what is the meaning of the easter lillie?does it have anything to do with jesus?
475780
Tradition states that the Easter lily originated in the Garden of Eden by the teardrops of Eve that she spread while leaving the Garden of Eden. They were teardrops of repentance.
807907
Neither Christmas nor Easter have any connection with Christianity. So-called "Christmas" celebrates the pagan Saturnalia and the appropriately-named "Easter" celebrates the pagan goddess Eostre.\n\nJesus was not even born in December. Nearly all so-called Christmas customs dishonor Christ.\n\nhttp://watchtower.org/e/19981215/article_02.htm\nhttp://watchtower.org/e/20001215/\nhttp://watchtower.org/e/20041215/article_01.htm\nhttp://watchtower.org/e/19981215/\nhttp://watchtower.org/e/rq/article_11.htm\n\nChristendom adopts "Easter" from pagan worship of the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre (or Oestre). Most Easter traditions merely repackage pagan fertility festivals and concentrate on eating, decorating, and frivolity. Christ certainly never wanted that.\n\nBy contrast, it's tragic that the one holiday Christ actually *DID* ask Christians to commemorate is entirely ignored by almost all of Christendom. It is, of course, the Memorial of Christ's death, sometimes called "the Last Supper" or "the Lord's Evening Meal".\n\n(1 Corinthians 11:23-25, NWT) The Lord Jesus in the night in which he was going to be handed over took a loaf... Keep doing this in remembrance of me.” 25 He did likewise respecting the cup.. Keep doing this... in remembrance of me.” \n\n(1 Cor 11:24, 25, NEB) "Do this as a memorial of me.” \n\n\nChrist Jesus himself personally celebrated and explained the significance of that Last Supper to his followers (see Matthew 26:26-29). Christians who commemorate the Last Supper have done so on the same Jewish calendar date as Jesus did, Nisan 14, which generally falls between late March and mid-April. Interestingly, Christians in the centuries immediately after Christ's impalement were sometimes called "Quartodecimans" which literally mean "Fourteen-ers", because the early Christians were well-known for this true holy day.\n\nHow would Jesus feel to learn that the holiday he commanded was widely ignored, while his so-called followers chose to celebrate a pagan false god and their own traditions of men? We don't need to wonder.\n\n(Matthew 15:6-9) You have made the word of God invalid because of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites, Isaiah aptly prophesied about you when he said, 8 ‘This people honors me with their lips, yet their heart is far removed from me. 9 It is in vain that they keep worshiping me, because they teach commands of men as doctrines.’”\n\nLearn more:\nhttp://watchtower.org/e/lmn/article_08.htm\nhttp://watchtower.org/e/rq/article_11.htm\nhttp://watchtower.org/e/20041215/article_02.htm\nhttp://watchtower.org/e/20011115/article_02.htm\nhttp://watchtower.org/e/20050101a/\nhttp://watchtower.org/e/jt/
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.
1058918
No...it is an allegorical interpretation from the OT, first introduced by Origen in the 2nd century AD.\n\nActually, I think it was Jerome, in his Latin Vulgate translation, that first WRONGLY interpreted the Hebrew word Hallel (morning star), into Latin as Lucifer, which means "light bearer", and is NOT capitalized as a proper name.\n\nhis MISinterpretation has carried the day for centuries, but it is wrong.
419428
the bunny was considered by pre-christians as a symbol of spring due to its fertility. why the bunny has eggs? no clue...
388483
I think that when everything happened with Jesus it was the first thing they thought of and out of the world. Because a bunny doesn't lay eggs so a bunny has to put them in baskets for little kids.
302133
Easter is a holiday celebrating the resurrection of Christ..
654116
Basically saying that Jesus was married and had a child with Mary Magdalene...that's the big "secret."  In the end, it would mean that there are living descendents of Jesus Christ alive today.  That's the secret that they were trying to protect.  And they say that the Holy Grail is not a cup...but rather it is the tomb of Mary Magdalene herself.
