Easter 🐤 True Origins

The Truth About Easter

by Timothy A. & Kimberly B. Southall
Revised January 9, 2001

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Many Christians are unaware of the origins of Easter, which is actually a pagan festival held in honor of idols. In fact, Easter was celebrated hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus Christ. It wasn't until at least 300 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the establishment of his church that the celebration of his resurrection began to be intermingled with the pagan practices of Easter. You should know the truth.

 
Origins of the Word "Easter" and the Goddess it Represents. 

"Easter" is derived from "Eostre," the pagan Anglo-Saxon goddess, and/or "Eostare," the Norse pagan festival of spring. When God gave the law to the Israelites in the Old Testament, he clearly instructed them not to even utter the name of other gods (Exodus 23:13). Aphrodite, Asherah, Ashtoreth, Astarte, Diana, Eostre, Ianna, Ishtar, Isis, Ostara, Semiramis, Venus . . . call her what you will, but she is one and the same--a false goddess, an idol, worshiped by pagans. And God declares that she is detestable. Asherah is mentioned in the Old Testament quite frequently (Exodus 34:13; Deuteronomy 7:5; Deuteronomy 12:2-4; Deuteronomy 16:21;; Micah 5:14).  Ashtoreth (the Babylonian goddess of the woods and nature) is also mentioned by name in the Bible (Judges 2:11-13; 1 Samuel 7:3; 1 Kings 11:5, 33). In every instance, she is an idol which greatly angers God. Inanna, the Sumerian patron of the temple prostitutes (also considered the merciful mother who intercedes with the gods on behalf of her worshipers), is represented with a star inscribed in a circle. There are several scriptures which clearly show that worship of any of the celestial elements (sun, moon or stars) is forbidden by God (Deuteronomy 17:2-5; 2 Kings 21:3-7; 2 Kings 23:4-15; Ezekiel 8:15-16). Ishtar [pronounced "Aes-tar"] (the Babylonian/Chaldean goddess of love and war) and Semiramis (an Assyrian goddess) were both known as the "Queen of Heaven." And the "Queen of Heaven" is specifically mentioned in the Bible (Jeremiah 7:18; Jeremiah 44:19, 25).
What, other than the obvious connection of the words "Easter" and "Eostre" does this goddess have to do with the modern celebration of Easter? Plenty.

 
Easter's connection with spring and nature. 

Diana (the Ephesian goddess of sex, fertility, virginity and motherhood) was said to be the source of nature. Eostre (an Anglo-Saxon/Teutonic goddess) was the goddess of the sunrise and spring. Ostara (a Norse/Saxon goddess) was the maiden goddess of spring.

 
Origins of Hares (Bunnies) and Eggs. 

According to Teutonic myth, the hare was once a bird whom Eostre changed into a four-footed creature. Thus, it can also lay eggs. The hare is also the sacred companion and sacrificial victim of Eostre. Astarte (a Phoenician/Syrian goddess), on the other hand, was believed to have been hatched from a huge egg which fell into the Euphrates.

 
Origins of Good Friday. 

Did you ever wonder why Good Friday is recognized as the day Jesus died and Sunday as the day he arose but yet had trouble explaining how he could thus be buried for three days and three nights? (Matthew 12:40; Matthew 27:63; Mark 8:31; Mark 9:31; Mark 10:34) The answer is simple: He didn't actually die on "Good Friday." The Chaldeans offered cakes to Ishtar on the equivalent of the day we know as Good Friday. When the established church wanted to appease the paganistic people in order to "convert" them to Christianity, they moved the dates accordingly. Jesus actually died on the day of Preparation of Passover Week, which that year occurred on Wednesday (John 19:14, 31-42). Thursday was the Sabbath of the Passover. Friday, Christ was still in the tomb. Saturday was the "regular" Sabbath. Jesus arose after the Saturday Sabbath was concluded, which was the first day of the week, the day we know as Sunday (Mark 16:9; John 20:1). For further clarification of the days concerning Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection, see Matthew 27:50-28:7; Mark 15:25-16:6; Luke 23:44-24:8; John 19:14-20:17. An in-depth study from another author which addresses the timing of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection is also currently available on the Internet at www.thevictor.org/bowen/bowenpp.htm.

