An Easter Thought
An Easter thought…
The term “Easter” is an anglicized derivative of “Inanna” (also called Ishtar), the Akkadian goddess of love, fertility and war. Supposedly, rabbits were sacrificed in her name and eggs (symbolizing fertility) were painted/decorated in the dead animal’s blood. In light of this, however, we use the term “Easter” to symbolize (what should be) the single most cherished day in all of human history, particularly the history of the Christian Church: the day that Jesus rose from the dead! It seems to me a more appropriate term for such a revered day would be “Resurrection Sunday” or “Resurrection Day” or, simply, the day Jesus rose from the dead. Also, in light of the above information, how should we view encouraging children to participate in Easter egg hunts or their childish considerations of the Easter bunny? Just some things to ponder as we begin to celebrate this important day.
March 27th, 2005 at 6:54 am
This attitude is what almost got your little brother kicked out of preschool! He refused to color his easter basket and to hunt for eggs. I don’t think this is an area where we ought to stand and fight. However I do think that Christians should know what they’re really celebrating and find ways to remind ourselves that we have also been crucified, buried and raised again with Him. I’ll let them decide whether coloring and then having an egg safari accomplishes that our not.
Now candy hunts ….. that’s an entirely different question!