Author Topic: All things Easter, Spring Solstice, Passover, or Ostara  (Read 71049 times)

Offline Jeff Wrangler

  • BetterMost Supporter!
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 31,165
  • "He somebody you cowboy'd with?"
Re: All things Easter, Spring Solstice, Passover, or Ostara
« Reply #110 on: April 11, 2022, 10:55:34 pm »
Here's an interesting Wikipedia article on Passover.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passover

So much is lost in antiquity. I have read ... somewhere ... maybe in a college Bible course, or something ... that the really ancient origin of Passover was related to some spring rite or festival--note that the meal is lamb--like spring lamb, maybe?

Those first five books of the Old Testament were written hundred and hundreds of years later by priests of the Jerusalem temple, and I have a very strong hunch that they took some customs and tales and so forth and gave them an explanation that they came from God.

There is a story somewhere--Exodus, maybe--that God punished the Israelites by sending a plague of poisonous snakes. The snakes bit the people, and the people died. Then Moses made a bronze serpent and put it on a pole, so that anyone who was bitten by a snake could look at the bronze serpent and not die.

OK, c'mon, people, really? Tell me that bronze serpent wasn't really some idol of some non-Israelite god? So the story had to be spun by the priests to relate to the God of the Jerusalem temple and not to its origin as an idol of some non-Israelite god.

And that business of murdering the first-born of the Egyptians? That's horrible beyond belief.

Somewhere, probably in one of the Bible courses I had in college. we were told that "Red Sea" in Exodus should actually be "Reed Sea," a vast swampy area between the head of the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. I don't remember if what we were told, or read, addressed the reality of Hebrews escaping from Egypt, or why the Egyptians would go after them, but it strikes me that people traveling light, possibly even on foot, could probably get through a swampy area, whereas the chariots of the Egyptians would bog down in the mud. Over time that story grew and grew until we have Charlton Heston parting the Red Sea.  ;D
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline CellarDweller

  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • ********
  • Posts: 38,298
  • A city boy's mentality, with a cowboy's soul.
Re: All things Easter, Spring Solstice, Passover, or Ostara
« Reply #111 on: April 12, 2022, 06:45:42 pm »
If I'd guessed carelessly, I would have thought that Easter's timing is tied, like Christmas and Halloween are, to ancient pagan holidays. But of course it can't be, because it is tied to Passover which, Judaism being non-evangelical, does not have that relationship to pagan European traditions.

Our symbols of Easter -- eggs, chicks, rabbits -- are most likely European in origin, though.

Although come to think of it, don't most cultures acknowledge the rebirth of nature in spring? In which case, Easter's timing -- based on an episode that may not actually have occurred right after Last Supper -- might have been designated by the ancients.

Just looked it up; Jerusalem is slightly farther from the equator than New Orleans. New Orleans doesn't have a particularly dramatic spring, so it's not as big a deal there as in Europe, so maybe the New Testament's authors didn't make that rebirth connection.


actually, what I've found online suggests some ties to Pagan beliefs.


Pascha, Easter and the goddess of spring

In most countries in Europe, the name for Easter is derived from the Jewish festival of Passover.

"So in Greek the feast is called Pascha, in Italian Pasqua, in Danish it is Paaske, and in French it is Paques," Professor Cusack said.

But in English-speaking countries, and in Germany, Easter takes its name from a pagan goddess from Anglo-Saxon England who was described in a book by the eighth-century English monk Bede.

"Eostre was a goddess of spring or renewal and that's why her feast is attached to the vernal equinox," Professor Cusack said.

"In Germany the festival is called Ostern, and the goddess is called Ostara."


Rabbits and eggs as ancient symbols of new life

Many of the pagan customs associated with the celebration of spring eventually became absorbed within Christianity as symbols of the resurrection of Jesus.

"Eggs, as a symbol of new life, became a common people's explanation of the resurrection; after the chill of the winter months, nature was coming to life again," Professor Cusack said.

During the Middle Ages, people began decorating eggs and eating them as a treat following mass on Easter Sunday after fasting through Lent.

"This is actually something that still happens, especially in eastern European countries like Poland," Professor Cusack said.

"The custom of decorating hard-boiled eggs or blown eggs is still a very popular folk custom."

Rabbits and hares are also associated with fertility and were symbols linked to the goddess Eostre.

The first association of the rabbit with Easter, according to Professor Cusack, was a mention of the "Easter hare" in a book by German professor of medicine Georg Franck von Franckenau published in 1722.

"He recalls a folklore that hares would hide the coloured eggs that children hunted for, which suggests to us that as early as the 18th century, decorated eggs were hidden in gardens for egg hunts," Professor Cusack said.


As for Easter's changing date:


Easter's changing date

In 325AD the first major church council, the Council of Nicaea, determined that Easter should fall on the Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox.

That is why the date moves and why Easter festivities are often referred to as "moveable feasts".

"There's a defined period between March 25 and April 25 on which Easter Sunday must fall, and that's determined by the movement of the planets and the Sun," Professor Cusack said.



https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-04-15/the-origins-of-easter-from-pagan-roots-to-chocolate-eggs/8440134


Tell him when l come up to him and ask to play the record, l'm gonna say: ''Voulez-vous jouer ce disque?''
'Voulez-vous, will you kiss my dick?'
Will you play my record? One-track mind!

