Joyous charoset!

Happy Easter! Chag Pesach sameach! Enjoy the season, celebrate, eat well, but don't forget the real meaning behind these dates!

Regards,
Adelaide

  chega ! vc tambem Adelaidinha muitos abracos! 

isso ,mais perto chega...
 FELIZ PASCOA GENTE
nao esquecemos nao Madelaide ! o que e que Deus dar somente filho O Salvador
HAPPY EASTER TO ALL
 

flemishdreams, do we really need to move everything back to its origin?
I would hate to have to wear animal skin and carry a club with not even a cattle cart as transport instead of these nice cotton Pierre Cardin and a TransAm for transport.
worst, what are we going to use without our digital SLRs and computer?

you can stay pagan if you choose, but hell, going that far back isn't quite my cup of tea. not even sure if tea was found just then during the neanderthal age 

you can stay pagan if you choose, but hell, going that far back isn't quite my cup of tea. not even sure if tea was found just then during the neanderthal age 

Well, she was mentioning the "real" meaning. And you can be a pagan with a DSLR too 
It's fun to see how the rabbit and the eggs survived 2000 years christianity, so deep inside we probably are all pagans. Whatever.

It is correct that Easter is not the original holy day (aka holiday) given by G-d.

NOTE: Certain words such as J-e-s-u-s (without the dashes) are transformed by this forum into words that can be considered offensive to those that believe in Christianity.  As such, I have used his Jewish name - Yahshua.

Yahshua (the Messiah) was a Jew.  Almost all of the apostles and disciples were Jews as well.  At first, in order to be a "Christian", it was a requirement to be a Jew first.  Gentiles (or "pagan infidels" as you put it) did not come into the Christian fold until decades later (when Peter and Paul started ministering to them).  As such, almost all Christians celebrated the Jewish holy days.  It wasn't until hundreds of years later that Easter was substituted (instead of Passover and the Feast of First Fruits) by the church.

The original holy days (aka holidays) given by G-d were Passover (Pesach) and the Feast/Day of Firstfruits (see Leviticus 23).

Passover

The Passover has two basic meanings: a remembrance of the past (the PHYSICAL) and a prophecy (to the Old Testament Jews) for the future (the SPIRITUAL).

The first meaning of course is a remembrance of the Jews gaining freedom from PHYSICAL bondage (in Egypt).  Pharaoh released the Jews because the 10th plague (of the firstborn in Exodus 11) was killing firstborn all over Egypt.  The plague passed over the Jews because they had sacrificed an unblemished lamb and wiped its blood on the door frame to their house.

The second meaning was a prophecy (to the Jews) that the unblemished (or perfect) Lamb of G-d (aka Messiah) would be sacrificed so that we would all have the opportunity to gain freedom from SPIRITUAL bondage (to death from sin).  If we accept the blood of G-d's lamb (from Yahshua's crucifixion), and wipe it on the doorframe of our hearts/soul, then when the final judgment comes (at the end), it will pass over us and we will gain eternal life.

The "Last Supper" was a Passover Seder (see Matthew 26:17-25, Mark 14:12-31, and Luke 22:1-23) and Yahshua was crucified on Passover.  His sacrifice was the ultimate Passover sacrifice.  No other Passover sacrifice is required.  He is the Lamb of G-d (see John 1:29, John 1:36, 1 Peter 1:18-19, and Revelation) and it is His blood that atones for our sins (see Ephesians 1:7-8, and Romans 5:9).

Feast of Firstfruits

The Feast of Firstfruits also has dual meanings.  The meaning in the Old Testament was that G-d would provide PHYSICAL deliverance to the Jews (i.e., those that covered themselves by the blood of the Passover lamb) in the Promised Land.  The meaning in the New Testament is that G-d will provide SPIRITUAL deliverance to Christians (i.e., those that cover themselves by the blood from the Lamb of G-d).  The Feast of Firstfruits is celebrated on the third day after the Passover.  Yahshua rose on the third day after he was crucified (which was also on the Passover).  Yahshua is the firstfruit of G-d.  His "death" and "resurrection" were the firstfruits of many to follow (see 1 Cor 15:20-23).

In summary, Passover is the original holy day for celebrating the crucifixion of the Messiah and the Feast of Firstfruits is the original holy day for celebrating the resurrection of the Messiah.

There is of course much more to this than I can write in a post.  I have tried to the basics, and hope that I didn't oversimplify it or over complicate it.

I hope that this helps.

Debating the true meaning of Easter is really not important. The importance is to understand why those who celebrated Easter for this man name Yashua or J-e-s-u-s
or whatever. It's not for the sake of the institution or whatnot. It's to remember that like this man we can conquer the problems we face each day. The ressurection to rise above all. He was humble, he was selfless, he adore the one who created him and was willing to give himself up for this love.
We don't have to argue about what Easter is, anymore than we need to argue about what Christmas is. To do that is to divide ourselves as brothers and sisters.
I really don't care what it means to athiest, anymore than what it means to those who keep taking away the joys of celebrating these feasts.
If it suits those who insist of division , fine... go find your own spot and divide yourself . Be it casting lots to divide what you want of the carcass to please your need to be proven right, intelligent, or whatever drives you to be so divisive.
For me, I'd rather choose to wish all , believers in whatever the significance of this week we call Easter, and learn to be a little more like this man called J-E-S-U-S.
I don't go to church for this. I just admire him for the love he taught his followers. If I am not mistaken he stood up for the weak, to challenge the self righteous mob  encouraging them to look at themselves first before looking to be judge and jury of the next person: LET HE WHO HAS NOT DONE ANY WRONG CAST THE FIRST STONE.
Before him, another man named Confucius said the same: WHY POINT OUT THE SNOW ON YOUR NEIGHBOUR ROOF WHEN YOU HAVE DUST AT YOUR OWN DOORSTEP?

Peace.

Well some might celebrate it for the christian meaning, and that's great. The muslims and the misguided infidels don't do it for that, and certainly not the newage "athiests" (whatever that is). But the original meaning in Northern Europe is still the spring rites. But I don't want to start a philosophical discussion here about gods, prophets, goddesses, spirits, voodoo or global warming. 

The muslims may not celebrate Easter, but the Holy Qur'an includes a Surah (chapter) for Maryam (19th Surah), and also another Surah for Yousuf (12th Surah) As in Mary and Joseph the foster parents of the christian 's own J-e-s-u-s. In each of these Surah, they related the life of this man, their son called  J-e-s-u-s .

They may not adore the man Christians called G-o-d or Son of G-o-d, but they do ACKNOWLEDGE AND RESPECT him as he was doing the work of G-o-d.

The problem with evangelicals is that they have no really sense of how metaphors work. They want everything to be literal.

But there are no gods or fairies. We are dust and energy. The bible is a roughly translated, selectively edited mixture of metaphor, half remembered history, folk lore, common sense and legend.

Existence is no less fabulous or incredible when you stop believing in super-natural beings.

If Jesus was alive today he would be an atheist.