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In the European calendar, Easter ranks second only to Christmas for displays of religious piety when even the voracious profit driven capitalist merchants shut up shop for the day (except for online trading). The faithful cry in unison “HE IS RISEN” as a testament to the divine nature of the son of God – Jesus Christ, who rose again after being crucified on “Good Friday.”
However, similar to Xmas with Santa Claus and Xmas trees, a plethora of symbols like Easter eggs, bunnies and buns are now intricately linked to the observance. For increasing numbers such associations bring into question the authenticity of the whole affair.
Notwithstanding basic queries about the veracity of the historical Jesus, a number of historians (e.g. Ishakamusa Barashango, Anthony T Browder) have brought to light historical evidence that the Easter myth is just that a myth – or at best a metaphor. This means that what Christians are compelled to regard as literal incontrovertible truth are in reality symbolic representations of celestial phenomena.
These phenomena, observed and charted by ancient Afrikan sages are linked seasonal occurrences like the winter solstice (Xmas) and spring equinox (Easter). These were then explained through dramatic devices such as the Ausar-Ausetian Drama that depicts ‘crucifixion’ of Ausar (The Lord of the Perfect Black) and his ‘resurrection’ through the agency of his queen Auset. The drama itself symbolising, among other things, the triumph of good over evil.
In spite of the sound historical trajectory, Afrikan-Centered scholars tend to focus less time proselyting the facts of the drama than highlighting the moral, spiritual and astrological heights that our Ancestors attained, “before the first European wore a shoe or lived in a house that had a window” to quote Grand Master Teacher Baba John Henrik Clarke.
It is interesting to note that every December, there many that question authenticity of Kwanzaa, in spite of the avowedly symbolic (i.e. not literal) nature of its motifs.
So we ask the question:
Is Easter a real or made up holiday?
1. Why is “good Friday” so-called?
2. How did egg, bunnies and buns become so central to Easter?
3. What is the relationship of Easter to the Spring Equinox?
4. Have you ever heard of the Ausar-Ausetian Drama?
5. By what process did those without “shoes” and “windows” come to dominate our spiritual landscape?
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