How can I make such a statement? It may not make sense to those who take Easter for granted as a celebration of Jesus Christ’s resurrection. However, any unbiased look at the history of the Easter holiday, and at the customs now surrounding it, will reveal plainly that the Easter observance is of pagan origin, introduced long ago into “Christian” worship as new converts sought to hang on to their old practices, and as established Christians more and more began failing to “contend earnestly for the faith once delivered” (Jude 3).
Most who call themselves “Christians” today are unaware of how “Christianity” has “evolved” over the years—even in the very first centuries of its existence. For instance, we could speak of ancient Polycarp and Anicetus, of Polycrates and Victor, and of how the churches of the East strove to maintain the apostles’ practice of observing Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread. Polycrates wrote of the Apostles Philip and John and others who “always observed the day when the people put away the leaven,” as opposed to the corruption of Rome and others who wished to blend Christian doctrine with heathen practice. The history of it all is fascinating reading, to be sure.