Some truths about Easter.
I know that this year most non-orthodox Christians chose March 31 to remember Christ but i am not sure why. There are a few things that are rarely talked about that I find interesting about Easter and its connection to the death of Jesus in general but one specifically for this year. Firstly, it surprises me that religions who profess to love him, choose to celebrate his life and remember him on a date that is more often than not inaccurate but in the case of this year, is off by 3 weeks. And although i am sure there may be some who will say it doesn't matter which day it is done on, i wonder would they do that for the anniversary of the passing of a member of their family or their spouse whom they profess to love? Surely if one is to be remembered in memoriam, the least we can do is remember them on the correct date.
I truly find it odd that he is not remembered on the date of his death which is well recorded and easy enough to discern but that they choose a specific date to celebrate his birth when that has NEVER been known, was only chosen to be that date in 336 CE and was originally the date of the winter solstice in the Roman calendar. So what is the date of Jesus of Nazareth’s death? Jesus of Nazareth died on Nisan 14 in the Jewish calendar which often falls some time during the month of April and is not until April 22 this year. It happens on April 22 in the Gregorian calendar this year because of the leap year in the Gregorian calendar, the Jewish calendar has two Adars (last month of the year) which delays the beginning of Nisan (first month of the year) until our 8th of April and thereby making the anniversary of Jesus’s death April 22 and the day he rose from the dead April 25.
This brings me to another aspect of this “holiday” that has me wondering. Why is it that people say, he has risen on “Easter Sunday,” when the bible clearly states that he died on a Friday a few hours before the Sabbath and then rose three days later? At Matthew 12:40 Jesus said, " just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." That would make it Monday, not Sunday.
In addition, i find it interesting that the churches who profess to be built on Christ’s word willingly took what Christians would consider the most important event in history, since they believe that they were saved by Christ Jesus’s death and added so many traditions like those of bunnies, eggs and chocolate to what should be a day of remembrance. I mean if you deem Jesus of Nazareth as your savior, how does a day that should be of reverence for a life given to save one’s own life end up being one of feasting, games, gifts and egg hunts? Whenever I have asked people what Easter is about they will say that Easter is about Jesus, yet their celebrations seem to be more of a cultural appropriation of the pre-Christian era stemming from the celebration Eostre a west Germanic goddess who represented dawn, spring and new beginnings.
Indeed, the celebration of spring is present in many ancient customs, across all cultures, and focussed on Eostre/ Ostara who symbolizes fertility, rebirth, and renewal and whose beginnings can be traced back to Ishtar -Astarte the Babylonian goddess of fertility and sex. At least three Germanic Academic texts categorically state that Eostre/Ostara were originally the Goddess Ishtar-Astarte. Rigid academic investigation into the subject shows that Ishtar-Astarte’s worship was prevalent not only in the “Middle East” but down the Levantine Corridor, into Egypt and across Northern Africa, through ancient Greece and Rome, across Europe, up to Iberia, and even into the British Isles where she had at least SEVEN altars dedicated to her. Regardless of her beginnings Eostre is where most of the Easter traditions come from, including the name itself, the traditional colors of Easter green, yellow and purple and the symbols of the rabbit and eggs both of which represent fertility and new life.
But what do these have to do with Jesus? Absolutely nothing. However, after Constantine decided to Christianize the Empire, Easter was deemed to represent the resurrection of Jesus. Easter which had been quite distinct from the memorial of the crucifixion, the resurrection and ascension of Jesus was then introduced into the apostate Western religion, as part of the attempt to adapt ancient festivals to Christianity.
The Encyclopedia Britannica says about this transition: "There is no indication of the observance of the Easter festival in the New Testament, or in the writings of the apostolic Fathers. The first Christians continued to observe the Jewish festivals, though in a new spirit, as commemorations of events which those festivals foreshadowed. The Gentile Christians, on the other hand, unfettered by Jewish traditions, identified the first day of the week [Sunday] with the Resurrection, and kept the preceding Friday as the commemoration of the crucifixion, irrespective of the day of the month" (11th edition, p. 828, "Easter").
However, the Gentile Christians choice of day is not in line with the facts known to us by the bible’s records. In fact, the one thing we know that is true is that Jesus was crucified on Nisan 14 between high noon and sunset (his crucifixion was recorded as being the day of preparation – meaning the day before the Sabbath (the Sabbath is from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday).* We also know that he was crucified in the year 33CE since that is when Nisan 14 was on a Friday. We then know that he was resurrected three days after his death and for many years that was acknowledge as the Monday Nisan 17. So why do we celebrate Easter Sunday? To me, it doesn’t add up. Since both mathematically and as previously noted Jesus had said, “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Not one, not two but three. If Jesus was crucified on Friday, that would make Monday the day, not Sunday. So again I wonder how has “Easter Sunday” become the day people set aside as the day that is most important to remember Jesus? Do they count Friday as day one? A full day in those times was from sunset to sunset. That is why the Sabbath is from Friday at sunset to Saturday at sunset. Therefore shouldn’t the first night and day be from Friday to Saturday, the second from Saturday to Sunday and the third be from Sunday to Monday? Perhaps the truth and accuracy of the historical event was less of a concern than creating a day that would suit society and bring those who were not Christian into the fold.
Sadly, it seems that the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth (called the Messiah by those who followed his teachings) have been reduced to a convenient holiday and to being acknowledged only when it suits the powers that be rather than when they actually were.
Please note: *In the year of Jesus’s crucifixion the High Sabbath and the weekly sabbath fell on the same day.