According to the New Testament, Christ was crucified on the eve of the Jewish feast of Passover, and shortly after rose from the dead. Jesus became the final Passover Lamb, and shed His blood for the remission of all sin. Although many of the Jewish converts to Christianity in the first century continued to keep the old Jewish Passover, the Gentile converts were never given a special day to remember the death and resurrection of Jesus. Instead, Jesus gave us the communion table of bread and wine to remember His death (Luke 22:19) as a type of New Testament Passover.
In 313 AD the Roman emperor, Constantine, legalized Christianity. He was the head of the Roman Pagan church, and began to introduce his pagan practices into the Christian church in many different forms. This newly formed church began a practice of incorporating pagan festivals and giving them Christian names, to make Christianity more palatable and familiar to heathen worshippers, whom the church was trying to attract. At the Council of Nicea, in 325 AD, Constantine established a set date for the celebration of Jesus’ death and resurrection, which later was to be called “Easter”.
The name “Easter” is an English term derived from the different names for the pagan goddess of fertility known as Ishtra (to the Babylonians), Astarte (to the Greeks), and Ashtoreth (to the Chaldeans). These festivals in her honor were always held at the start of Spring and included the rabbit and brightly colored eggs as symbols of fertility. Even the 40 days that Christians celebrate as Lent was directly taken from the 40 days of worship to the Babylonian goddess, Ishtar.
God, however, warned His people in both the Old and New Testaments of being lured away from pure, uncorrupt worship and devotion to Him.
“Observe and obey all these words which I command you … and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘how did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise’. You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way.” Deuteronomy 12:28-32
“Put away the strange gods and Ashtoreth from among you, and prepare y our hearts unto the Lord, and serve Him only.” 1 Samuel 7:3,4
“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion (common ground) hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? … And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the Living God … Wherefore come out from among them, and be y e separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.” 2 Corinthians 6:14-17
The Gentiles who believed on Jesus (that includes most of us) forsook their pagan idol worship to marry Jesus Christ and follow Him. For them, or us, to begin to incorporate again old pagan practices into our Christian faith would be to practice infidelity to Christ, with a former lover.
“For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. But I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 11:2
In the book of Revelation, the apostle John has a lot to say about this mixture of paganism and Christianity. He calls it “the great whore” and “the mother of harlots” (Revelation 17:1-5). We are warned to repent and to come out of her, and begin to follow Jesus in truth and in light.
“Come out of her, My people, that you be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plaques.” Revelation 18:4
“Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. Then spoke Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” John 8:11-12
SOURCES: Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia The True Origin of Easter by David C. Pack The Two Babylons by Alexander Hislop King James Version Bible New American Standard Bible