Easter -- Why Christians Reject This Holiday of Pagan Origin
By Randy Blackaby

Each year, on one designated Sunday, many who profess to be Christians attend special Easter services. Members of the Lord's church assemble on this day, just as on all other Sundays, without any unique attention to the annual holiday called Easter. Visitors often wonder why we don't celebrate Easter.

First, and most importantly, the Bible is our standard of authority. By studying God's word we learn what He requires of us. We look to it for commands, approved examples, and necessary conclusions to define God's will for what we practice and believe. Having said that, we note that the Bible never commands us to observe a special day called Easter. It records no examples of the early Christians doing so.

We find the only mention of the word Easter in the King James Version, in Acts 12:4, and that reference is to the Passover, not a Christian observance. Further, it is an improper translation of the Greek word, and most Bible translations have corrected this error.

Pagan Origin:

Some scholars believe the name "Easter" is merely a slightly changed English spelling of Ishtar (pronounced eesh-tar), the name of the ancient Assyrian and Babylonian idol goddess. A feast to this goddess was celebrated at the time of the vernal equinox (about March 20 in the northern hemisphere).

Other scholars associate the name with Eostre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring. Whichever is the case, we can see the pagan influence in the emphasis on eggs and bunnies, which were part of ancient heathen fertility rites and spring festivals.

Judaistic Connection:

Since Jesus was crucified and arose from the dead during the Passover season, proponents of the Easter holiday have connected it with this Old Testament holy day. But while Jesus is our Passover (1 Corinthians 5:7), and the fulfillment of the pattern set forth in the Law of Moses, Christians have no command or example that suggests we are to keep the Passover.

Like many other things (separate priesthood, clerical garments, incense, etc.) associated with Catholicism, Easter's Passover connections are an unauthorized and improper binding of old-covenant elements. Christians are specifically told not to do this, because these elements were nailed to the cross when the Lord died (Colossians 2:11-17).

Jesus, during the Passover season supper He shared with His disciples before His betrayal, instituted a weekly memorial of His death (Matthew 26:26-30; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:17-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26). But, again, the New Testament is silent about an annual festival to commemorate His resurrection.

Related Events:

The inappropriateness, and even sinfulness, of the Easter season is seen in the three seasons (the Carnival season, the Lenten season, and the Post-Easter season) and about a dozen religious events associated with the holiday. And, while many of the Easter-season events are connected with some Biblical event, none of the days or seasons has any Scriptural authority. You can't read about any of it in the Bible.

  1. Carnival - Most of us think of carnivals as amusement shows. And while the Easter-related Carnival season fulfills that definition, there is more to it. The word "carnival" means, "flesh farewell." It refers to a season of feasting, reveling, and merry making prior to Lent, when, many people give up certain foods, entertainments, and amusements. So Carnival season offsets, or indulges, in these things prior to the Lenten restrictions. Again, such carnivals are similar to pagan festivals in ancient Rome. Catholicism seems to have appropriated many pagan traditions.

    Shrove Tuesday, also known as Fat Tuesday or Mardi gras, culminates the final Carnival-season days before Ash Wednesday. It is the last big fling of riotous behavior before the Lenten period of so-called sackcloth and ashes. If you've ever observed on television the Mardi gras celebration in New Orleans, you have to wonder how such drunkenness, nakedness, and general lewdness could ever be deemed part of the worship of God.

  2. Lent - Lent is the 40-day period of fasting before Easter. The word "lent" comes from the Anglo Saxon word leneten, which means springtime. In the context of the Easter season, these days commemorate Christ's 40 days in the wilderness immediately following His baptism. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and closes on the Saturday before Easter Sunday.

    On Ash Wednesday, Catholics gather for mass, and the priest marks their foreheads with ashes from palms burned on the Palm Sunday of the previous year. These ashes remind participants that man's end is to return to the dust from which he was created and signifies the need for repentance, as is represented in the sackcloth-and-ashes mourning under the old law. Observance of this day dates from the eighth century.

    The final Lenten-season event is Holy Week, also known as Passion Week. During this week, participants observe four special days--Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. This week immediately precedes Easter Sunday.

    The Holy-Week events are designed to commemorate Jesus' suffering and the events immediately preceding His crucifixion. Palm Sunday commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. "The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: 'Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD! The King of Israel!' Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written: Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt. His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him." (John 12:12-16)

    Maundy Thursday commemorates Jesus washing the disciples' feet. Good Friday focuses on the Lord's crucifixion. And Holy Saturday focuses on the time Jesus was in the grave.

  3. After Easter - There is also a series of special days known as the post-Easter season, which serve as an anticlimax to the main event.

    • The first events are Easter Monday and Easter Tuesday. On Easter Monday, some countries practice Easter egg rolling, purportedly symbolic of the rolling away of the stone from Christ's grave.

    • Ascension Day falls on a Thursday, 40 days after Easter, to commemorate the ascension.

    • The third event is Whitsuntide, which comes 50 days after Easter. It gets its name from the white garments worn by those who commemorated the day of Pentecost. It is a day used especially to baptize children.

    • Trinity Sunday comes 57 days after Easter and honors the trinity, or Godhood.

    • The final post-Easter season event is Corpus-Christie, observed on the Thursday following Trinity Sunday, which is the 61st day after Easter. The term means "body of Christ," and the festival honors the Lord's Supper. Interestingly, Jesus inaugurated the Lord's Supper to commemorate His death. Thus, Catholics have a commemoration to commemorate a commemoration. This festival was initiated about 1247 A.D.

Conclusions:

Catholic tradition traces the Easter concept back to the days of the apostles. But there certainly is nothing in the Bible to confirm that, unless it is Paul's statement in Galatians 4:10-11: "You observe days and months and seasons and years. I am afraid for you, lest I have labored in vain."

As is true with the Christmas holiday, Easter has borrowed more from pagan festivals and Old Testament traditions than from what Jesus and the apostles taught in the New Testament.

Those who commemorate Easter usually forsake what the Bible commanded--a weekly memorial of the Lord's death. Jesus spoke frankly about the hypocrisy of substituting tradition for obedience to Divine command. "These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. (Matthew 15:8,9) The Apostle Paul warned, "Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ."

This is exactly why Christians don't celebrate Easter.

Perhaps you are wondering why we're writing about the religious holiday, Easter, in January. Brother Blackaby did a masterful job of explaining the many different "traditions" attached to this holiday. Before this religious holiday arrives, maybe some without prejudice will examine the "WHY" behind the actions associated with it.

Sadly, even some brethren have begun celebrating this pagan holiday. Let me offer a few samples of what they are doing:

What are brethren thinking? Could it be numbers and ways to attract people to leave other religions and attend services at the church of Christ? These ploys appear to be working for them, so we need to follow their lead. This is the type of reasoning Israel used in the days of the judges, when they decided they needed a king so they would be like the "other nations" (2 Samuel 8:1-18). How sad it is when we are not content to worship according to God's pattern, which is to attract men to the cross through the message, not the gimmicks. (KMG)


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