i found this and thought it was interesting..
have you ever wondered why easter falls on a different date each year?

Easter is Springtime’s principal festival and is celebrated in Christian countries as a religious holiday that commemorates the resurrection of Christ. Yet the festival itself has many and varied pagan origins which deviate from Christian beliefs.
Those scholars that accept the pagan explanation place their beliefs in the writings of St. Bede, an Eighth Century English scholar. He believed that the name ‘Easter’ came from the Scandinavian Ostra and the Teutonic Ostern or Easterne, these were goddesses of mythology that signified Spring and fertility whose festival was celebrated on the day of the vernal equinox.
The Christian celebration of Easter is related to the Jewish festival of Passover. This can also be known as Pesach or Pasch. This is an important festival in the Jewish calendar which is celebrated for 8 days and commemorates the flight and freedom of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Early Christians, many of whom were of Jewish origin, were brought up in the Hebrew tradition and regarded Easter as a new feature of the Passover festival, a commemoration of the advent of the Messiah as foretold by the prophets.
Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday following the full moon that occurs on or following the spring equinox. This means that Easter is essentially ‘movable’ and can fall anytime between March 22nd and April 25th.
Easter marks the end of the forty day period of Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday. The Lenten season itself is a period of penitence in preparation for the festival and traditionally people sacrifice something they like during this time. Lent finally ends with Holy week and Easter.

another historical tidbit....

Some suggest an etymological relationship between Eostre and the Sumerian goddess Ishtar and the possibility that aspects of an ancient festival accompanied the name, claiming that the worship of Bel and Astarte was anciently introduced into Britain, and that the hot cross buns of Good Friday and dyed eggs of Easter Sunday figured in the Chaldean rites just as they do now.
At best, any connection between Ishtar and Easter is geographically and linguistically distant, and tangential.
Claiming a connection between Ishtar and Easter also ignores the fact that Easter is called "Passover" in almost every other language in the world. (The only exceptions appear to be the languages of those people who first learned Christianity at the hands of English or other Anglophone missionaries.) Examples of this are the Hebrew Pesach; the Greek Paskha; the Latin Pascha; the Italian Pasqua; the Spanish La Pascua; and Scots Gaelic An Casca. The holiday was not called "Easter" until the 8th Century, by which time it had already been in existence for 700 years.
There is the additional problem that the very lands where Ishtar was once known have never been known to use a name like "Easter" for this or any other spring holiday.

finally "the easter bunny"
Easter Bunny (also known as the Spring Bunny in some parts of the United States) is a fantasy or mythological rabbit which leaves gifts for children at Easter (or at springtime). It originates in Western European cultures, where it is a hare rather than a rabbit.
German Protestants wanted to retain the Catholic custom of eating colored eggs for Easter, but did not want to introduce their children to the Catholic rite of fasting. Eggs were forbidden to Catholics during the fast of Lent, which was the reason for the abundance of eggs at Easter time.

The idea of an egg-laying rabbit came to the United States in the 18th century. German immigrants in the Pennsylvania Dutch area told their children about the "Osterhase" (also: "Oschter Haws"). "Hase" means "hare", not rabbit, and in Northwest European folklore the "Easter Bunny" indeed is a hare, not a rabbit.

Only good children received gifts of colored eggs in the nests that they made in their caps and bonnets before Easter. Presumably, the Oschter Haws laid them when the children were not looking.

A hundred years later Jakob Grimm wrote of long-standing similar myths in Germany itself. Noting many related landmarks and customs, Grimm suggested that these derived from legends of Ostara.

in conclusion:
what ever you practice, believe or celebrate in regard to easter..
here is some (factual) information that may be a catalyst for future conversations or just knowledge garnered...

from "opalstar"... what are your beliefs? please share...

This thread is worse than that one promoting child pornography.

Easter is about Jesus!

fathermcmeekle said:

...and Easter Eggs

senik said:

Passover the ham.

Illustrator said:

Father McMeekle isn't a fan of swine.

fathermcmeekle said:

(please see and reread first sentence)
"Easter is Springtime’s principal festival and is celebrated in Christian countries as a religious holiday that commemorates the resurrection of Christ", a.k.a. "Jesus Christ"...

Question. Is reading the same as hearing? Hear only what you want to hear.
i.e., see and retain only what your mind accepts? there is no
rule against rereading especially before reacting..
however thanks for your response. it was....well...interesting.

cool thread.

i like the inclusion of all of the different belief systems. thanks!

senik said:

re: easter eggs...
German Protestants wanted to retain the Catholic custom of eating colored eggs for Easter, but did not want to introduce their children to the Catholic rite of fasting. Eggs were forbidden to Catholics during the fast of Lent, which was the reason for the abundance of eggs at Easter time.

The idea of an egg-laying rabbit came to the United States in the 18th century. German immigrants in the Pennsylvania Dutch area told their children about the "Osterhase" (also: "Oschter Haws"). "Hase" means "hare", not rabbit, and in Northwest European folklore the "Easter Bunny" indeed is a hare, not a rabbit.

Only good children received gifts of colored eggs in the nests that they made in their caps and bonnets before Easter. Presumably, the Oschter Haws laid them when the children were not looking.

what egg..actly did you read?

Jesus who?