 
Origins of Hot Cross Buns and Fires. 

Cakes bearing a cross-like symbol representing the pair of cow-horns on the moon goddess, Isis, were offered by ancient Egyptians. The cakes which Greeks offered to Astarte and other divinities were called bous or boun, from which the word "bun" is derived. The Babylonians/Chaldeans offered similar cakes to the "Queen of Heaven." Fires were lit on top of mountains and had to be kindled from new fire, drawn from wood by friction. The fire was then used to bake cakes in sacrifice to Semiramis, the "Queen of Heaven." This practice, along with burning incense, was used in conjunction with baking the cakes and is mentioned specifically in the Bible (1 Kings 11:8; 2 Kings 17:7-16; 2 Kings 18:4; 2 Kings 23:4-15; Isaiah 17:8; Isaiah 27:9; Ezekiel 8:7-12; Jeremiah 7:16-19; Jeremiah 44:19, 25). In addition to the cross imprinted on these cakes representing the horns of the goddess, it also sometimes represented the four seasons or four phases of the moon. Cakes were also offered to or eaten in honor of Apollo, Diana, Hecate, and the moon (also Diana's symbol).

 
Origins of Lent. 

The word "lent" is of Anglo-Saxon origin meaning "spring." Lent developed from the pagan celebration of weeping, fasting, and mourning for 40 days over the death of Tammuz (one day for each year of his life). Tammuz (the son/husband of the Babylonian idol Ishtar) was killed by a wild boar and then allegedly resurrected. This mourning of Tammuz is specifically prophesied by Ezekiel in the Bible and is characterized by God Himself as being detestable (Ezekiel 8:13-15).

 
Origins of the use of the lily. 

Asherah (a Sidonian goddess) was frequently represented as a nude woman bestride a lion with a lily (symbolizing grace and sex appeal) in one hand and a serpent (symbolizing fecundity) in the other.

 
Origins of wearing new clothing for Easter. 

The tradition of wearing new clothing for Easter comes from the superstition that a new garment worn at Easter means good luck throughout the year.

 
Origins of the timing. 

The timing of the festival of "Eostar" (the festival of spring) predates the birth of Jesus Christ, and the festival was always celebrated in conjunction with pagan idol worship. In 325 A.D. it was conveniently linked to the full moon on or following the spring or vernal equinox, March 21, when nature is in resurrection after winter. This is also when Easter is celebrated in modern times. The timing of Jesus' resurrection is linked to the Passover rather than to the vernal equinox.

 
Who celebrates Easter? 

Witches, who base their celebrations (including Halloween) on the phases of the moon, celebrate Easter. Christians, however, are clearly forbidden from observing this pagan celebration (Deuteronomy 12:30-31; Luke 4:8; 1 Corinthians 10:20-22; Ephesians 5:11). There is a good reason why the early church never spoke of Easter and why there is absolutely no indication of the observance of the Easter festival in the New Testament. (The only exception is a mistranslation in the King James version of Acts 12:4, where it gives the word "Easter" instead of the correction translation "Passover.") It was not an oversight on God's part; Christians simply are not to celebrate Easter, a pagan festival.

 
Honoring Christ. 

While there isn't anything wrong with spring, nature, rabbits, eggs, pastries, fires, lilies, or wearing new clothing, doing or observing such things only for "Easter" is either knowingly or unknowingly participating in pagan practices. Christians who do not yet see anything wrong with such practices should prayerfully read and study 1 Corinthians 10:18-11:1.
The intent of most Christians who celebrate "Easter" is actually to remember and honor Jesus Christ. Rather than celebrate His resurrection with worldly traditions, there are biblical ways for Christians.

