Thursday, March 21, 2024

Is Easter a Pagan Holiday or Not? You Decide



So how about the Jews? They do celebrate Passover. But do they celebrate Easter?  Let's find out.

Do Jewish people celebrate Easter?

Jews do not observe Easter. Easter is a Christian holiday commemorating Jesus' awakening from the dead and victory over death and evil. Jews do not celebrate this memorial because they do not acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah or believe in the narratives of his resurrection.

However, the Christian holiday of Easter frequently coincides with Passover, a prominent Jewish celebration. They overlap because, as a Jew, Jesus commemorated the Passover dish with his disciples during the final night of his life. He had arrived in Jerusalem one week before the Jewish celebration and had assembled for the Passover feast with the rest of the Jews.

What is the Jewish equivalent of Easter?

What do Jewish people celebrate on Easter? Passover, known as the Feast of Unleavened Bread, is one of Judaism's three pilgrimage carnivals. The other two are Shavuot or Pentecost, also referred to as the Feast of Weeks, which overlaps with the Christian commemoration of Pentecost, and Sukkot, also recognized as the Feast of Tabernacles.

Throughout these carnivals, all Jews who could afford it would journey to Jerusalem to commemorate at the Temple. During Passover, Jews tell the tale of their slavery to the Egyptians and God's deliverance. The narratives of Moses' confrontations with Pharaoh and the ten plagues are told repeatedly.

Today, Jews observe Passover with the Seder, an extremely ritualized family repast with recommended liturgical readings, favorite foods, and prayers. It has a fixed date based on the Jewish lunar calendar. It always starts on the 15th of Nisan, the Jewish calendar's seventh month. 

(Credit: https://yen.com.gh/.)

We know that Israel is God's chosen people from the Bible. And so, the next question I have is what kind of festivals or holidays do they celebrate. We will look at those next time. I do plan to be back tomorrow for that post.

Disclaimer: Please note that these posts on the Jewish Holidays and Easter are for educational purposes only. I am not trying to give false information, nor am I gaining anything for them. 

In the meantime, thanks for spending a few minutes with me today. May God richly bless you this Easter Season.






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