A R C H I V E S
Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Easter |
|---|
| Kathy |
| 03/18/02 at 08:49:27 |
| [slm] :(Does everyone know what it is- and why they celebrate it? >:(My son and I were shopping the other day. What a pain! The commercialism of Easter is getting as bad as Christmas and Halloween. ::)Talk about beautifully decorated baskets with toys and sparkly eggs all up and down the isles. The candy and chocolate bunnies are filling up the stores. My son was going bonkers. :PNo- signs of any religious significance- this just baffles me. It is supposed to be their most significant holiday. ???He asked me what Easter was about (yikes- I thought he knew). I told him that the Christians turned Jesus (as) him into a god. ;-)Al Humdullillah- he just looked at me dumbfounded and in a typical 7 year old's way said - "duh." So Mom's- make sure your kid understands how very bad this holiday is- especially in the Shirk mode. They may only see the baskets, eggs and candy. :-) |
| Re: Easter |
|---|
| Leslie |
| 03/18/02 at 09:17:22 |
| [slm] Kathy, I think one of your previous posts proves just how secular the Easter holiday is now:[quote]They were advertising Kosher Easter Candy.......[/quote] When Jewish people buy Easter Candy, it makes me wonder if the holiday has any significance to most people anymore. When I was a child, Easter was more about looking for chocolate in the backyard than it was about the Christian belief of the death and ressurection of Jesus (as). We went to church, but the important thing for me was the candy. I don't think that most people who 'celebrate' Easter think about its significance anymore. It seems to me that Easter is just another occasion for the greeting card companies and chocolate manufacturers to capitalise on tradition. :P My question is how did the Christian beliefs surrounding the death of Christ ever become associated with a rabbit that delivers chocolate? ??? ??? ??? I guess I could ask that question about Christmas and Santa Claus too. wassalam. |
| Re: Easter |
|---|
| BUSHRA |
| 03/18/02 at 09:44:16 |
| [slm] I agree , Easter is almost as commercialized now as christmas and I was gonna post this earlier but Kathy you beat me to it but any way I hope you won't mind if I hijack your thread for a little while.............. My son turns 5 in august Inshallah and he is fascinated by christmas and stories of father christmas and stuff like that. Luckily for the past few years EID UL FITR falls on the same time as christmas so I tell him that we celebrate eid instead and he gets to choose his toys and then he gets them all wrapped when he wakes up to go to eid prayers with his dad. The thing is I want to tell him more than just the typical "we are muslims we do not celebrate chritsmas "line. Also at this stage he knows his first kailmah i.e. knows it by heart and is starting to read the arabic "alphabets" and knows a little bit but in matters of the concept , I've told him that ALLAH is one and ALLAH watches over us and you can pray to ALLAH whenever you need anything(he mostly prays for more toys) and he sees his parents pray so that part is done and knows that we do wudoo first but is this enough at this age? do I teach him more and if yes then how do I aproach it? I would appreciate some advice from fellow "moms" and "dads" are also welcome. BUSHRA :-) |
| Re: Easter |
|---|
| Kathy |
| 03/18/02 at 10:03:14 |
| [slm] I like it when my posts are "hijacked." One thing I learned at my mosque was that most of us are struggling with the outside world and its entrapments. Muslimahs were just afraid to bring up the topics first- they thought they were the only ones. When Mary and I started the Women in Islam group we talked about the prom, dating, christian holidays, etc... you could almost hear a sigh of relief from the moms who were going thru the same thing.- and a gasp from the moms who had no idea of the meaning of many of the holidays. From this site I have picked up quite a few pointers on dealing with this stuff. For example- Caraj talked about her kids fighting and how she handled it. Eggs- origianlly worshipped- it was a sign of life- Christians took this pagan symbol and likened it to the rebirth of Christ (astfirgullah) A five year old knows alot!- They are virtual sponges of knowledge. I think you should tell them as much as they are interested in. Remember- they are bombarded with messages of Easter- from TV, stores and school. I also tell Ali that an egg is an egg, a bunny is a rabbit, they are absolutely creations of Allah swt, not signs of a new god. |
| Re: Easter |
|---|
| Kashif |
| 03/18/02 at 10:11:10 |
| I found this - although the title seems a bit hyped. Easter - Relic of Ancient Sex Worship Rather than being a Christian celebration, Easter is pagan, with roots deep in ancient sex worship. This may be difficult for you to believe, but consider what some authoritative works of history have to say about Easter. Confirming its pagan background, The Catholic Encyclopedia, edition of 1909, states in Volume 5, on page 227: "A great many pagan customs, celebrating the return of spring, gravitated to Easter. The egg is the emblem of the germinating life of early spring. . . . The rabbit is a pagan symbol and has always been an emblem of fertility." In harmony with this The Encyclopedia Americana, edition of 1956, states in Volume 9, on page 506: "According to the Venerable Bede, English historian of the early 8th century, the word [Easter] is derived from the Norse Ostara or Eostre, meaning the festival of spring at the vernal equinox, March 21, when nature is in resurrection after winter. Hence, the rabbits, notable for their fecundity, and the eggs, colored like rays of the returning sun and the northern lights or aurora borealis." If Easter were