 
First, we should call biblical things by Bible names. Rather than using the name of a false goddess, "Easter," Christians should use words which do not dishonor God. Some acceptable terms are "Resurrection Day" and "Resurrection Sunday."
The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus can still be remembered through observance of the Lord's Supper (Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:14-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26) and other Christian worship.
Christians should always remember that the focus of the resurrection is Jesus Christ. Surely His sacrifice is enough. Easter eggs, Easter bunnies, and other pagan activities which add worldliness and traditions of men are unnecessary in our observation of Resurrection Day.

 
A decision to make. 

You now have a decision to make concerning Easter. In the oft-quoted words of Joshua: "Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." 

Palm Sunday 2026          29-Mar-26
Palm Sunday 2027          21-Mar-27
Palm Sunday 2028          9-Apr-28
Palm Sunday 2029          25-Mar-29

Palm Sunday🌿 Entry of Christ into Jerusalem

The Entry of Christ

Into Jerusalem

And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, and brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. And he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.
-- Matthew 21-30

In the painting Duccio has captured the moment of Jesus's coming to Jerusalem exactly as the the excerpt from Matthew has described it. Jesus is seen riding a donkey with a colt following directly behind him. The viewer can also see the people putting their clothing in the way and the people who are in the trees cutting down the branches. A large crowd has come to see the spectacle, and all believe that it is the coming of Jesus. The coming of Jesus extracts many emotions from the people and many are pleased with this arrival.

Duccio has put Jesus in blue and painted him a halo to show his significance in the painting. His followers and disciples have also been given halos. The painting has many levels, from the background of the buildings to the foreground of the people. However, these levels seem to all blend together and give a poor perspective. The only center of the painting is Jesus, and his blue clothing and halo draw our attention to him.

The students of Renaissance and Modern Art History at the Barstow School want to share their learning, thus they came up with this snappy blog. Here you will find a variety of topics on all things Renaissance and Modern Art, we hope you enjoy it. Any questions, please contact mark.luce at barstowschool dot org.

https://my-kid-could-paint-that.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-entry-of-christ-into-jerusalem.html

Beer 🍺 Health Benefits 🍻

HEALTH BENEFITS
OF
BEER

 

Stronger Bones

Beer contains high levels of silicon, which is linked to bone health. In a 2009 study at Tufts University and other centers, older men and women who swigged one or two drinks daily had higher bone density, with the greatest benefits found in those who favored beer or wine. However, downing more than two drinks was linked to increased risk for fractures.

For the best bone-building benefits, reach for pale ale, since a 2010 study of 100 types of beer from around the word identified these brews as richest in silicon, while light lagers and non-alcoholic beers contained the least.

A Stronger Heart

A 2011 analysis of 16 earlier studies involving more than 200,000 people, conducted by researchers at Italy’s Fondazion di Ricerca e Cura, found a 31 percent reduced risk of heart disease in those who quaffed about a pint of beer daily, while risk surged in those who guzzled higher amounts of alcohol, whether beer, wine, or spirits.

More than 100 studies also show that moderate drinking trims risk of heart attacks and dying from cardiovascular disease by 25 to 40 percent, Harvard reports. A beer or two a day can help raise levels of HDL, the “good” cholesterol that helps keep arteries from getting clogged.

Healthier Kidneys

A study in Finland singled out beer among other alcoholic drinks, finding that each bottle of beer men drank daily lowered their risk of developing kidney stones by 40 percent. One theory is that beer’s high water content helped keep kidneys working, since dehydration increases kidney stone risk.

It’s also possible that the hops in beer help curb leeching of calcium from bones; that “lost” calcium also could end up in the kidneys as stones.

 

Boosting Brain Health

A beer a day may help keep Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia at bay, researchers say.

A 2005 study tracking the health of 11,000 older women showed that moderate drinkers (those who consumed about one drink a day) lowered their risk of mental decline by as much as 20 percent, compared to non-drinkers. In addition, older women who downed a drink a day scored as about 18 months “younger,” on average, on tests of mental skills than the non-drinkers.

