Ever wondered why Easters date changes?

Ever wondered why the dates of Easter change?

Easters date changes every year was a puzzle! Growing up as a Christian we were taught Easter was a celebration of the resurrection. If that were so, how was there justification for the date changes every year?

Or why do we have the Easter Bunny, egg hunts, even egg painting?

All these activities as a child were delightful but no thought was ever given to its meaning. As an adult, there was an assumption that bunny and eggs were just another commercial money making scam.

As most of us know Christmas is the celebration of Christ birth and was given the date 25^th Dec to incorporate both the pagan celebrations of the winter solstice and to covertly continue the polytheistic practices of the Roman traditions of Saturnalia and Dies Natalis Solis Invicti.

What I wasn’t aware of until recently was Easter carries the same story, the same distortion of the truth.

Did you Know Easter each year is calculated by, using the first Sunday following a full moon, after the Spring Equinox?

Discovering this – and I mean discovering this for myself, not discovering it, parse, led me to dig deeper into the celebrations of Easter, “why bunnies, why eggs, is the significance as simple as commercialism or is there greater meaning”? A more earthly meaning…

As my spirituality has deepened, so has my need for understanding humanities history, my history! My personal journey has led me to feel a greater connection to Sirius, Atlantis and the indigenous Druids.

Finding myself having a greater curiosity about our traditions, so with easter date change answered. I wanted to discover, what do eggs and bunnies have to do with Easter? Here is a quick rundown through history.

Christianity

It would appear that eggs and bunnies were incorporated into the celebrations between 13^th and 15^th Century from pagan Germany following integration into the Christian faith. The egg symbolizing the resurrection but this does not explain how or why the bunny lays eggs (which it obviously doesn’t). The first recordings of this appeared in Germany in the 15^th century. Then later in the USA with a children’s storybook, published in 1680. The story reached the US with the German immigrants of that time. But it still doesn’t address the issue of why a bunny would lay eggs. So, we need to go back further in history.

Pagan

The rabbit symbolises procreation, sex, fertility. Pagans lived the land, their very lives depended on reproducing livestock and pollination of fruit and vegetables. So they celebrated nature having sex, procreating, a welcoming of natures cycles.

Pagan’s, considered the egg a powerful ancient symbol. When used in rituals such as egg painting, they believed it became a tool for magic and transformation. Symbolizing the universe, the shell as the crust of the earth, the magma as the egg white, and the yolk the core.

Druids

The druids painted the egg red, to represent the menstrual cycle. They would then bury them in the prepared ground, during the winter solstice. It was a sacred ritual to encourage fertility, abundance and draw life force energy into the land. Again one assumes because of the necessity that the land and livestock procreate.

But we can take these symbols back further still…

Ancient Egyptian

Since 2700 BC Sham El-Nessim, has been celebrated by Egyptians regardless of their religion. Ancient Egyptians called it The Feast of Shmo meaning the revival of life. Once again tied to the spring equinox where both day and night are equal.

Ancient Egyptians would boil eggs, decorating and colouring them in various patterns, writing their wishes on the eggs. Then putting them in baskets made of palm leaves, they hang them, hoping that the gods would answer their wishes.

Sumerian Civilization

Goddess Ishtar pronounced Easter… Assyrian and Babylonian goddess of fertility and sex (procreation)

Past this, there are only legends, myths and personal beliefs.

One can only assume that a German visited Egypt during an Easter festival and took the tradition of placing eggs in a basket back to Germany with them. As for Bunnies laying eggs, it would appear that over time a creative storyteller combined the celebration of sex – symbol Rabbit with eggs – symbolising renewal, rebirth and decorating them to bring in the energy of hope, dreams and abundance.

If you have further knowledge, insight into these traditions and their origins please let me know, I welcome your comments.

Sources

https://onstellar.com/blogs/128144/EASTER-VS-ISHTAR-IS-EASTER-A-CELEBRATION-OF-THE-RESSURECTION