What is Easter About? / Easter Egg Hunts

The Easter Egg hunt. A favorite activity that our kids enjoy every year. So how did this originate and become a part of our Easter celebration?

Of course we know it as a game in which we hide either colored boiled eggs, plastic eggs filled with candy or even chocolate eggs outside or even inside for ours kids to find.

According to some historians, eating eggs during lent was abstained from by Christians in the early church because they come from animals that are killed.

Many traditions of Easter have pagan roots and egg hunts are no different. It is believed that they go back to the 1700s when an egg laying hare named Oschter
Haws laid eggs in the grass by the Pennsylvania Dutch. Children made nests for the hare to lay its eggs in an d also look for the eggs.

Hence the tradition evolved into the Easter bunny, eggs  baskets, and egg hunts as we know them today

Perhaps egg hunts don't have any thing to do with the real meaning for Easter and the Ressurection of Jesus Christ. But really the egg itself doesn't either except as St. Augustine had likened them to the hope of new life. But as one church in Florida uses their hunts as a tool to invite the community to learn about their church by handing not only information about it, but also Jesus and it's real meaning of why it is celebrated. I am sure that there are other churches that do the same.

Pagan roots. Yeah. But, there are ways of using those kinds of Easter symbols to the glory of God.  And that should always be where our focus is at during this season.

April 7,2019 Easter reading: Mark 11:8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road while others spread branches they had cut   from  the field.

Thank for visiting today  Friends! May God bless you on this Lord's Day!

Easter posts resumes Sunday April 7th

Hi Friends, I will be out today, but wi!l be back tomorrow. In the meantime, I leave you with Mark 11:7

And they brought the colt to Jesus,  they threw their cloaks on him and Jesus sat on him.

What is Easter About? The Easter Lamb

Easter eggs, Easter bunnies, Easter baskets. These and other items are commonly used in our celebrations at this time of year. Many do not really have a Christian or a "religious" cononotation to Easter. Some, like the Easter Egg can be used teaching our children about the Ressurection of Jesus in a visual way.

Perhaps the closest symbol that is used would be 'The Easter Lamb.'  The eating of lamb on Easter really originated during Passover in the Old Testament before the birth of Christianity.

Jesus is often called the 'Lamb of God ' or the 'Sacrificial Lamb ' and so for many Chistians it stands to reason why they would have it On their Easter dinner table in remembrance of what he did for us.

For more info go to https://www.history.com/news/easter-foods-from-to-eggs

April 5,2019 Easter Bible reading: Mark 11:5-6 And when those standing there said "What are you doing releasing the colt?" they told them what Jesus said and they let them go.

Thank you for coming by today, Friends. God bless your day!

Changes

Hello Friends. I will be cutting my blog down a bit every day for a couple weeks. The new one I recently bought stopped going on line yesterday and so having contacted Amazon about it, it was determined that I need to send it back. It will take some time to get another one. In the meantime I will use my tablet. But it is harder to do a lot of typing on it so the blog will be much shorter until I get a replacement. I am sorry for this interuption.

This week I have focused on Easter Eggs and bunnies. A couple days ago a friend sent me an online link about ' Resurrection Eggs.'  These are colored eggs that are a simple way to teach children about the Ressurection of Jesus Christ. I have heard of them before and in fact had seen you can buy them on Amazon if you are interested. However, you might want to go cheaper by making them yourself. I am not sure how to copy and paste anything in this tablet or if I even can. So if you are interested, you can do your own search. (Sorry) I do think they would be a great teaching tools for your children.

 April 4, 2019 Easter reading: And they went their way  and found the copy tied by the door and they loosed him. Mark 11:4

Thanks for stopping by,   Friends. God bless.

What is Easter About/Truth or Consequences

When and where did the celebrations of Easter originate? 

         

It has been said that the word Easter comes from a pagan goddess named Eastre who was the goddess of spring by the Saxons of Northern Europe.. However, there seems to be disagreement about it among the websites that I checked out about it. One site, which I will post its link at the end of today's blog, stated that the idea of a spring goddess and a spring festival in her honor, is conjecture because there is no proof in history for it to be true. And that it is the same with the Easter bunny and eggs. The most that we can say about it, the site says is that it probably came from Germany.

How does the Easter Bunny and eggs fit into the equation of the holiday?

These traditions were probably brought here by German settlers that came to America in the 1700s. He would bring baskets of toys, candy and eggs and hides them for the children to find in the morning. Of course, as we know none of this is in God's word.

For Christians, there is more to it even when they enjoy the fun part of Easter. Though we don't consider the Easter bunny and other traditions as evil, there is more to it that as Christians we don't want to miss. And that is the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

And in teaching our children about the real reason for the Easter celebration, our focus should be on what it is really about. And granted this can be done through the use of ideas that are on the internet these days in making the holiday Christ centered. In this way, we can help our kids understand its meaning and while all the fun parts of the season goes on, we need to also incorporate biblical teachings into it, as well.