Reduced Cancer Risk

A Portuguese study found that marinating steak in beer eliminates almost 70 percent of the carcinogens, called heterocyclic amines (HCAs) produced when the meat is pan-fried. Researchers theorize that beer’s sugars help block HCAs from forming.

Scientists also have found that beer and wine contain about the same levels of antioxidants, but the antioxidants are different because the flavonoids found in hops and grapes are different.

Boosting Vitamin Levels

A Dutch study, performed at the TNO Nutrition and Food Research Institute, found that beer-drinking participants had 30 percent higher levels of vitamin B6 levels in their blood than their non-drinking counterparts, and twice as much as wine drinkers. Beer also contains vitamin B12 and folic acid.

Guarding Against Stroke

Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health found that moderate amounts of alcohol, including beer, help prevent blood clots that block blood flow to the heart, neck and brain—the clots that cause ischemic stroke, the most common type.

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Reduced Risk for Diabetes

Drink up: A 2011 Harvard study of about 38,000 middle-aged men found that when those who only drank occasionally raised their alcohol intake to one to two beers or other drinks daily, their risk of developing type 2 diabetes dropped by 25 percent. The researchers found no benefit to quaffing more than two drinks. The researchers found that alcohol increases insulin sensitivity, thus helping protect against diabetes.
🍻

Lower Blood Pressure

Wine is fine for your heart, but beer may be even better: A Harvard study of 70,000 women ages 25 to 40 found that moderate beer drinkers were less likely to develop high blood pressure—a major risk factor for heart attack—than women who sipped wine or spirits.

🍺

Longer Life

In a 2005 review of 50 studies, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported that moderate drinkers live longer. The USDA also estimates that moderate drinking prevents about 26,000 deaths a year, due to lower rates of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.

These benefits appear to apply in other countries as well, with an earlier study reporting that, “if European beer drinkers stopped imbibing, there would be a decrease in life expectancy of two years—and much unhappiness.”

http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/How_Beer_Saved_the_World

How Beer Saved the World

Did you know that Beer was critical to the birth of civilization? 

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Or that it played a crucial role in the building of the pyramids, the founding of America, the industrial revolution, and advancements in medicine. 

That s right - Beer. 

Scientists and historians line up to tell the amazing, untold story that puts beer at the center of the human civilization. Until almost modern times, it wasn't just a drink - beer was vital to life. Where water contained deadly bacteria, beer was safe, as the fermentation killed the germs. 

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It was drunk by men, women and children for large period of history, and inspired great moments in human history. Louise Pasteur was studying beer when he discovered Germ theory the basis of modern medicine. 

Bottling plants invented factory lines and stopped child labor. 

The Medieval Church became so rich making beer, that kings had to ban them from producing it. And it was vital to the birth of America from the moment the Mayflower stopped in Plymouth because it had run out of beer. 

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In the immortal words of Benjamin Franklin Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy

1. “ This was a very enjoyable film and will make you think twice about beer. ”  
2. “ It's a great documentary - and informative about so many facts we'd never heard before. ”  
3. “ It's tongue-in-cheek style leads you through some real facts from history,science and society. ”

Spring 🌻 Season 🌹

🌷  🌹 Spring 🌻 🌼

Spring in Northern Hemisphere

Spring Starts   March 20
Spring Ends  June 21

👇   📺   👇

Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. 

There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of the term varies according to local climate, cultures and customs. 

When it is spring in the Northern Hemisphere, it is autumn in the Southern Hemisphere and vice versa. At the spring (or vernal) equinox, days and nights are approximately twelve hours long, with day length increasing and night length decreasing as the season progresses.

Spring and "springtime" refer to the season, and also to ideas of rebirth, rejuvenation, renewal, resurrection and regrowth. Subtropical and tropical areas have climates better described in terms of other seasons, e.g. dry or wet, monsoonal or cyclonic. Cultures may have local names for seasons which have little equivalence to the terms originating in Europe.