420919
Easter is derived from an ancient Germanic name for the month of April, Eostremonat--or rather Eostre Month, in dedication to the goddess Eostre. Eostre, or Ostara was a German goddess of fertility and her return was marked by the coming of spring and the sun. The Ost in her name refers to the East--the rising of the sun. The rebirth of the day and the rebirth of the spring were her specialties, and her celebrations occured during the vernal equinox--the first day of spring. Of course calendar dates have gotten juggled about for quite a few different reasons over time and now April is no longer where it once was on the calendar at what is now March 21st.\n\nThe rabbit was a traditional symbol of the goddess because of its great fertility, and the fact that the coming of spring marked the time when all of the little bunnies were seen starting to be born.\n\nWhen Christianity became the predominant religion it was an easy transition to introduce the rebirth of the Christ figure into the already extant birth and rebirth tradition. Old ways die hard, and the bunny stuck around. \n\nAlthough there are several explanations for the eggs the Easter bunny brings, (other than eggs are another traditional symbol of birth/rebirth) the most likely is that eggs were forbidden during the fast of lent, and were decorated and eaten in abundance to mark the end of the fast.\n\nGerman protestants, although breaking with Roman Catholocism and the tradition of the lent fast, liked the egg tradition and kept it. And when German immigrants came to America, they brought with them the traditions of the Osterhase (Easter hare) and his eggs.\n\nInasmuch as Christianity has stolen the ancient goddess' name for their own holiday, it seems only fitting that its original mascot still puts in an appearance each year.
425480
Easter has nothing to do with the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is pagan sun worship. Read Ezek 8:16 this is talking about Easter Sun worship! God calls it an abomination. Jesus didn't resurrect on Easter Sunday Morning. I challenge anyone to prove it to me! When you email me make sure I can email you back if your not afraid of the truth! \n  Passover: read Revelation 13:8. The passover is a memorial of the death of Jesus Christ who died for our sins. Easter is Satans counterfeit. Read Matthew 26:26-28. Jesus gave Christians new symbols for the passover the bread and the wine. Read 1St Corinthians 11:23-26 Jesus was killed on the passover. Why is it that Christians want to keep Easter which is not commanded in all the bible, but don't take much thought in what Jesus said to do to remember Him, a memorial of His death. The Passover.
368525
Eighth-century Catholic scholar Venerable Bede claimed that the word was derived from the name of an Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring, “Eostre.” \n\nIn his book The Two Babylons, Alexander Hislop claimed a connection between Easter and the Babylonian goddess Astarte.\n\nEaster Eggs: Since the eating of eggs was formerly forbidden during Lent, “decorated eggs,” claims The Encyclopedia Americana, “could symbolize the end of the penitential season and the beginning of joyful celebration.” \nHowever, reference works agree that the egg was a symbol of life and fertility among idolaters. Says the book Celebrations: “Eggs were said to be dyed and eaten at the spring festivals in ancient Egypt, Persia, Greece, and Rome. The Persians of that time gave eggs as gifts at the vernal equinox.”\nThe 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." (Vol. 5, pp. 225-227)\nConcerning 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.\n\nEaster Hares and Rabbits: \nIn Europe, the hare has long been a traditional symbol of Easter. (In North America, the animal is a rabbit—a close relative of the hare.) Yet The New Encyclopædia Britannica explains that the hare was “the symbol of fertility in ancient Egypt.” \nThus when children hunt for Easter eggs, supposedly brought by the Easter rabbit, “this is not mere child’s play, but the vestige of a fertility rite.”—Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology and Legend, volume 1, page 335.\n\nSunrise Services: Says The Book of Festivals and Holidays the World Over: “It was a common belief among the early Christians that on Easter morning the sun danced in honor of the Resurrection and people rose long before the sun to see the feat. Perhaps this ancient belief is the inspiration for the many sunrise services that take place on Easter morning in all parts of the United States and Europe.”\nBut says Walsh’s Curiosities of Popular Customs: “This idea of the sun dancing on Easter Day may easily be traced back to heathen customs, when the spectators themselves danced at a festival in honor of the sun, after the vernal equinox.”\nThe book Celebrations adds: “Sunrise services are not unrelated to the Easter fires held on the tops of hills in continuation of the New Year fires, a worldwide observance in antiquity. Rites were performed at the vernal equinox welcoming the sun and its great power to bring new life to all growing things.”\n\nWater Rites: The belief that running water on Easter morning is especially blessed is common. However, Hastings’ Encyclopædia of Religion and Ethics reminds us: “Since water is one of the essential factors in the preservation of life and the growth of the crops, it naturally plays a conspicuous part in rainmaking ceremonies and other seasonal rites among primitive people.”