Some would say that telling the kids about the Easter bunny coming is lying to them. Much like Santa Claus is not real. That is something maybe you struggle with. And I can't say for you. I am kind of in the middle of that one as far as how I feel about it. I do know that for my grandsons we filled baskets for them for when they would come to visit us and I never told them they were from the Easter bunny. We probably told our own kids that the Easter bunny was coming, many years ago. But kids do get the point at one time or another that he as well as Santa Claus is not real, and unlike some have said, that by lying to them about this thing, they will grow up believing you are a liar and not trust you. If we are people that do not make a habit of lying and model the truth in front of them other wise, I don't think a made up story is going to make them grow up thinking we are liars. However, that is between the individual and God. There is that saying: WWJD. What would Jesus do? If he lived on earth and had children, would he tell them about the Easter bunny. Probably not. But it is something to consider.

For more information on a biblical standpoint, go to:  https://www.gotquestions.org/easter-bunny-eggs.html

April 3, 2019 Easter Bible Reading: As they approached Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples, saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you. And when you have entered it, you will find a colt tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you why you are talking it, tell them 'The Lord needs it and will send it back shortly.'" Mark 11:1-3

Hello friends. I hope your week is blessed! Thanks for coming by! Take care!

           

What is Easter About?/Easter Eggs (part2)

The memories of childhood seep into my sixty+ old brain this morning, of Easter mornings of the past. Actually, I do not have too many holiday memories of any kind, while growing up.. (just a few) But I have memories of some that came later as we raised our own family. And one is about my deceased mother-in-law.

She was a good grandmother to my kids. Actually, she was a sucker for any kid that was going around the neighborhood during that time period to sell candy or other items that school children were selling to make money for their school. Just go right up and knock on her door to sell something, and the child might walk away from someone that just ordered 10 of whatever he or she was selling. And the thing was, she would then give those items to those around her. Like our family.

But one thing I remember in our lives with her, was each year she would buy each of us one of those big 'Anthony Thomas' Easter Eggs. I chuckled each year when bringing them home because she always bought us peanut butter (which I hated) ones. She knew it was a lot of  candy/sweet....but because peanut butter was good for you, that is what she bought. I guess in her mind, the peanut butter cancelled out some of the sugar part of the egg.

Easter eggs have long been  part of our Easter celebrations. You may or may not be surprised that there are Christian denominations that teach that coloring eggs is pagan and therefore we should not use them in our Easter celebrations. The question is: Is it pagan and how did the practice of doing it get started in the first place?

This according to 'The History Channel', The Easter Egg is most likely associated with pagan traditions. The egg itself is an ancient symbol of new life and was used in festivals celebrating spring.

So okay, setting aside the fact they were used in said festivals, how did the Easter Bunny or some chicken, cluck its way into Christianity getting away from pagan rituals? (lol)

In Christianity, the dynamics changed over to celebrating new life in man (Because of Jesus), instead of new life in nature. The church started teaching that the egg represents Jesus being resurrected from the tomb after he had been crucified and in it for three days. According to whatever website we may go to, it is really anyone's guess how and when this tradition actually started, or the events surrounding it. But the thing is, it did start and can we qualify it enough to be pagan so that we as Christians just stay away from the whole thing. Or can it be a fun way to teach kids about what the celebration really is all about?

The bible does not mention the word 'Easter' in any sense of the word. Were there no eggs being dyed during those times? Maybe not. But many homes, whether the occupants are of faith or not, did and sill do recognize Easter as a Christian holiday. And when it gets down to trying to convince people that some of these traditions are pagan and therefore we should not involve ourselves with them, I am very cautionary. Because that boils down to legalism which is extreme adherence to law and I was in a church long ago that demanded the forbiddance of celebrating any thing that would have come out of paganism, no matter if it was no longer used the way it started out and especially in the church.

Rather it is better for me to show what I have found and let people decide for themselves, because we all do have that right.

So what is the verdict? For me, I don't color eggs anymore. In fact, hadn't for the last several years that my two youngest sons were still at home. Why? Because by then I was working many hours each week. My youngest son, who was in his middle to upper teens at the time, did still like to color eggs. So I would always have the stuff ready for him and he did them while I was at work.

I don't remember our church at any time, teaching that the egg is likened to Jesus bursting out from his tomb or any other similar teaching either. For us it really wasn't a matter of anything 'religious.'
It was a fun thing to do prior too our celebration of the death, and resurrection of our Lord. It is like putting the two together, but then not really doing that, if that makes sense.

The most important part of it was teaching our kids about what Jesus had done for us, and not applying the egg to it, and yet still having fun with the eggs on a day prior to Easter.

And that is how we handled egg coloring back then. If circumstances were that my grandchildren were around at this time of year, you can bet I would be doing eggs with them. And no, I would not tell them it represents Jesus and the tomb. But I would read them a story about it and share with them in that way which would be my own special way of celebrating Easter with them.

You may want to check out some of these websites I post. There is so much info out there and a lot of it is interesting and I can't possibly cover everything. I do encourage you however, to stick with those that are Christian.