Amazing Nature
Beautiful Blooming Flower Time Lapse

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Natural Events
During early spring, the axis of the Earth is increasing its tilt relative to the Sun, and the length of daylight rapidly increases for the relevant hemisphere. The hemisphere begins to warm significantly, causing new plant growth to "spring forth," giving the season its name.

Any snow begins to melt, swelling streams with runoff and any frosts become less severe. In climates that have no snow, and rare frosts, air and ground temperatures increase more rapidly.

Many flowering plants bloom at this time of year, in a long succession, sometimes beginning when snow is still on the ground and continuing into early summer. In normally snow-less areas, "spring" may begin as early as February (Northern Hemisphere) or August (Southern Hemisphere), heralded by the blooming of deciduous magnolias, cherries, and quince.   Many temperate areas have a dry spring, and wet autumn (fall), which brings about flowering in this season, more consistent with the need for water, as well as warmth. Subarctic areas may not experience "spring" at all until May.

While spring is a result of the warmth caused by the changing orientation of the Earth's axis relative to the Sun, the weather in many parts of the world is affected by other, less predictable events. The rainfall in spring (or any season) follows trends more related to longer cycles—such as the solar cycle—or events created by ocean currents and ocean temperatures—for example, the El Niño effect and the Southern Oscillation Index.

Unstable spring weather may occur more often when warm air begins to invade from lower latitudes, while cold air is still pushing from the Polar regions. Flooding is also most common in and near mountainous areas during this time of year, because of snow-melt which is accelerated by warm rains. In North America, Tornado Alley is most active at this time of year, especially since the Rocky Mountains prevent the surging hot and cold air masses from spreading eastward, and instead force them into direct conflict. Besides tornadoes, supercell thunderstorms can also produce dangerously large hail and very high winds, for which a severe thunderstorm warning or tornado warning is usually issued. Even more so than in winter, the jet streams play an important role in unstable and severe Northern Hemisphere weather in springtime. 

In recent decades, season creep has been observed, which means that many phenological signs of spring are occurring earlier in many regions by around two days per decade.

Spring in the Southern Hemisphere is different in several significant ways to that of the Northern Hemisphere for several reasons, including:

1. There is no land bridge between Southern Hemisphere countries and the Antarctic zone capable of bringing in cold air without the temperature-mitigating effects of extensive tracts of water;
2. The vastly greater amount of ocean in the Southern Hemisphere at most latitudes;
   
3. At this time in Earth's geologic history the Earth has an orbit which brings it in closer to the sun in the Southern Hemisphere for its warmer seasons;
4. There is a circumpolar flow of air (the roaring 40s and 50s) uninterrupted by large land masses;
5. No equivalent jet streams; and
6. The peculiarities of the reversing ocean currents in the Pacific.

Cultural Associations

Carnival
Carnival is practiced by many Christians around the world in the days before Lent (40 days, without Sundays, before Easter). It is the first spring festival of the new year for many. 

Easter
Easter eggs, such as this Ukrainian one, signify the Resurrection of Jesus.
Easter is the most important religious feast in the Christian liturgical year.[19] Christians believe that Jesus was resurrected from the dead on the "third day"  (two days after his crucifixion), and celebrate this resurrection on Easter Day, two days after Good Friday. The date of Easter varies between 22 March and 25 April (which corresponds to between 4 April and 8 May in the Gregorian Calendar for the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches using the Julian Calendar). In the Southern Hemisphere Easter occurs during autumn.

May Day
1 May is the date of many public holidays.  In many countries, May Day is synonymous with International Workers' Day, or Labor Day, which celebrates the social and economic achievements of the labor movement. As a day of celebration, the holiday has ancient origins, and it can relate to many customs that have survived into modern times. Many of these customs are due to May Day being a cross-quarter day, meaning that (in the Northern Hemisphere where it is almost exclusively celebrated) it falls approximately halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. In the Celtic tradition, this date marked the end of spring and the beginning of summer. 

