Not too long ago, I had a friend, a long-time Christian, express some bewilderment about what bunnies and eggs had to do with Easter. My understanding is that it had to do with how Christianity came up through the ranks from a fringe, primarily Jewish, sect to one of the world’s major religions. By arranging major religious festivals in a way that was similar to those of other religions, it made attracting converts easier. Two of the most significant pagan times of the year are the winter solstice — the shortest day of the year, after which the days begin to get longer — and the vernal equinox — when spring begins and life begins to return after winter. Christmas and Easter line up roughly with these events.
Rabbits and eggs are fertility symbols; symbols of spring and the return of life. Here is a nice summary of some of the pagan roots of Easter. According to that site, the rites connected with the death and resurrection of the gods Tammuz, Osiris, and Adonis are the forerunners of the “Christian” Easter.
Spread the good news.
Granted, a lot of the trappings of Christian holidays were appropriated from pagan traditions, including the ones at Easter. Also granted, the spreading church did a lot of creative scheduling — but not with Easter. The Festival of the Resurrection is explicitly tied to the Jewish season of Passover, a timing that is essential to the fulfillment of Messianic prophesy and related symbolism of God’s deliverance of the Hebrews from captivity.
Any idea if there is any historical foundation for Passover, itself, or whether its timing might be related to notions of rebirth associated with the vernal equinox?
I should say, the *timing* of Passover.
I’m not aware of any evidence that the events of Exodus were related to the vernal equinox, nor does the text itself point to it as being relevant. If the time of year was important, I might guess it would have something to do with some other circumstances making the events fortuitous, like their relation to the rainy season or something.
Note also, the Passover itself was an event of death, not rebirth. Maybe God set up his plagues in direct defiance of Egyptian fertility/rebirth celebrations, as a kind of, “Oh yeah? Well, see what happens when you harden your hearts against the Sovereign Lord!” Countering the holy days of the oppressors with misery and death, courtesy of the oppressed’s god, would send a pretty pointed message. But that’s just speculation.
Metaphorically, the Exodus in general might be taken as either an event of birth, i.e., the creation of the Israelite people, or rebirth, in that the Hebrews were freed from captivity. That’s rather a stretch, I think, to the suggestion that the timing was an appropriation of pagan notions.
Thinking about it a bit, it wouldn’t make much sense for the Jews to appropriate pagan notions — I don’t suppose they’d be striving for converts. Much of the Old Testament was about the uniqueness and separateness of the Jews.