Up tomorrow: More on the topic from today.

Today's sources:
https://www.gotquestions.org/should-Christians-celebrate-Easter.html
  and     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_egg

April 2, 2019 Easter Bible Reading: They were on the way to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way .And the disciples were astonished and some were afraid. Again he took the twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him. Mark 10:32.

Hi Friends. Thanks for coming by. Please come back tomorrow and until then stay blessed!

New Series for April: What Is Easter All About? part one

Good Morning Friends, 

I am going to put my series of Special People on hold until May. Because we celebrate Easter this month, I feel there is a greater need this month to go into 'What Is Easter All About.' Is it about buying new clothes, and going to church? Is it about coloring eggs and hiding Easter baskets? Is it about having a huge meal that day with family and friends? Or does it have a more significant meaning that we need to get before we pass from this life? And finally, can any of those different traditions be mixed and used in our celebration during this season? As this month progresses, perhaps we can all learn something from those questions and more. Please stay tuned.

I am going to start out today with Ash Wednesday. Oh, I know, some of you know that Ash Wednesday of this year fell on March 6th. Actually, until I looked it up, I didn't know this. If your/your church has never participated in it, let me catch you up to speed. However first let me tell you that as coming from a born again Christian background and being one myself, our family has ourselves never participated in Ash Wednesday although do not disagree with why people do. I know a bit about it, but upon giving you this information....I will be learning more about it, as well. So, let's begin.

And so what is Ash Wednesday? According to Wikipedia, it is "the first day of lent in the Western Christian Calendar. It occurs 46 days before Easter...."

It goes on to say, that "those that are able to, should fast voluntarily between Ash Wednesday and Easter. There are exceptions though. Pregnant women, sick people, children and the very old don't usually have to."

Well, that much I did pretty much know. But what is it exactly?

Actually, I found that it seems to have it roots in the Old Testament. I say that it seems to because I have not studied it enough, or even yet to know for myself that it is true. However, that is one reason for this study. To find out for myself and pass what I learn on to you so that you can decide or even check out these things to see for yourself. And maybe learn things along the way

Simply put, the origin of 'The Day of Ashes' the name for the day, always on Wednesday, 40 days before Easter but not including Sundays, when it is the practice of putting ashes on one's head. This practice is not mentioned in the Bible and neither is Lent. It is time for self-denial in selfish ways. For denying sinful things, and for fasting. It is observed by mostly Catholics but also by some protestant churches as well. I do know someone that practices this that was in the Catholic church for some of her childhood and was taught about much of it through her grandmother. She no longer is in that denomination but had kept her own practice of Ash Wednesday throughout most of her life. In recent years, it has become mostly giving up a particular item that she really loves, for that time. Be it a particular food or something like not getting on the internet. It may vary from year to year. I do not know if it means anything more spiritually significate to her anymore, as in fasting, etc, however. She now lives in another state and so this subject has not come up in a very long time between us.

Anyway, the first  scripture I have come across in dealing with this subject is Genesis 3:19. By the sweat of your brow, you will eat your food until you return to the ground. since from you were taken, dust you are and to dust, you will return. 

And there are others as scriptures as well about  people that records people using the symbols of dust and ashes in their mourning and repentance. They can be found in Daniel 9:3, Esther 4:1, and Job 2:8 for example.

But since there is nowhere in the Bible that actually speaks of this practice in the way they were used in biblical times,, should we practice it ourselves those of us that know Christ as our personal Savior?
Or is it sinful?

My own feeling seems to go along with most main stream denominations and that  is that, for me it is not nesecarry to be a part of actually having a cross of ashes put on my forehead to remind me once a year that I need to obstain from sinful things or not indulge in too much of even good things. I should be doing that everyday of my life The Bible says we are sinful people, but when we are saved through Jesus' blood, we become new creations. That does not mean that we are now without sin, but that we have the forgiveness of sin. We are to turn away from it but when we do, God forgives us when we ask Him.

Though, it is not really a bad thing either and it is one of those things that as a Christian, we can choose to do it or not.

In so doing though, it is best to have a biblical perspective about only letting God know the things we do for him because it is hypocrites that want to brag about what they are doing to others and so will tell anyone that will listen. (Mathew 6:16-18. My own translation of that scripture.)

For more on this topic please follow the link: https://www.gotquestions.org/Ash-Wednesday.html

I hope this gives you some (or a little more) understanding about Ash Wednesday. It does for me and I hope you found it helpful. In the mean time, please come back tomorrow when we will again explore 'What Is Easter All About?'  And also, Happy to all April Birthdays! May yours be blessed! Bye bye and God Bless you!

One more thing. I know this post today is going to be late. Please forgive me as I have had a lot of technical problems. I would appreciate any of your prayers especially for this month in our findings about Easter. Thank you.

April 1, 2019 Easter Scripture Reading for today: He then began to teach them that the Son of Man, must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priest and the teachers of the law. And that he would be killed and after three days rise again. Mark 8:31

     

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