Passover to Easter – Peter Nathan vision.org

Societal traditions are rarely viewed through a historic lens. To do so would reveal, all too often, a violent blending of traditions and rituals. Easter is one such tradition. At its core, Easter is an ancient pagan fertility celebration that took on Christian terminology. This controversial blend centered around the timing of this celebration- specifically what day to memorialize. Lasting nearly 3 centuries this became known as the Quartodeciman Controversy. The ruling class of that time, favoring paganism and being steeped in racism, instituted Easter in 327 C.E. eventually forcing it upon the population through the threat of excommunication and persecution. Those that resisted the change were labeled Quartodeciman (Latin for “14th”) for they memorialized the day of Christ’s death which occurred on Nisan 14 of the Hebrew calendar. This kept the connection between the death of Christ as the Passover Lamb and the need to remove sin from one’s life as seen through the Days of Unleavened Bread, whereas the Church around Rome wanted to celebrate Christ’s resurrection on the Sunday following the first full moon of the new year According to the Julian Calendar. This was easier to accept and meld with current pagan traditions. The main argument against the 14th was centered around deep held prejudices of that time. Despite the persecution, the practice of observing the Passover as the apostles had done with Jesus Christ was still being maintained by small pockets of people who considered themselves faithful followers. However, for most, the festival had changed over a period of several centuries from one that had deep roots in the scriptural Passover to one associated with pagan resurrection myths.