This time of year, I see a lot of people proclaiming Easter as a Pagan holiday. I call bullshit. Yes, bullshit.
In name, and a few of the "traditional" symbols, yes. The time of year that Christ's historical ressurection took place corresponds to many pagan equinox and first rites of summer celebrations. And the birth of new life is definitely a theme of the season. But it celebrates Christ's Ressurection in Christianity. That ressurection took place after the Passover week, as Christ was Cruicified during Passover. Passover takes place near the spring equinox. The exact date has been argued and debated throughout history, but the general timeframe remains the same.
If you have a problem with celebrating the equinox itself, see my post on Christmas for why an astronomical event is made by God, and stated in Genesis that its purpose is to mark the passage of time. Celebrating that time is not a problem. It was Created by God for that observance.
If you have a problem with the pagan trappings; the name and the fertility symbols, fine. Don't use them, call Easter by another day.
But this Spring, by all tradition and Biblical fact, is the anniversiary of the event that rocked the ancient world, this spring is when the Jews were given the sign of Jonah, when more than 500 witinesses saw a living, risen Savior, and when the "New" Religion was born.
In the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son. The stars given for signs, seasons, and years proclaimed His birth, and those same heavens marked His death, and the world was changed by His ressurection. He is risen, indeed.
