It's Easter once again and here at wonder | wander | world we wish to set the record straight. We celebrate the occasion paying homage to the Queen of Heaven and not the much later trumped up church declared resurrection of Jesus the Christ.
Pagans believed in a god that was resurrected each spring on Easter - a day dedicated to Ishtar, the mother goddess. She was also called the queen of heaven and supposedly interceded with the gods on behalf of humankind.
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| Ishtar - The Burney Relief (c. 19th or 18th century BCE) |
A belief has been applied to Mary by the Roman Catholic Church though it is pagan in origin and has no basis in the Bible.
Easter did not originate for the purpose of celebrating the resurrection of Christ but to worship the mother goddess Ishtar. Because worshipers of Ishtar presented her with two fertility symbols - eggs and rabbits - these were adopted as well in the Christian Easter celebration.
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| Cybele, goddess of the Phrygian pantheon |
Sunrise at the beginning of spring was the holiest day in the Mithraic calendar (next to December 25) thus the practice of Easter sunrise services were carried over into Christianity.
The Ishtar celebration are held each spring on a Sunday closest to the vernal equinox, hence the ascension of Christ was changed from 40 days after the time of Passover (as recorded in the Bible) to the current annual Easter celebration.
All this began in paganism, with the Ishtar and Tammuz legend.
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