Have you wondered about that?
Answers (2)
There are several books titled "Babylon Mystery Religion" by various authors. They present the history of a church founded in Babylon that encouraged any and all forms of pagan worship: rabbits, eggs, rice, the sun's circle, fish, and others. The founder was Astarte, wife of Nimrod, founder of the first walled city. Her name is rendered Ishtar, Eostre, or Easter and the spring equinox was the big ceremony of the year.
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EASTER—FERTILITY WORSHIP IN DISGUISE
Promoted as a celebration of Christ’s resurrection, Easter is actually rooted in false religion. The name Easter itself has been linked to Eostre, or Ostara, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of the dawn and of spring. And how did eggs and rabbits come to be associated with Easter? Eggs “have been prominent as symbols of new life and resurrection,” says the Encyclopædia Britannica, while the hare and the rabbit have long served as symbols of fertility. Easter, therefore, is really a fertility rite thinly disguised as a celebration of Christ’s resurrection.
The Rites of Spring
Easter was “originally the spring festival in honor of the Teutonic goddess of light and spring known in Anglo-Saxon as Eastre.” (The Westminster Dictionary of the Bible) “There is no indication of the observance of the Easter festival in the New Testament.”—Encyclopædia Britannica.
The rabbit “was the escort of the Germanic goddess Ostara.”—Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology and Legend.
Eggs “were said to be dyed and eaten at the spring festivals in ancient Egypt, Persia, Greece, and Rome.”—Celebrations.
The Easter bonnet originally “was a wreath of flowers or leaves. The circle or crown expressed the round sun and its course in the heavens which brought the return of spring.” The new Easter outfit developed because “it was considered discourteous and therefore bad luck to greet the Scandinavian goddess of Spring, or Eastre, in anything but fresh garb, since the goddess was bestowing one on the earth.”—The Giant Book of Superstitions.
Hot cross buns: “Like the Greeks, the Romans ate bread marked with a cross . . . at public sacrifices.” They were eaten by pagan Saxons in honor of Easter.—Encyclopædia Britannica.
Sunrise services parallel rites “performed at the vernal equinox welcoming the sun and its great power to bring new life to all growing things.”—Celebrations.
For more information on this subject and others, please go to the source jw.org official website for free downloads, publications or read online. You can read online the book "What Does The Bible Really Teach."
Thank you for the research information....I have read similar articles in the Bible based Awake magazines showing how Easter eggs, bunny rabbits and the like are not christian symbols and that they have nothing to do with Jesus Christ death or resurrection, let alone the real significance of Jesus death.