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NASB | Exodus 12:2 "This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Exodus 12:2 "This month shall be the beginning of months to you; it is to be the first month of the year to you. |
Subject: Easter questions |
Bible Note: Greetings Cyclist! After reading the posts on the thread, I hope you will read the following just for informational purposes. We have a Christmas tree and we color easter eggs with our kids too but I believe that traditions commonly associated with our "religious observances" must be exposed for what they really are. I believe that children (at an appropriate age) should be taught to keep them separate from the true meaning of our celebrations! Sadly, the world has succumbed to Santa and the East Bunny . . . The easter egg is a traditional pagan symbol of fertility. 1.Some ancients believed that the earth was hatched from a universal egg. 2.Pagan societies used brightly colored or decorated eggs as charms to insure fertility and sexual favor each spring. 3.Roman women carried eggs to fortell the sex of their unborns children. 4.French brides stepped upon eggs prior to crossing the threshold of their new homes to insure fertility. 5. The early Polish Christian church taught that the Virgin Mary gave eggs to the soldiers at the cross to beg them to be merciful to her son Jesus. According to this tradition, as her tears dropped onto the eggs, they became mottled with many colors. 6.The rolling of the easter egg is to symbolize the rolling away of the stone from the entrance of Christ's tomb. (Sidebar:Why do men always seek human involvement- or glory? - in a Divine activity? 7.Hard boiled eggs are a result of a 4th century ban on consuming eggs during lent. Consequently, people boiled the eggs to preserve them until after the lenten season. The easter bunny is another tradition that has its origins in pagan worship. The ancient Egyptians and Persians believed there was once a great bird that desired to be a rabbit. The goddess Oester (I believe the german word for easter may be rooted here too)turned the bird into a rabbit. The bird-rabbit was still able to lay eggs; they were many colors - and each spring the bird-rabbit would present them to the benevolent goddess. Easter baskets have their roots in the tradition of bringing baskets of food to the church prior to easter diner. Easter lilies were believed to have sprung up in the Garden of Gethsemane where drops of the sweat-blood of Jesus fell to the ground during His final hours before He was betrayed. Hot cross buns are a decendant of the practice of pagan peoples many years before the crucifixion of Christ. Small cakes were inscribed with a cross and left in the sun for baking. This cross was a pagan fertility symbol and the day ended with a time of debauchery and human sacrifices. God's Word reminds us to follow Jesus, not the traditions of men! "See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ." Col 2:8 Symbols are nice reminders, but they can never replace a daily persoanl relationship with the Lord. Let's keep our eyes fixed upon Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith! Happy Resurrection Day! Mommapbs PS "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and KNOWLEDGE of the Holy on is understanding!" Proverbs 9:10 See also Job 36:7-12 |