Easter has been hijacked

When we were at school we always made Easter cards and at home after Sunday School we had Easter Eggs, usually so many as we had lots of Aunties and Uncles, I think nowadays it’s an excuse to buy loads of decorations, just like Christmas.
As it was a Sunday we always had a Sunday roast it was Lamb in those days as chicken was too expensive, unless we killed one of our own Bantams.
People seem to need to go out and spend money they don’t have on things they dont need, most of the goods are from China as well, I’m trying to buy British this year, but Easter decorations will not be on my list.

It is a pagan festival in its origins, celebrating new life that comes with spring. I am delighted to see my children's houses full of tulips and daffodils, decorated eggs, chocolate eggs hidden around the garden to find, shared meals with the family and walks in the chilly sunshine.

I have no problem with the Christian religion having adopted it for their belief in the resurrection. That is their choice and they may celebrate as they wish.

I think lamb has always been the choice of meat for Easter if it can be afforded for a family (Agnus Dei, lamb of God) in Christian countries.
Easter is mixed up with the old pagan customs , eggs, new life etc.
We always had a choccy egg at Easter and painted hard boiled eggs on Easter Sunday and went to Church.
Easter cards were made ourselves.

Everyone can celebrate it or not in their own way.

Floradora as a child and young person I loved Easter at in church- the most beautiful hymns, everyone full of joy and hope after Lent and the church full of spring flowers and families. The church here is beautiful, recently fully refurbished but ultra modern services, Powerpoint presentations and the Rector dressed as the Easter Bunny- that's what has ruined Easter for me.

it WAS Ishter (pronounced easter) long before christianity ,a festival celebrating eggs and fertility and the return of life to the earth after winter .For non religious people it still is about those things..and family time ...and chocolate.The christians hijacked the festival and some would say we're taking it back .

My father, a confirmed atheist, always decorated a boiled egg for each of us, brownies, cubs or whatever was appropriate at the time. In so many ways he was a rotten father but there were times when he showed he cared. I certainly haven't inherited his creative talent.

Hijacked by whom and in what way Floradora9? The Christian church - if that is what you are referring to - hijacked it for their own use. It seems to me that there are many Christians who do not know the history of what they now claim as "their" festival. Are you suggesting that we return to one of the many 'pagan' festivals that were held at this time of the year?

Most of the fun things belonging to Easter are really from the pagan festival of Eostre, a great northern goddess whose symbol was a rabbit or hare. Exchanging eggs has absolutely nothing to do with Christianity; again it is a case of them adapting a story to make them fit. Eggs were all to do with the renewed fecundity of nature. The exchange of eggs is used by many cultures. Even hot cross buns come from the pre-Christian era. In the bible we read of the Israelites baking sweet buns for an idol, and religious leaders trying to put a stop to it. The early Christian church, ever pragmatic, felt it was not worth trying to stop people so turned them into a "Christian" symbol - even if a bit of an iffy one.

Easter is essentially still a pagan festival because it's fun and the ancient symbolism still works and I am afraid no "Christian" is going to tell the country how they should celebrate at this time of the year. New clothes were bought and still are, the first of the seasonal food in the agricultural calendar were eaten - hence lamb - which I must admit we always had and I wonder what exactly you had?

Almost all our traditions - stolen by Christians or not - have more to do with the natural cycle, the earth, dark days and then light nights than anything written in the bible.

We all say Happy Easter while Christians presumable remember Christ’s death. weird or what, Happy ??
Lamb is the chosen meat, is it? Chomp away while we celebrate the little new lambs gambolling strange let’s celebrate your new life then kill you and eat you
Easter has never been a big celebration in our family Easter egg when the kids were small and maybe a meal together

Possible the only festival that is actually Christian only is Whitsun, and I'm not quite certain about that.

Still we do get a public holiday for Beltane, only one month away :-)

It’s not so much Christ’s death that Christians remember but the resurrection on Easter Sunday. Christ’s death is obviously a part of that but it is ‘Happy Easter’ because Christ’s resurrection gives us hope and shows God’s power and love.

Ygdrasil ??

bluebelle I believe the Happy is there because Christians are no longer sad over the death of Christ on Good Friday but are celebrating the resurrection on Easter Sunday. Rather think that's the point!

Sorry Nan. Crossed posts!

I’m with ginny everyone can celebrate Easter as they want to. Like other ‘christian’ feasts it was a celebration in earlier, older religions.

I would not like anyone to think that Gracesgrans aggressive reply to Floradora represents Pagan belief in any way whatsoever.

"An it harm no one, do as you will."

The emphasis is on do no harm.

Eglantine I especially love the ‘An it harm no one’ - I wish more people lived their lives with this in mind.

“An it harm no one, do as you will”

Thanks Eglantine 21, a joyous and positive way to celebrate the coming of new life, spring and whatever faith you hold in your heart.

Pagan and Christian fit together perfectly at Easter, as they do at Christmas.

I am not at all a religious person, but I have always loved Easter and see it as a symbolic progression from death to life, as in nature. I have enough Christian tradition in me to be quite shocked when Good Friday is treated as a jolly holiday, as it usually is unless you’re a churchgoer.

I was awake early this morning and idly watching BBC Breakfast from 6a.m. The fact that it was Easter Day was not even mentioned (except in the weather forecast) until a very long way in to the programme. I thought that was odd. It shows that Easter has much less significance in people’s consciousness than Christmas does.

Atheists spend it as wished . Pagens spend it as wished. Christians spend it as wished. Quite simple isn't it

Annie exactly
My grandchildren are very aware of the 'Christian' meaning of Easter but we all had a great day at Adventure Island on Southend sea front and then onto the arcades to throw my money away, again!!!

Sorryyggdrasil whitsun / Pentecost is then because of one of the Jewish harvest festivals this one 50 days after Passover. The television news has mentioned that the Queen observed the tradition of attending church.......she just happens to be head of the Church of England and attends church every week! We even had Radio 2 presenters wishing us a Happy Good Friday. Perhaps I’m lin a time weary or it is April 1st?

Sounds a great day Petra ?

And if queenie had always tied ribbons to a tree the news would have reported - the queen observed the pagan tradition of decorating a tree with ribbons.