan J. Campbell

member of Legio III Cyrenaica and the Uncouth Barbarians

Author of:
The Demon's Door Bolt (2011)
Forging the Blade (2012)

"It's good to be king. Even when you're dead!"
             Old Yuezhi/Pazyrk proverb
Reply
#11
I would not be surprised if it was a "mushing" of the two. A lot of the christian mythology was "borrowed" from other pegan religions, particularly, Greek, Egyptian and Bablyonian. At the same time, much of the germanic pegan symbology was co-opted by Christianity...e.g., easter bunnies, wreaths, christmas trees, etc., as it was being spread. A lot easier to convince people to "convert" when they can keep their current customs or just rename them.
There are some who call me ......... Tim?
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#12
Pretty sure the Germanic origin of the name is the correct one, since it's mainly only in English and German that its name is anything like "Easter." Elsewhere it's mostly some name or other derived from Pesach (Passover).
Dan D'Silva

Far beyond the rising sun
I ride the winds of fate
Prepared to go where my heart belongs,
Back to the past again.

--  Gamma Ray

Well, I'm tough, rough, ready and I'm able
To pick myself up from under this table...

--  Thin Lizzy

Join the Horde! - http://xerxesmillion.blogspot.com/
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