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Well according to the Jews Easter was the time when Moises guided the town of Israel out of Egypt and into Judea , so for Judaism Easter means a new beginning, and according to the Catholic church the events of the Christian Easter also symbolize a new beginning, to which the blood, crucifixion where the way to symbolize this new era. and since this is a holiday driven by the lunar calendar we get the ever changing dates for spring break that sometimes do overlap with the summer solstice,
Now the agnostic version of Easter it is a time created by a religion that fortunately gives everyone a week to rest, in which the market tries to sell the idea of bunnies laying eggs and chicks were later added to avoid suspicion that the Easter bunny was in fact mom and/or Dad .

And now thanks to scientific facts and the study of the bible, the Gregorian calendar, the lunar calendar and how the Earth was 2000 years ago, we now know that the Easter events that are followed by the Christian community happened between April 3 and April 5 in the year 33 A.D.

Actually Jesus was eating passover during those dates . . . . And he was actually born in 33 CE (aka AD) . . . . Putting candies in baskets didn't happen then. Not in the Jewish Culture nor in the Christian culture. It's actually a pagan holiday that was super imposed with Christian names and values to make it easier to convert the pagans to the Catholic faith. Easter is actually the name of a Norse goddess of fertility and the rabbits and eggs were some of her sacred symbols. Her celebration was the vernal equinox which still bares a spelling of her name to many neo-pagans and wiccans today. During her celebrations and feasts, eggs would be hiden in the village proper or a large field near by. But the actualy cross used and the cross christians worship are two very different symbols. The cross jesus would have "died" on (and that's actually debateable if anyone else has actually read the gospel Mark . . . I have in armanic greek, the language actually used to write the original books and letters in the new testament . . . . religion minor, history major and archaeology major . . . ) was the Roman cross that was a large T. The cross used and worshipped by Christians worldwide is actually an ancient symbol of promises and oaths. The sign of the cross that they preform is more akin to a pinky promise, or a scouts honor in ancient times. Spring break can't overlap with the summer soltice, though because that happens around June 20th give or take a day or two. It has overlapped with the Vernal Equinox, though . . . .

And did you know that the Gregorian calendar was changed by Charlemagne, if I remember correctly. The calendar was so screwed up in the beginning that in order to fix it and realign the dates, they celebrated Yule/Christmas (and don't get me onto that subject . . .at least not yet) and a week later was celebrating the Easter holiday . . .

*pats head and hands Nacho chocolate*

if it makes you feel any better I have my BA in History and Archaeology with a Minor in Religion, so I know what I'm talking about . . . . ? I even wrote my 50 PAGE ((sorry I didn't mean to leave that out. They weren't that mean)) Historical Methods Thesis Paper on the subject whether or not the people actually wanted to be converted to Christianity or if they didn't really care because to them it was the same thing, so did a LOT of research on the Christian symbols that were actually based in or taken from Pagan religions and cultures. And I still research it in my spare time like a total geek

I think I love you D: <3

I've been planning to go back to school for archeology later, and I am especially interested in ancient cultures and religions, so your explanation was delicious to me.

Have you ever seen the naked archeologist on history international? I highly recommend him, and his movie "Exodus decoded"~~

I am studying graphic design, after dropping out of fashion school to be a fashion designer. I am all over the place ;x

I know what you mean about history international being one of the more accurate channels, sometimes my dad tapes shows from national geographic, and they drive me crazy.

Your goal is awesome! Have you ever been on a dig? And if not, do you plan on going on one, one day? I think that would be so cool~~

Eeee, how exciting! I've always been afraid of a dig in South America though, I hear many of the bugs are very dangerous D:

That reminds me, I want to go to Machu Picchu ;x

Ancient cultures are amazing

Ahh, that is good then. I've heard all kinds of scary stories, like it is dangerous to even shave (that might have been for entering tombs though. . .)

I hope you do get to go to Machu Picchu soonish! The old orient express train you have to take, looks amazing~~~

Oh, and I think science is interesting too. I always watch the "How the world was made" shows, and finished the most recent "Nova science now!" series on PBS. Medical technology is really amazing these days ;x