Offline Jeff Wrangler

  • BetterMost Supporter!
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 31,165
  • "He somebody you cowboy'd with?"
Re: All things Easter, Spring Solstice, Passover, or Ostara
« Reply #112 on: April 14, 2022, 08:22:50 am »
Apparently the Easter Bunny has paid an early visit to my dad's place. He told me last evening that he was out in the backyard yesterday afternoon when he saw a small rabbit hop under the garden shed.  :)
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline CellarDweller

  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • ********
  • Posts: 38,298
  • A city boy's mentality, with a cowboy's soul.
Re: All things Easter, Spring Solstice, Passover, or Ostara
« Reply #113 on: April 15, 2022, 04:41:10 pm »
cute!


Tell him when l come up to him and ask to play the record, l'm gonna say: ''Voulez-vous jouer ce disque?''
'Voulez-vous, will you kiss my dick?'
Will you play my record? One-track mind!

Offline CellarDweller

  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • ********
  • Posts: 38,298
  • A city boy's mentality, with a cowboy's soul.
Re: All things Easter, Spring Solstice, Passover, or Ostara
« Reply #114 on: April 15, 2022, 04:53:33 pm »





Tell him when l come up to him and ask to play the record, l'm gonna say: ''Voulez-vous jouer ce disque?''
'Voulez-vous, will you kiss my dick?'
Will you play my record? One-track mind!

Offline Sason

  • BetterMost Moderator
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 14,161
  • Bork bork bork
Re: All things Easter, Spring Solstice, Passover, or Ostara
« Reply #115 on: April 15, 2022, 06:43:12 pm »
Thanks, the same to you, Chuck!

Düva pööp is a förce of natüre

Offline CellarDweller

  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • ********
  • Posts: 38,298
  • A city boy's mentality, with a cowboy's soul.
Re: All things Easter, Spring Solstice, Passover, or Ostara
« Reply #116 on: April 17, 2022, 11:35:11 am »



Tell him when l come up to him and ask to play the record, l'm gonna say: ''Voulez-vous jouer ce disque?''
'Voulez-vous, will you kiss my dick?'
Will you play my record? One-track mind!

Offline Front-Ranger

  • BetterMost Moderator
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 30,287
  • Brokeback got us good.
Re: All things Easter, Spring Solstice, Passover, or Ostara
« Reply #117 on: April 17, 2022, 06:32:51 pm »
Hoppity happy Easter! I had everybody over and the weather cooperated! Brunch on the flagstone patio, deviled eggs, cole slaw, lamb cucumber appetizers, mandarin oranges, crackers and cheese, asparagus. . . . all the good springtime things.
"chewing gum and duct tape"

Offline Jeff Wrangler

  • BetterMost Supporter!
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 31,165
  • "He somebody you cowboy'd with?"
Re: All things Easter, Spring Solstice, Passover, or Ostara
« Reply #118 on: April 17, 2022, 10:14:50 pm »
Very changeable weather here. It was 82 degrees when I left Philadelphia on Thursday. I hardly knew what to pack because the forecast was for a great drop in temperature over the following days. Yesterday the temperature was still in the 70s, and my dad and I sat on the front patio in the sun. The warm weather has also "pushed" the dogwoods to bloom. I'm afraid I'll miss them at their height.

Today the temperature was about 20 degrees or more cooler than yesterday. While driving to our cousin's home in the mountains for dinner today, I looked at the sky and said to my dad, "Those clouds look like they have snow in them." They did. We had several brief snow showers until the weather settled down to sunshine.

Driving into the mountains today was like was going back in time to earlier in the spring, as the daffodils and other early blooming plants and trees were still at their height there, whereas they're past their prime here.

We've also had the Easter Bunny in residence; a small, young rabbit has taken up residence under the backyard shed. This morning he had two of his siblings with him. I looked out the kitchen window and saw three small rabbits munching on the lawn.

Incidentally, the backyard lawn is full of violets, which are beautiful this time of year. My father hates them because he says they shouldn't be in the grass. I think they're very pretty.
"It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide."--Charles Dickens.

Offline Penthesilea

  • Town Administration
  • The BetterMost 10,000 Post Club
  • *****
  • Posts: 14,745
Re: All things Easter, Spring Solstice, Passover, or Ostara
« Reply #119 on: April 18, 2022, 04:00:13 am »
Very changeable weather here. It was 82 degrees when I left Philadelphia on Thursday. I hardly knew what to pack because the forecast was for a great drop in temperature over the following days. Yesterday the temperature was still in the 70s, and my dad and I sat on the front patio in the sun. The warm weather has also "pushed" the dogwoods to bloom. I'm afraid I'll miss them at their height.

Today the temperature was about 20 degrees or more cooler than yesterday. While driving to our cousin's home in the mountains for dinner today, I looked at the sky and said to my dad, "Those clouds look like they have snow in them." They did. We had several brief snow showers until the weather settled down to sunshine.

Driving into the mountains today was like was going back in time to earlier in the spring, as the daffodils and other early blooming plants and trees were still at their height there, whereas they're past their prime here.

We've also had the Easter Bunny in residence; a small, young rabbit has taken up residence under the backyard shed. This morning he had two of his siblings with him. I looked out the kitchen window and saw three small rabbits munching on the lawn.

Incidentally, the backyard lawn is full of violets, which are beautiful this time of year. My father hates them because he says they shouldn't be in the grass. I think they're very pretty.




Lovely, all of it.  :)
I'm glad you got to celebrate Easter with your dad and the Easter bunny O0



Yesterday we visited with relatives from my side of the family and I'm very happy to have seen them :D
Weather has been beautiful for quite some days in a row, but also has been getting cooler. Back to jackets when being outside, even though it looks warm :laugh:. Today is another public holiday, so we're taking it slow and lighting up the firebowl in the evening. First time this year, which feels like officially opening the garden season ;D