Is Easter based on a pagan festival? This discussion has come up again this year – as it does every year. First: I’m not sure what people exactly mean when they say “pagan”. Second: I’m not sure why it would be an issue for Christians to draw from “paganism” – truth is truth, wherever one finds it. Third: Easter is timed near to Full Moon and the Equinox – pretty obvious time to have a celebration, whatever one’s worldview, if you are connected with our planet and our Moon.
But, as for the misinformation in the image above from The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science (Official)[sic] Facebook page – well, it’s simply false! I’ve written about the confusion (I’m being polite) here, here, and here. And, fascinatingly, when I checked back at Richard Dawkins Foundation Facebook post about this (I wanted to create the larger image, above, from the original), I found that my own points has been supported by independent fact checkers.
Click on “See Why”, and you come to:
From this discussion, people generally progress to Christmas being based on a pagan festival… Well: Easter has obvious Jewish roots; Christmas… you may be surprised – it may also be based on the Jewish Passover in a surprising roundabout way. All of the first paragraph, above, applies – including: Solstice is a pretty obvious time to have a festival! But, again, the origin of Christmas may not be what many think it is. Do read: Stealing Christmas from Pagans?
