Facts about Easter


The holiday commonly known as “Easter” is one of the most widespread traditions in professing Christendom. Yet both its pagan and Roman Catholic roots are indisputable—and its observance finds no warrant in the Word of God. When measured by the standard of Scripture, Easter stands condemned as a man-made invention, borrowed from idolatry, and unfit for Christian worship.

 

PAGAN ROOTS OF “EASTER”

1. Origin of the Name “Easter”

  • The name “Easter” comes from Eostre (or Ostara), a pagan fertility goddess worshiped in early Anglo-Saxon and Germanic tribes.

  • Her spring festival celebrated fertility, renewal, and new life.

  • The rabbit and egg were her symbols—representing fertility and reproduction.

Note: The Greek word Pascha in the New Testament refers to Passover, not “Easter.” The one appearance of the word “Easter” in Acts 12:4 (KJV) is a mistranslation.


2. Spring Fertility Rites

  • Pagan spring rites honored nature’s rebirth after winter and often included:

    • Eggs (symbols of new life),

    • Rabbits (fertility),

    • Sunrise services (honoring the rising sun, not the risen Son).

These customs were not only non-Christian, but directly tied to idolatrous worship and nature-based deities.


ROMAN CATHOLIC ROOTS

1. Council of Nicaea (325 A.D.)

  • Rome formally established “Easter Sunday” as a feast to celebrate the resurrection of Christ, separating it from the Jewish Passover.

  • The date was fixed according to pagan lunar calculations: the first Sunday after the full moon following the spring equinox.

2. Blending Paganism with Christianity

  • The Church of Rome attempted to “Christianize” pagan spring rituals to attract converts.

  • The result: a religious festival cloaked in Christian terminology, but pagan in spirit and practice.

3. Lent and the Easter Season

  • The 40-day observance of Lent, leading up to Easter, has no biblical basis.

  • It mirrors pagan fasting and mourning rituals (see Ezekiel 8:14—mourning for Tammuz).

  • Events such as Lent, Holy Week, and Good Friday are all Roman Catholic inventions—not apostolic practices.


SCRIPTURAL REFUTATION OF “EASTER”

1. Worship Must Be Regulated by Scripture Alone

Deuteronomy 12:32 – “See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it.”

“Easter” is an addition. It has no place in the worship God has commanded.


2. Pagan Practices Are Forbidden in the Worship of God

Deuteronomy 12:30-31 – “Be careful not to be ensnared by inquiring about their gods... You must not worship the Lord your God in their way…”

God absolutely forbids using pagan customs as a means of worshiping Him.


3. God Desires Worship in Spirit and in Truth

John 4:23-24 – “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth… for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

Worshiping God with Easter traditions—eggs, rabbits, and man-made rituals—is neither spiritual nor truthful.


4. Christ’s Resurrection Is Remembered Weekly, Not Annually

Acts 20:7 – “On the first day of the week we came together to break bread…”

The Lord’s Day (every Sunday) is the biblically appointed time to remember Christ’s resurrection—not once a year in a festival of mixed pagan origin.


5. The Apostles Gave No Example of Easter Observance

2 Thessalonians 2:15 – “So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.”

The apostles gave no command to celebrate Easter. If it were important, they would have included it in their teaching.


6. God Commands Separation from the World’s Religious Ways

2 Corinthians 6:17 – “Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”

The world, Roman Catholicism, and other false religions celebrate “Easter.” That should cause every godly soul to pause.


CONCLUSION

“Easter” is not Christian in origin. It is a mixture of:

  • Pagan fertility rituals,

  • Catholic syncretism, and

  • Human tradition.

It is not commanded by God, not modeled by Christ, and not practiced by the apostles. It dilutes the truth, corrupts the purity of worship, and associates the holy Name of Christ with heathen customs.

Jeremiah 10:2 – “Do not learn the ways of the nations…”
1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 – “Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.”

Let us worship the risen Lord Jesus every Lord’s Day, and reject every counterfeit observance that would compromise the purity of the Gospel. To do less is to mix light with darkness—and that is something the Lord never blesses.