🌾 🌷 🌹 🌺 🌻 🌷 🌼 🌳🌹 🌞 🌼 🌼 🌺 🌷 🌳🌸🌼 🌷 🌻🌺 🌹🌳🌸🌷🌼🌻🌳🍀 🌻💐🍄🌸🌷 🌳

Ecological reckoning

The beginning of spring is not always determined by fixed calendar dates. The phenological or ecological definition of spring relates to biological indicators, such as the blossoming of a range of plant species, the activities of animals, and the special smell of soil that has reached the temperature for micro flora to flourish. These indicators, along with the beginning of spring, vary according to the local climate and according to the specific weather of a particular year. Some ecologists divide the year into six seasons.

In addition to spring, ecological reckoning identifies an earlier separate pre-vernal (early or pre-spring) season between the hibernal (winter) and vernal (spring) seasons. This is a time when only the hardiest flowers like the crocus are in bloom, sometimes while there is still some snow-cover on the ground.

Amazing Tulip Fields

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Related

• Saint Patrick's Day (northern hemisphere)
• Easter day (northern hemisphere)
• Spring cleaning
• Chinese New Year
• Holi (India, Nepal)
• May Day (many countries)
• Passover (Israel)

Beautiful and Unusual Flowers

Around the World

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Spring 🌍Vernal Equinox

Spring Equinox
 Vernal Equinox

The Spring Equinox marks the real Astronomical Start of Spring.

 

Earth spins on a tilt of 23.4 degrees off vertical

An equinox is commonly regarded as the moment when the plane of Earth’s equator passes through the center of the Sun’s disk, which occurs twice each year, around 

20 March 
and 
23 September

In other words, it is the point in which the center of the visible sun is directly over the equator. This simplified, but incorrect, understanding of Earth’s orbital motion can lead to errors of up to 69 seconds from the actual time of equinox.

The instants of the equinoxes are currently defined to occur when the ecliptic longitude of the Sun is either 0° or 180°. As the true motion of the Earth is affected by the gravitational pull of the Sun and Moon (and to lesser extent the other planets), there are tiny (up to 1¼ arcsecond) variations of the Sun’s ecliptic latitude (discussed in section below) that may mean the Sun’s center is not precisely over the equator at the moment of equinox.

On the day of an equinox, daytime and nighttime are of approximately equal duration all over the planet. They are not exactly equal, however, due to the angular size of the Sun and atmospheric refraction. The word is derived from the Latin aequinoctium, from aequus (equal) and nox (genitive noctis) (night).

Date
When Julius Caesar established the Julian calendar in 45 BC, he set 25 March as the date of the spring equinox. Because the Julian year is longer than the tropical year by about 11.3 minutes on average (or 1 day in 128 years), the calendar “drifted” with respect to the two equinoxes — such that in AD 300 the spring equinox occurred on about 21 March, and by AD 1500 it had drifted backwards to 11 March.

This drift induced Pope Gregory XIII to create a modern Gregorian calendar. The Pope wanted to continue to conform with the edicts concerning the date of Easter of the Council of Nicaea of AD 325, which means he wanted to move the vernal equinox to the date on which it fell at that time (21 March is the day allocated to it in the Easter table of the Julian calendar). However, the leap year intervals in his calendar were not smooth (400 is not an exact multiple of 97). This causes the equinox to oscillate by about 53 hours around its mean position. This in turn raised the possibility that it could fall on 22 March, and thus Easter Day might theoretically commence before the equinox. The astronomers chose the appropriate number of days to omit so that the equinox would swing from 19 to 21 March but never fall on the 22nd (although it can in a handful of years fall early in the morning of that day in the Far East).

1-

2-

1- Animation of Earth's rotation around the planet's axis

2- Earth spins on a tilt of 23.4 degrees off vertical