Every year around Halloween, we start seeing posts made by Christians about the evils of Halloween, and this of course spawns the responses from other parties (whether Christian, neo-pagan, or simply those sucked in by popular culture) about Christian holidays and their pagan roots. Each year, I spent a lot of time debunking these lies, and have amassed a list of resources. Below is a compilation:
https://www.jeanejones.net/2021/03/3-feasts-jesus-didnt-fulfill-and-4-he-did/
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/u3vvke/so_we_have_no_evidence_of_any_sort_of_pagan/
https://www.thepastorsbrief.com/post/matthew-5-17-20-fulfilling-the-law-and-the-prophets
https://www.jeanejones.net/2021/03/3-feasts-jesus-didnt-fulfill-and-4-he-did/
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/316b0r/is_easter_really_a_roman_pagan_tradition_that/
https://www.hoppa.com/en/discover/events/a-tale-of-two-easters-why-different-countries-celebrate-on-different-days
https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0134.htm
https://www.goarch.org/news/affiliates/-/asset_publisher/nlQ9SNgI9Vfj/content/fordham-pascha/pop_up
https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05228a.htm
https://www.oca.org/holy-synod/statements/archbishop-peter/concerning-the-date-of-pascha-and-the-1st-ecumenical-council
https://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/britannia/anglo-saxon/earlychurch/paschal.html
https://lonelypilgrim.com/2013/06/28/st-irenaeus-testimony-to-the-apostles/
As for Easter itself, the Christian festival I mean: that can be traced back at least as far as the mid-2nd century Mediterranean — not England or Germany. That’s when we get testimony of a dispute between the Roman and Anatolian churches over the correct date to observe Jesus’ death and (supposed) resurrection. The nature of the dispute — known as the Quartodeciman dispute — is a little alien to secular perspectives, but it’s still good evidence that Easter was being celebrated at the time.
(The English name Easter, of course, came later: the Latin name was Pascha, and most modern languages other than English, German, and Slavic languages call it something related to that.)
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Easter-holiday/Liturgical-observances
Basically, only English speaking people call it this.
https://familychristmasonline.com/other_holidays/easter/easter_holiday_timeline.htm
https://www.jstor.org/stable/1253567
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2752/175169708X329372
https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2016/03/easter-bunny/
https://familychristmasonline.com/other_holidays/easter/eostre_faq.htm
https://familychristmasonline.com/other_holidays/easter/easter_chronology.htm
https://familychristmasonline.com/other_holidays/easter/grimm.htm
https://familychristmasonline.com/other_holidays/easter/gregory.htm
https://biblepaedia.wordpress.com/2012/03/21/the-real-source-of-easter/
https://familychristmasonline.com/other_holidays/easter/easter_bunny.htm
https://archive.org/details/handbookofchrist0000weis/page/214/mode/2up
https://steadfastlutherans.org/2014/04/redeeming-holy-days-from-pagan-lies-easter-2-2/
https://diatheke.blogspot.com/2012/12/redeeming-holy-days-from-pagan-lies_1.html
https://diatheke.blogspot.com/p/christianity-and-paganism.html
https://www.goarch.org/-/the-origins-of-pascha-and-great-week
https://factcheck.afp.com/easter-not-derived-name-ancient-mesopotamian-goddess
Conditionally, Eostre had no direct link to the Equinox. Her month, Eosturmonath, was April – but the Equinox occurs in March, which was the month dedicated to Hretha. While we have no information on Hretha, her name translates to something like “glory,” or perhaps “victory.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AV3L2AtZUP4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMMJ00nPze0
https://www.ucg.org/good-news/why-the-early-church-observed-the-biblical-festivals
Galatians 2:11–21 Paul Rebukes Cephas (Peter): How to Confront Another Christian
https://www.reddit.com/r/Reformed/comments/f1ii2i/did_the_early_church_fathers_celebrate_christmas/
http://dec25th.info/
https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/97853/did-ancient-roman-christians-celebrate-any-roman-national-holidays
http://seriouschristian.org/artlcles/how-we-got-christmas.html
https://www.gotquestions.org/Christian-holidays.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentecost
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2752/175169708X329372?journalCode=rtam20
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Christmas
But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain.
◄ Colossians 2:16 ►
New International Version
Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.
New Living Translation
So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths.
Charlemagne
Much more lasting than the ephemeral month names of the post-Augustan Roman emperors were the Old High German names introduced by Charlemagne. According to his biographer, Einhard, Charlemagne renamed all of the months agriculturally in German.[71] These names were used until the 15th century, over 700 years after his rule, and continued, with some modifications, to be used as “traditional” month names until the late 18th century. The names (January to December) were: Wintarmanoth (“winter month”), Hornung,[note 3] Lentzinmanoth (“spring month”, “Lent month”), Ostarmanoth (“Easter month”), Wonnemanoth (“joy-month”, a corruption of Winnimanoth “pasture-month”), Brachmanoth (“fallow-month”), Heuuimanoth (“hay month”), Aranmanoth (“reaping month”), Witumanoth (“wood month”), Windumemanoth (“vintage month”), Herbistmanoth (“harvest month”), and Heilagmanoth (“holy month”).
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