How come Christians eat ham for Easter when Jesus was a Jew?

1. 68

   ptosisposted 8 years ago

   How come Christians eat ham for Easter when Jesus was a Jew?
   
   I would think having lamb or beef would be the choice.  And how did the Easter bunny laying chicken eggs? I know eggs are a symbol of birth and life, but what about the rabbit?   
   
   
   

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2. 82

   tamarawilhiteposted 8 years ago

   Jesus is seen as the fulfillment of the law, allowing you to move beyond the 600+ rules of Kosher living.
   Then you had the arguments between Peter and John on whether you had to follow Jewish customs like circumcision to be Christian - and Peter won in order to gain / maintain gentile converts.
   So they said you keep the monotheism, but kosher dietary laws and sacrifices are no longer required.

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      ptosisposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you for your answer -but what about the Easter Bunny?

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      gmwilliamsposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Great answer!!!

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      tsmogposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Isn't the Easter bunny symbolic for spring arriving and winter has passed? Hop, hop, hop in the meadows new green fields. I dun'no . . .

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      Austinstarposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      The rabbit is the favored animal of Oester, the pagan goddess that is honored by the "Easter" celebration. The eggs are for fertility, another springtime pagan festival. The resurection celebration was added to these pagan rites.

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3. 82

   Harlan Coltposted 8 years ago

   As Tamara explains in her answer Jesus was the fulfillment of the law. I would add to that, that when God is speaking to Peter in a dream he says to him arise, kill and eat. And Peter says not so lord for it is unclean. And the Lord answers back and says, that which I have blessed call thou not common (unclean). So now you have a Christian body fulfilling the law through faith and praying over a nice juicy ham dinner! The bunny? In ancient times, Easter was all about spring rites of fertility. The rabbit is a rapid reproduction machine and thus used as a symbol of fertility. But so we're grapes! - H

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   1. 68

      ptosisposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Jesus offers the Lord’s Supper "on the first day of unleavened bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb" - http://www.catholic.com/magazine/articl … iscrepancy

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   PlainTruthposted 8 years ago

   The simplest answer is that Christians are not Jewish, they are Gentiles, so eating ham is okay to eat at any time of the year. The Jews do not eat ham on Easter (or any other time) as it violates their religious dietary laws. Why ham is the preferred Easter meat is something I can't fully answer other than it is fairly inexpensive and readily available for most people compared to lamb and beef, which are more expensive.
   
   The Easter bunny is a secular symbol, not a Christian symbol, so a rabbit laying (chocolate) eggs makes as much sense as a bunny representing a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. In other words, it only makes sense to the person or advertising agency that came up with it in the first place. This is the same for Santa Clause at Christmas. He is a secular symbol created by an advertising agency to sell more product, and definitely is not a Christian symbol despite people trying to tie him to St. Nicolas of Germany. Neither the Easter bunny or Santa Clause, or the rituals surrounding them, show up anywhere in the Bible.
   
   Hopefully this helps you separate the truth from the secular add-ons for your next Easter or Christmas.

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   1. 82

      Harlan Coltposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Easter is mentioned one time in the Bible - as a pagan holiday!

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5. 55

   peter565posted 8 years ago

   That is such an interesting fact that you have point out. Funny ha?

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