Why do Christians eat ham on Easter? Where'd this traidtion come from?
462312
Um, not all Christians eat pork thanks... that is just bad- and gross. \n\nThe Jews and Christians are forbidden from eating pork. Here is a quote from the Old Testament to that effect: "And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcase." Deuteronomy 14:8 \n\nMany Christians believe that this verse was directed only at the Jews. But Jesus himself says during the Sermon on the Mount; "Think not that I am come to destroy the Law, or the Prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill." Some Christians say that, after a vision by St. Peter, God cleansed all animals and made them fit and lawful for human consumption. If ALL animals are cleansed by Peter's vision, this includes dogs, cats, vultures, and rats: but you just don't see people getting excited about a cat-meat sandwich like they do over barbecued pork or bacon. Others say that it was Paul who rescinded the law forbidding pork to humans, in order to appease the Romans, who enjoyed the taste of pig-meat. Many excuses have been given, but none are very sound. \n\nAnd blah blah blah.. just don't it isn't right ....\n\nps- "easter"-pagan
248153
Ham (Genesis 9:18 & 9:22)
338206
German Protestants wanted to retain the Catholic custom of eating colored eggs for Easter, but did not want to introduce their children to the Catholic rite of fasting. Eggs were forbidden to Catholics during the fast of Lent, which was the reason for the abundance of eggs at Easter time.\n\nThe idea of an egg-laying rabbit came to the United States in the 18th century. German immigrants in the Pennsylvania Dutch area told their children about the "Osterhase" (also: "Oschter Haws"). "Hase" means "hare", not rabbit, and in Northwest European folklore the "Easter Bunny" indeed is a hare, not a rabbit.\n\nOnly good children received gifts of colored eggs in the nests that they made in their caps and bonnets before Easter. Presumably, the Oschter Haws laid them when the children were not looking.\n\nA hundred years later Jakob Grimm wrote of long-standing similar myths in Germany itself. Noting many related landmarks and customs, Grimm suggested that these derived from legends of Ostara.
145167
Party, party, party!!!  It is a pagan holliday where people get very drunk and act like wild animals.  It is also called Fat Tuesday.  It is the Tuesday just before Lent or Ash Wednesday, the Catholic holliday where people promise to give up something they really enjoy for 40 days till Easter.  It is most popularly celebrated in New Orleans.  There is a carnival atmosphere where people get very intoxicated in the streets of New Orleans.  Guys buy beaded necklaces and give them to girls for flashing their breasts.  \n\nFor me as a Christian, I think it is kinda sad.  I look forward to celebrating Easter as the time when Christ died for me and rose again.  I think that a devout Catholic should be ashamed of themself if they were to go out and act like this, then go to confession, followed by Ash Wednesday where they make a "sacrifice" to show how much they love Him.
234205
because Christianity has been chopped/ cut/ shredded/ and packaged for convenience\n\nhow does chocolate bunnies and Resurrection go together?
932969
Many Christians reject Halloween celebrations, since these tend to glorify Satan and the occult. Frankly, Halloween traditions seem to be the opposite of godliness and Christianity.\n\nHolidays such as Halloween derive from false religion, and so are incompatible with pure worship, since they work to adulterate true religion. For example, Easter derives from the pagan god Oestre and celebrates "rebirth" and "fertility" instead of commemorating Christ's Last Supper and death as Jesus commanded:\n\n(Luke 22:1-22) [Jesus] dispatched Peter and John, saying: “Go and get the passover ready for us to eat.” ...14 At length when the hour came, he reclined at the table, and the apostles with him. 15 And he said to them: “I have greatly desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer; 16 for I tell you, I will not eat it again until it becomes fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” ... Keep doing this in remembrance of me.”\n\nSince such celebrations are not required in true worship, and can easily become a distraction, so Jehovah's Witnesses focus their attention elsewhere. In particular, they are focussed on the preaching work which *IS* a requirement for Christians:\n\n(Luke 10:1-17) [Jesus] the Lord designated seventy others and sent them forth by twos in advance of him into every city and place to which he himself was going to come. 2 Then he began to say to them: “The harvest, indeed, is great, but the workers are few. Therefore beg the Master of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.\n\nLearn more:\nhttp://watchtower.org/e/20050101a/article_01.htm\nhttp://watchtower.org/e/20001215/article_01.htm
314658
I'll tell you what i was taught\n\nan egg represents birth and is tied into jesus ressurection\n\na rabbit symbolizes fertility and thus more life\n\nnow i read that easter was actually a pagan holiday to begin with (much like christmas) and christians changed it around to be apart of the bible.\n\nso I'm sure the rabbit and the eggs may stem from that, but that's what i was taught and what i teach
591472
Easter comes from a Babylonian celebration of Ishtar the goddess of fertility in mesopotamia. That is also where the bunny and eggs come from the idea of fertility new life etc... This was related to the Resurrection of Jesus when Consantine made Christianity the state religion in Rome (ca 300ad) and pagan holidays began being adopted by the church. So I don't really celebrate Easter I celebrate the Resurrection of my Lord. No baskets eggs or bunnies in my home. Just Jesus and He is all we need.
413219
Easter is the day Christ left for heaven after completing his mission on earth.that day i went church.
