I know this is probably an irritating question but, could you give me a few of those sources about Easter not being a pagan holiday? I wish to give them to a friend off tumblr, a Christian, because I was telling her about how the old "the holidays are all pagan" is false, and I got her very curious. I attempted to look for them on your tumblr but am failing miserably. Sorry if this is aggravating.
apologies for getting to this so late! here’s a compilation of potential arguments that may arise and can be combated with Abrahamic knowledge and information:
”Easter is based on Ishtar! The names are pronounced the same!”: here’s a pronunciation of the word “Ishtar”. they do not sound the same, they are not based off one another.
“Ishtar’s symbols are eggs and bunnies, which means they’re based on fertility!” According to Gods, Demons, and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia: An Illustrated Dictionary by Jeremy Black and Anthony Green, her symbols are lions and the eight pointed star. while she is associated with fertility, she is not associated with eggs or bunnies.
“Where do the eggs come from, then? what do they have to do with Christ?” a lot, actually. eggs have multiple meanings. Here is information on the boiled egg on the Passover Seder Plate. Here is the story of Mary and the Red Egg, which gives us information on why those eggs may be painted. Here is another collection of stories that involve eggs regarding the resurrection.
“Where do the bunnies come from, then? what do they have to do with Christ?” the symbol of the Three Hares shows up frequently within Abrahamic religion. each religion has a different interpretation, but Christianity in particular associates the hares with the Virgin Mary, as it was believed hares could produce young without losing their virginity. (click through to “What does this symbol mean?”)
“Easter and Ostara are the same thing!” Easter and Ostara will never be on the same time. Ostara is always on the Spring Equinox, while Easter is always the Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox.
“Why would Easter be based on a Lunar Calendar? That’s not how Christianity works!” However, that is how Judaism works, and the holiday is invariably tied with the timing of Passover.
“Easter HAS to be pagan though! what other holiday could it be based on?” Passover. The time of Jesus’ resurrection took place during the end of Passover. this is shown by virtually all other places in the world having Easter referred to by some variation of the word Pesach, which is Passover. Packsha, Pacshal, Pasqua, and Pasden are all examples of other names of Easter in other countries.
“But here, it’s called Easter, like the Goddess Eostre!” Is is referred to as some variation of Easter in two countries, Germany and America. Eostre was originally the name of the entire month of April in Germany, and the only citation we have of Eostre existing is a monk in the eighth century who wrote that a festival happened during this month in its name. and that is literally all of the information on said “goddess”. it is actually contested whether or not she even existed.
Let me know if there’s anything else you need me to cover!
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