truly a Christian celebration, why the eggs and rabbits? What connection could they have with the resurrection of Jesus Christ? Obviously none whatsoever! They are traditional in Easter because the ancient pagans used them when celebrating their spring festival. Both were important symbols in pagan sex worship. On this point, consider what is said by Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology and Legend, edition of 1949, Volume one, page 335: "Children roll pasch eggs in England. Everywhere they hunt the many-colored Easter eggs, brought by the Easter rabbit. This is not mere child's play, but the vestige of a fertility rite, the eggs and the rabbit both symbolizing fertility. Furthermore, the rabbit was the escort of the Germanic goddess Ostara who gave the name to the festival by way of the German Ostern." Do you think it is a Christian practice to encourage children to engage in a pagan fertility rite? "What means the term Easter itself? It is not a Christian name. It bears its Chaldean origin on its very forehead. Easter is nothing else than Astarte . . . the queen of heaven, whose name, as pronounced by the people of Nineveh, was evidently identical with that now in common use in this country [England]. That name, as found by Layard on the Assyrian monuments, is Ishtar. The worship of Bel and Astarte was very early introduced into Britain. . . . Such is the history of Easter. The popular observances that still attend the period of its celebration amply confirm the testimony of history as to its Babylonian character. The hot cross buns of Good Friday, and the dyed eggs of Pasch or Easter Sunday, figured in the Chaldean rites just as they do now." . As An Encyclopedia of Religion, by Ferm, says: "Pagan practices were introduced into the Christian observance of Easter at an early age on account of the fact that the feast coincided with the beginning of spring. . . . At that season of the year, the New Year and the creation of the world were celebrated in ancient times by an exchange of gifts (Easter eggs) and by generous hospitality to friends, to the poor, and so forth." Says an early eighteenth-century Catholic scholar, a Benedictine monk, in a work that may well be said to have been the forerunner of the modern Bible dictionary: "Easter is a word of Saxon origin; and imports a goddess of the Saxons, or rather, of the East, Estera, in honor of whom sacrifices being annually offered about the passover time of the year (spring), the name became attached by association of ideas to the Christian festival of the resurrection which happened at the time of passover; hence we say Easter-Day or Easter Sunday, but very improperly; as we by no means refer to the festival then kept to the goddess of the ancient Saxons." To the same effect testify other authorities, from the eighth-century English historian Bede to the lastest encyclopedias. Concerning the use of hot cross buns at Easter time we are told: "Like the Greeks, the Romans ate bread marked with a cross . . . at public sacrifices, such bread being usually purchased at the doors of the temple and then taken in with them-a custom alluded to by St. Paul in 1 Cor. x. 28. The cross-bread was eaten by pagan Saxons in honour of Easter, their goddess of light. The Mexicans and Peruvians are shown to have had a similar custom. The custom, in fact, was practically universal, and the early Church adroitly adopted the practice, grafting it on to the Eucharist and so giving us the hot crossbun." What about the Easter eggs? It is a well-known fact that in the ancient pagan cosmogonies, or theories about the origin of the universe, the egg looms up prominently. One tells of the "Egg of Light," another of the "World-Egg." From one or another of these eggs was supposed to have issued the first god, the Maker and Ruler of the World. Eros, the god of "love," is also said to have issued forth from an egg. True, some claim that the use of eggs at Easter is due to the fact that at one time eggs were banned during Lent, but this does not explain the featuring of eggs on Easter ever since that ban was lifted and now when eggs can be eaten all during Lent. Neither does it explain why the same prominence is not given to other foods that are still banned during Lent and that may be eaten only beginning with Easter. The eating of ham on Easter does not prove the contrary, for it began to be featured in Easter dinners for an entirely different purpose. Says one authority: "Many American Catholics have a boiled ham for dinner on Easter without being aware of the origin of the custom. It is a survival of the ancient habit among the English of eating a gammon of bacon on that day to show their contempt for the Jewish custom of not eating pork." The more pertinent explanation for eating eggs on Easter is that found in The Catholic Encyclopedia: "The custom may have its origin in paganism, for a great many pagan customs, celebrating the return of spring, gravitated to Easter. The egg is the emblem of the germinating life of early spring." Concerning the Easter bunny, this same religious authority states: "The Easter Rabbit lays the eggs, for which reason they are hidden in a nest or in the garden. The rabbit is a pagan symbol and has always been an emblem of fertility." Even the early Easter sunrise service is not without pagan antecedents. "According to old superstition, the sun rising on Easter morning dances in the heavens; this belief has been traced to old heathen festivals of spring, when the spectators danced in honor to the sun." And the same must be said of the impressive ceremony that takes place throughout Christendom on the day before Easter in which new fire is blessed and certain candles and lamps are lit. A detailed description of this ceremony includes the following: "The obtaining and blessing of the new fire is probably a rite of Celtic or even pagan origin, incorporated in the Gallican Church service of the eighth century." How did all this originate? Certain it is that it does not go back to the beginning of Christianity, for as The Encyclopędia Britannica states: "There is no trace of the celebration of Easter as a Christian festival in the New Testament or in the writings of the apostolic fathers. The sanctity of special times or places was an idea quite alien from the early Christian mind; too profoundly absorbed in the events themselves to think of their external accidents [nonessentials]. 'The whole of time is a festival unto Christians because of the excellency of the good things which have been given,' writes Chrysostom. . . . Origen [urges] in the same spirit . . . The ecclesiastical historian Socrates . . . states with perfect truth that neither Christ nor his apostles enjoined the keeping of this or any other festival. 'The apostles,' he writes, 'had no thought of appointing festival days, but of promoting a life of blamelessness and piety;' and he attributes the introduction of the festival of Easter into the church to the perpetuation of an old usage, 'just as many other customs have been established.' This is doubtless the true statement of the case." Suzanne. http://www.watchtower.org |
| NS |
| Re: Easter |
|---|
| Dawn |
| 03/18/02 at 10:33:14 |
| [quote author=Kathy link=board=sis;num=1016459368;start=0#0 date=03/18/02 at 08:49:27] [slm] :(Does everyone know what it is- and why they celebrate it? >:(My son and I were shopping the other day. What a pain! The commercialism of Easter is getting as bad as Christmas and Halloween. ::)Talk about beautifully decorated baskets with toys and sparkly eggs all up and down the isles. The candy and chocolate bunnies are filling up the stores. My son was going bonkers. :PNo- signs of any religious significance- this just baffles me. It is supposed to be their most significant holiday. ???He asked me what Easter was about (yikes- I thought he knew). I told him that the Christians turned Jesus (as) him into a god. ;-)Al Humdullillah- he just looked at me dumbfounded and in a typical 7 year old's way said - "duh." So Mom's- make sure your kid understands how very bad this holiday is- especially in the Shirk mode. They may only see the baskets, eggs and candy. :-)[/quote] Thought maybe I would respond to this one as I was raised in a really conservative protestant church in the States, and have since learned a thing or two. Kathy, you are not alone when you wonder how all of this stuff could have become attached to Easter. Many earnest Christians refrain from celebrating with chocolate bunnies, baskets, eggs, etc. as they feel it is not appropriate. Actually, from my research, I have been able to gather that a lot of the stuff currently attached to Easter like bunnies, eggs, marshmallow chicks, and even the word Easter, can be fairly easily traced to fertility rites practiced in Europe before Christianity took hold. In a fashion similar to how Christmas and Yule were joined, Easter, with it's emphasis on the resurrection of Jesus, also ended up an amalgamation of the two religious beliefs as whole clans, villages, and groups embraced (whether voluntarily or otherwise) the new religion. In all honesty, given the modern celebration of the holiday, the connection to fertility is far more obvious than the connection to any resurrection. And you think the commercialism of Easter is bad there. Here in Switzerland, Easter is just as commercialized as Christmas, if not more so. However, to answer your question about what it is and why it is celebrated, perhaps the best answer to your son would have been that Christians believe that Jesus was crucified and actually died, and that God raised him to life again a couple of days later. Though many Christians wouldn't know it, it has nothing whatsoever to do with whether or not Jesus is God. It is simply a celebration of Jesus' victory over death. In fact, within modern Christianity, there is a large and vocal faction which would deny both the deity of Christ and the physical resurrection. They do not necessarily deny that the original followers experienced something astonishing that convinced them that Jesus was alive. They just don't think that "something" was a resurrected flesh and blood body of someone on par with God. There is an even larger, quiet faction which agrees with them, but doesn't really vocalize their beliefs. These are probably not the majority, but they do exist. (They also tend not to be the ones in church every Sunday morning.) Probably more than you wanted to know, but there it is. (And Christians wonder why many of their fellow "brothers and sisters in Christ" who do a bit of research end up leaving the Church. ::) Once again, the old saying is proven: Ignorance is bliss.) Peace, Dawn |
| Re: Easter |
|---|
| Dawn |
| 03/18/02 at 10:37:09 |
| Kashif, Thanks for posting the article. It wasn't yet up when I started typing my response. After I posted, I was going to go dig through my old notes to find something postable, and you saved me the work. Thanks! Dawn |
| Re: Easter |
|---|
| Dawn |
| 03/18/02 at 11:02:09 |
| One more thought. Most New Testament scholars agree that the earliest Christians weren't celebrating any holidays, perhaps other than the ones celebrated by Judaism, simply because they thought that Jesus' return, and hence the end of the world, was just around the corner. This expectation is obvious in the earliest material (letters which most scholars agree can be, in all probability, attributed to Paul). It takes 2000 years of waiting to read the material any other way. Peace, Dawn |
| NS |
Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board |