334424
Before I answer the question I would just like to tip my hat to Mommyofive. Bravo, you know what you believe and why you believe it. You don't see that much these days ammong christians or even ammong my fellow pagans. \n\nTo answer your question Easter (also called oster or Ishtar) was a pagan firtility holiday that had practical uses in the region that it was observed. Keeping the pagan beliefs while changing the emphasis helped to bolster the early church as well as preventing a disruption of the traditions. Personally though, I would have put Xmass there as Jesus was born in Feb or March rather than the middle of winter.
453150
The Easter Bunny (also known as the Spring Bunny in some parts of the United States) is a fantasy or mythological rabbit which leaves gifts for children at Easter (or at springtime). It originates in Western European cultures, where it is a hare rather than a rabbit.\n\nGerman Protestants wanted to retain the Catholic custom of eating colored eggs for Easter, but did not want to introduce their children to the Catholic rite of fasting. Eggs were forbidden to Catholics during the fast of Lent, which was the reason for the abundance of eggs at Easter time.\n\nThe idea of an egg-laying rabbit came to the United States in the 18th century. German immigrants in the Pennsylvania Dutch area told their children about the "Osterhase" (also: "Oschter Haws"). "Hase" means "hare", not rabbit, and in Northwest European folklore the "Easter Bunny" indeed is a hare, not a rabbit.\n\nOnly good children received gifts of colored eggs in the nests that they made in their caps and bonnets before Easter. Presumably, the Oschter Haws laid them when the children were not looking.\n\nA hundred years later Jakob Grimm wrote of long-standing similar myths in Germany itself. Noting many related landmarks and customs, Grimm suggested that these derived from legends of Ostara.\n\nEaster Hare\nThe Romans believed that all life proceeded from an egg, so the egg came to symbolize birth and rebirth. Christians regarded eggs as the seeds of life and attributed them with the symbol of Jesus' resurrection. \n\nThe rabbit was used in early Easter celebrations to symbolize fertility, perhaps because these animals give birth to multiple offspring at a time. Anglo-Saxon mythology says that Ostara changed her pet bird into a rabbit to entertain a group of children, and the rabbit laid brightly colored eggs for them. \n\nEaster was once celebrated by giving colored eggs to children and later evolved to hiding them in the grass, where they had supposedly been laid by a hare. Children referred to this Easter mascot as the "Easter Hare," which later became known as the "Easter Bunny."
893920
I agree with you 100%.  It is Thanksgiving Day.  That's what it's always been, and should always be.  It's not just about eating a turkey, it's about thanks for all that we have.  Personally, I don't even like turkey; I prefer ham.  But I still wouldn't call it Ham Day.  lol
155907
The name Easter, used in many lands, is not found in the Bible. The book Medieval Holidays and Festivals tells us that “the holiday is named after the pagan Goddess of the Dawn and of Spring, Eostre.” And who was this goddess? “Eostre it was who, according to the legend, opened the portals of Valhalla to receive Baldur, called the White God, because of his purity and also the Sun God, because his brow supplied light to mankind,” answers The American Book of Days. It adds: “There is no doubt that the Church in its early days adopted the old pagan customs and gave a Christian meaning to them. As the festival of Eostre was in celebration of the renewal of life in the spring it was easy to make it a celebration of the resurrection from the dead of Jesus, whose gospel they preached.”\n\nThis adoption explains how in certain lands the Easter customs, such as Easter eggs, the Easter rabbit, and hot cross buns, came about. Concerning the custom of making hot cross buns, “with their shiny brown tops marked by a . . . cross,” the book Easter and Its Customs states: “The cross was a pagan symbol long before it acquired everlasting significance from the events of the first Good Friday, and bread and cakes were sometimes marked with it in pre-Christian times.”\n\nNowhere in Scripture do we find mention of these things, nor is there any evidence that the early disciples of Jesus gave them any credence. As the book Curiosities of Popular Customs says: “It was the invariable policy of the early Church to give a Christian significance to such of the extant pagan ceremonies as could not be rooted out. In the case of Easter the conversion was peculiarly easy.
677128
We would asume eat them, but the bible says, not sure where off hand, that during the second coming, the lion and the lamb will lay down and sleep side by side in peace.\n\nOther quotes suggest that we will lay down our wepons and befreind our brothers (fellow man).
489078
people didnt eat pork in those days because they had no fridges and pork becomes poison very quickly in the heat ,the church put religious reasons behind it for a public health situation.\n\nnobody in those days new about the health hazzards of smoking.
211622
because they do - directly and indirectly.\nEaster Eggs:\nAccording to the ancient tradition of the Eastern Orthodox Church , Mary Magdalene was a wealthy woman from whom Christ expelled seven "demons." On Easter morning she was the first to bear witness to his resurrection. She is called "Equal to the Apostles." The Eastern tradition tells us that after the Ascension she journeyed to Rome where she was admitted to the court of Tiberius Caesar because of her high social standing. After describing how poorly Pilate had administered justice at Jesus' trial, she told Caesar that Jesus had risen from the dead. To help explain his resurrection she picked up an egg from the dinner table. Caesar responded that a human being could no more rise from the dead than the egg in her hand turn red. The egg turned red immediately, which is why red eggs have been exchanged at Easter for centuries in the Byzantine East. \nEaster Bunny:\nThe day we celebrate as Easter was formerly a pagan holiday. The church decided to set the date for the resurrection of Jesus at the spring solstice, and then named it for a Celtic pagan feast day they wished to eradicate. It was named for Eostre, the goddess of the spring, and fertility. She was depicted with a white rabbit (the Easter Bunny).
419428
the bunny was considered by pre-christians as a symbol of spring due to its fertility. why the bunny has eggs? no clue...