How to you celebrate Easter ?

Francis2004

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Nov 18, 2008
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With every year gone by we have celebrated Easter in a different fashion.

We had always attended Church in the past but this year might be a bit different. I am not sure if that will happen for multiple reasons.

With Easter also brings the multitudes of Chocolate that we must weed out for our son due to his nut allergies. It always turns out to annoy someone but personally I couldn't care less as his life is worth more then someone else's feelings being bruised. This is also a problem at Church from the bake sale.

We usually do not attend Easter hunts for our 5 year old and usually do something else special.

I always tell him about Jesus and God and more and more he is asking questions, which I guess is good, but I believe in letting him chose his own path due to both of us parents having different religions.

If you are not Christian how do you spend Easter with your children and do you do something none the less special ?

Oh how the holidays can be wonderful.. :)
 

petros

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Nov 21, 2008
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The rituals and traditions around Easter and these childhood egg hunts are based on paganistic traditions of the worship of the babylonian godess Ishtar who came to earth in an egg. The lucky kid who finds her egg gets good luck for a year.

That doesn't sound like something to "celebrate" as part of Christianity does it?
 

Francis2004

Subjective Poster
Nov 18, 2008
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The rituals and traditions around Easter and these childhood egg hunts are based on paganistic traditions of the worship of the babylonian godess Ishtar who came to earth in an egg. The lucky kid who finds her egg gets good luck for a year.

That doesn't sound like something to "celebrate" as part of Christianity does it?

You tell me as I try to separate the two apart from the gift and Church. Belief is fine with me but what does God have to do with a Bunny ?
 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
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Ishtar has a thing for rabbits or perhaps the bunny is hiding eggs to keep from getting caught boinking chickens?
 

shadowshiv

Dark Overlord
May 29, 2007
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Like this.
 

shadowshiv

Dark Overlord
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Which matters not to me. I am an equal-opportunity eater of chocolate bunnies.;-):smile:
 

Cannuck

Time Out
Feb 2, 2006
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For us, Easter is much like Thanksgiving. We go to the inlaws and eat alot. The kids usually make colored eggs but they're starting to get too old for that.
 

Ron in Regina

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Apr 9, 2008
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Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, creaser salad, cranberries,
cabbage rolls, perogies, followed by apple & cherry pies...preceded
by veggie & dip, and meat/cracker/cheese/pickle platters...with
much booze flowing and time with Family.
 

Spade

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Nov 18, 2008
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Easter for us is family. As far as religion?

Quote from the site on the Celtic calendar:
"The festival of Oester is for the Spring Goddess. It is celebrated on the first full moon after the spring equinox ( which is at 01:45 am, 21 March), the date of the festival this year being 31 March, at 22:50 PM. Times are GMT.
The Spring Goddess is represented by the hare, because of the mating rituals, and the egg, symbol for new life."

"The Christians took the festival and put it on the next Sunday. The name has corrupted to Easter, and the hare has given way to the rabbit! - But - eggs are still exchanged, continuing the old custom."

So, chocolate eggs and rabbits are popular.
 

Blackleaf

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Oct 9, 2004
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The rituals and traditions around Easter and these childhood egg hunts are based on paganistic traditions of the worship of the babylonian godess Ishtar who came to earth in an egg. The lucky kid who finds her egg gets good luck for a year.

That doesn't sound like something to "celebrate" as part of Christianity does it?

The word "Easter" comes from "Eostre", the Anglo-Saxon (ancient English) goddess of spring. The Anglo-Saxons were the ancestors of the English people.

According to the English historian the Venerable Bede (c. 672 - 735), writing in De temporum ratione ("On the Reckoning of Time"), Ch. xv, De mensibus Anglorum ("The English months"):
"In olden time the English people – for it did not seem fitting to me that I should speak of other nations' observance of the year and yet be silent about my own nation's – calculated their months according to the course of the moon. Hence after the manner of the Hebrews and the Greeks, [the months] take their name from the moon, for the moon is called mona and the month monath (therefore, that is the origin of the modern English word "month").
The first month, which the Latins call January, is Giuli; February is called Sol-monath; March Hreth-monath; April, Eostur-monath; May Thrimilchi...
Eostur-monath has a name which is now translated Paschal month, and which was once called after a goddess of theirs named Eostre, in whose honour feasts were celebrated in that month. Now they designate that Paschal season by her name, calling the joys of the new rite by the time-honoured name of the old observance."

The ancient English celebrated Easter in their month of Eostur-monath, which corresponds with modern April. The English were (and still are) a Germanic, rather than a Celtic people (the Scots, Welsh and Irish are Celtic), and are related to the Germans, Dutch, Norwegians, Swedes, Icelandics, etc, and they had their own regional variation of the Germanic Calendar.


Eostre, the English goddess of the spring

In some ways, the English goddess of the spring is still with us - "Eostre" is another name for the Spring Equinox.

The hot cross bun, eaten during Easter, is said to represent the horns of a bull. If true, they may be derived from the days when the ancient English sacrificed bulls and oxen in honour of Eostre.

Despite its origins, Christians celebrate Easter as a celebration of Christ's resurrection, and is the most important event in the Christian calendar, even more so than Christmas.
 
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shadowshiv

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I'm going to my parents house on Sunday for a wonderful feast(turkey, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy thank you very much Billy Bob, corn, and beets). YUM!:smile:
 

L Gilbert

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Chocolate rabbits, I think we're having roast moose with gravy, spuds, and veggies. Probably play a couple games of whatever the girls dig from the closet (YAY!!! the kids are home again lol), perhaps watch a movie together. We'll probably have our usual wrestling match ( I lose cuz I am outnumbered 3:1 hehehe). Except for the choc. rabbits, it's a typical day when we are all together again.
 

shadowshiv

Dark Overlord
May 29, 2007
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Chocolate rabbits, I think we're having roast moose with gravy, spuds, and veggies. Probably play a couple games of whatever the girls dig from the closet (YAY!!! the kids are home again lol), perhaps watch a movie together. We'll probably have our usual wrestling match ( I lose cuz I am outnumbered 3:1 hehehe). Except for the choc. rabbits, it's a typical day when we are all together again.

Roast moose?8O

You got room for one more at the table, Les?:cool: