Teach Me About Easter

[wvwvw]

It seems that dying-and-resurrecting gods were generally more popular amongst women than men in ancient times. This was especially true of Dionysus. Whatever else his ancient character and function may have included, it is generally believed that Dionysus' popularity in Classical times is based to a large degree on the belief that he offered salvation to his believers.

The mystics associated him with the Nether World and Heaven, and Dionysus embodied the outstanding features of mystery religions: ecstasy, salvation from the daily world through physical or spiritual intoxication, and initiation into secret rites. After all, he had died but been resurrected, then finally ascended to Heaven. His cyclical retreats to the Nether World and final ascent to heavensuggested the possibility that eternal life was possible to his followers.

Dionysus was called a savior and redeemer, particularly as Dionysos Eleutherios (saviour). The statues of Dionysus found in tombs all have an egg in one hand, signifying the belief of his followers in resurrection through rebirth. Thus, eating eggs were prohibited in Orphic religion, for the prime object of Orphism was to escape from the unending cycle of reincarnation and arrival in the Eleusian Fields (i.e. heaven).

The Eleusinian mysteries, performed with respect to Dionysus, were performed as Autumn mysteries. The novices danced over the sacred road with music, being beaten and abused. Dionysus was born on December 25 - the winter solstice and common birthday of the dying-and-resurrecting savior-god who is associated with the birth of light.

He was resurrected on March 25 after dying three days earlier. In the night of 5th. January, when Dionysus changed water into wine, he married Ariadne. A mask with a beard was hung on a wooden pole in the Eleusinian mysteries. It was crowned with ivy was cloaked in a purple garment. This garment was supposed to be the same that he wore in the Netherworld, borrowing it from Persephone when he went there to resurrect his mother, the earth. He was also often depicted hanging from a cross.

In Crete, his festival included participants ripping apart a bull and eating the raw flesh. Similar kinds of frenzied celebrations continued in Macedonia and Thrace long after they had been tamed in Greece.

[Colonel Frank Grimes]

I really dont have much of a clue about how Christians celebrate Easter. I know the basics of what it is about, but not how it's done.

So please post your Easter traditions ITT, and why you have them.

I remember in elementary school doing the stages of the cross in the school chapel (it's like a play of sorts but just people reading lines and now that I think about it I have to say it's really fucking weird). It was better than being in class, I guess, but it sucked like everything else in Catholic School. I'm surprised I didn't snap and burn the chapel down.

Also, for the record we Muslims believe that Jesus (peace be upon him), never died, and Judas died in his stead due to divine intervention.

Muhammad and his self serving stories. "Don't believe this crazy shit but believe my crazy shit."

[Al-Meksiki]

It's basically what happens when you fuse Passover and Indo-European pagan vernal equinox celebrations into one Frankenstein holiday.

[wvwvw]

It's basically what happens when you fuse Passover and Indo-European pagan vernal equinox celebrations into one Frankenstein holiday.

The existence of an Indo-European religion is purely science fiction. Neo-Paganism also is not a religion. Its an invention of Victorian fantasy writers and not based on the primary texts describing ancient religion, therefore it has no basis in historical reality.

Throughout the ancient world religion meant ancestry worship. It was the same culture as that of the Japanese religion. Ancestor worship and nothing more. Herodotus explains the origins of the Greek religion and Hero worship in Book 2 of his histories and even down to the time of Porphyry everyone subscribed to the same view. The Gods were nothing more than defied kings who were later syncretised with natural forces. The bible takes it to its ultimate limit by syncretising all the Gods into one, firstly in the Old Testament which was syncretised in Hellenistic times when the Septuagint was written and then with the Christian religion where the Jewish God who had only been created about 100 years earlier was syncretised with the now ancestor cult of Jesus Christ and with the God of Plato, hence the Father, the Son and the Word.

The Germanics had their own pantheon which was based on the worship of their ancestral kings. The Romans used the Greek pantheon because half of Italy was colonised by Greeks but they were also aware of the Tyrrhenian and Carthaginian pantheons and those of the Phrygians and the Babylonians and Egyptians and even the Persians.

The Hellenic religion worshiped city Gods. It is not pagan its a city state religion and all Greeks are descended from the Gods-former kings, who founded their city states. The county dwellers, ie. pagans did not really worship the Gods of the state in the first place since they were not part of the city state being pagans. The city states continued to worship their ancestral Gods until the Christians abolished the Mysteries/rituals which were all imported from the Greeks in Egypt in the first place who returning to Greece brought with them their religious rights.

[JohnSmith]

I really dont have much of a clue about how Christians celebrate Easter. I know the basics of what it is about, but not how it's done.

So please post your Easter traditions ITT, and why you have them.

Also, for the record we Muslims believe that Jesus (peace be upon him), never died, and Judas died in his stead due to divine intervention.

It is the most important Christian .

[Al-Meksiki]

The existence of an Indo-European religion is purely science fiction. Neo-Paganism also is not a religion. Its an invention of Victorian fantasy writers and not based on the primary texts describing ancient religion, therefore it has no basis in historical reality.

Throughout the ancient world religion meant ancestry worship. It was the same culture as that of the Japanese religion. Ancestor worship and nothing more. Herodotus explains the origins of the Greek religion and Hero worship in Book 2 of his histories and even down to the time of Porphyry everyone subscribed to the same view. The Gods were nothing more than defied kings who were later syncretised with natural forces. The bible takes it to its ultimate limit by syncretising all the Gods into one, firstly in the Old Testament which was syncretised in Hellenistic times when the Septuagint was written and then with the Christian religion where the Jewish God who had only been created about 100 years earlier was syncretised with the now ancestor cult of Jesus Christ and with the God of Plato, hence the Father, the Son and the Word.

The Germanics had their own pantheon which was based on the worship of their ancestral kings. The Romans used the Greek pantheon because half of Italy was colonised by Greeks but they were also aware of the Tyrrhenian and Carthaginian pantheons and those of the Phrygians and the Babylonians and Egyptians and even the Persians.

The Hellenic religion worshiped city Gods. It is not pagan its a city state religion and all Greeks are descended from the Gods-former kings, who founded their city states. The county dwellers, ie. pagans did not really worship the Gods of the state in the first place since they were not part of the city state being pagans. The city states continued to worship their ancestral Gods until the Christians abolished the Mysteries/rituals which were all imported from the Greeks in Egypt in the first place who returning to Greece brought with them their religious rights.

[Jacques de Imbelloni]

[LouisFerdinand]

Baptist church Easter service

[Kazimiera]

I meant the way it is celebrated. Things Christians do on Easter, and what they mean.

These things vary greatly among denominations and countries.

[Kazimiera]

My family is German, so we followed a German Easter tradition. Even as I say that, I am sure different regions in Germany celebrate differently.

My family aren't the church-going types and there was no talk of Jesus at all. Easter for us was a cultural and not a religious event.

Each Easter the dyeing of eggs was an important procedure to be undertaken on the Friday evening. It would take hours and the utmost care would be taken. On Easter Sunday, when I was little, the eggs (and other chocolates) would be hidden in the garden among the trees and plants. I'd have the pleasure of looking for them. It provided hours and hours of entertainment.

Until today, I am mad about Easter. A couple years ago, when I was fortunate enough to have some left-over cash, I bought dozens of Easter chocolates and dyed eggs. I invited my parents-in-law over and hid all the eggs and chocolates in the garden. They (and my family) had to look for them. My parents-in-law and husband had a blast because this is something they had never experienced before.

For my husband and his family, Easter was a religious (and not cultural) event. Everyone went to church on the Sunday and got a few chocolate eggs to chew on afterwards.

This year Easter was a flop. On Friday afternoon we arranged with my stepdad that he would come over on Sunday and that he and my husband would hide eggs in the garden for me. I was going to make waffles for us. Unfortunately my husband became very ill on Friday night and we had to cancel the Easter-egg hunt today. It is also my husband's birthday today, and the poor guy spent it on the couch as sick as a dog. So hubby's birthday and Easter didn't turn out as anticipated. I'm sad for my husband because he's feeling shit, and sad for me because I didn't get to look for Easter eggs.