\n\nThe Blessing of the New Fire: A Catholic rite, in preparation for the Easter vigil, in which a fire is started from a flint rock. Says Hastings’ Encyclopædia of Religion and Ethics: “The new fire probably took rise from a pagan custom to which, when adopted by Christians, a gospel symbolism was attached.”\n\nHam Dinners: Ham on Easter is a long-standing custom among many Catholics. However, the custom is a relic of English bigotry. The American Book of Days says that the English had a habit “of eating a gammon of bacon on that day to show their contempt for the Jewish custom of not eating pork.” William the Conqueror, according to the book Celebrations, changed the bacon to ham to suit his liking.\n\nEaster in Ame
456746
The Decorated Easter Egg\n\n\nThe egg is nature's perfect package. It has, during the span of history, represented mystery, magic, medicine, food and omen. It is the universal symbol of Easter celebrations throughout the world and has been dyed, painted, adorned and embellished in the celebration of its special symbolism.\n\nBefore the egg became closely entwined with the Christian Easter, it was honored during many rite-of-Spring festivals. The Romans, Gauls, Chinese, Egyptians and Persians all cherished the egg as a symbol of the universe. From ancient times eggs were dyed, exchanged and shown reverence.\n\nIn Pagan times the egg represented the rebirth of the earth. The long, hard winter was over; the earth burst forth and was reborn just as the egg miraculously burst forth with life. The egg, therefore, was believed to have special powers. It was buried under the foundations of buildings to ward off evil; pregnant young Roman women carried an egg on their persons to foretell the sex of their unborn children; French brides stepped upon an egg before crossing the threshold of their new homes.\n\nWith the advent of Chrisianity the symbolism of the egg changed to represent, not nature's rebirth, but the rebirth of man. Christians embraced the egg symbol and likened it to the tomb from which Christ rose.\n\nOld Polish legends blended folklore and Christian beliefs and firmly attached the egg to the Easter celebration. One legend concerns the Virgin Mary. It tells of the time Mary gave eggs to the soldiers at the cross. She entreated them to be less cruel and she wept. The tears of Mary fell upon the eggs, spotting them with dots of brilliant color.\n\nAnother Polish legend tells of when Mary Magdalen went to the sepulchre to anoint the body of Jesus. She had with her a basket of eggs to serve as a repast. When she arrived at the sepulchre and uncovered the eggs, lo, the pure white shells had miraculously taken on a rainbow of colors.\n\nDecorating and coloring eggs for Easter was the custom in England during the middle ages. The household accounts of Edward I, for the year 1290, recorded an expenditure of eighteen pence for four hundred and fifty eggs to be gold-leafed and colored for Easter gifts.\n\nThe most famous decorated Easter eggs were those made by the well-known goldsmith, Peter Carl Faberge. In 1883 the Russian Czar, Alexander, commissioned Faberge to make a special Easter gift for his wife, the Empress Marie.\n\nThe first Faberge egg was an egg within an egg. It had an outside shell of platinum and enameled white which opened to reveal a smaller gold egg. The smaller egg, in turn, opened to display a golden chicken and a jeweled replica of the Imperial crown.\n\nThis special Faberge egg so delighted the Czarina that the Czar promptly ordered the Faberge firm to design further eggs to be delivered every Easter. In later years Nicholas II, Alexander's son, continued the custom. Fifty-seven eggs were made in all.\n\nOrnamental egg designers believe in the symbolism of the egg and celebrate the egg by decorating it with superb artistry. Some use flowers and leaves from greeting cards, tiny cherubs, jewels and elegant fabrics, braids and trims, to adorn the eggs. They are separated, delicately hinged and glued with epoxy and transparent cement, then when completed, they are covered with a glossy resin finish. Although the omens and the mystery of the egg have disappeared today, the symbolism remains, and artists continue in the old world tradition of adorning eggs.
471475
eggs are a symbol of resurrection and therefore the official symbol of easter.  people decorate them to give the eggs added meaning as symbolic objects i would guess.
621818
Easter it's not mention in the Bible.
712258
Because of the Hope it represents.  Jesus was born on this day and without him we would have nothing to look forward to.  People that are on drugs, homeless, sick, have lost their children, would have no hope.  Jesus is the reason for the season and the hope for all.
136642
Not a thing. Before Christians appropriated it, Easter was a fertility festival, and it is clear how bunnies and eggs would factor into that. The paganism of the holiday never really went away, even after Christians began calling it Easter.
128351
It doesn't say but it does say:Luke 22:19 talks about rememberance of his death. And this scripture has nothing to do with easter either.