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Easter

Lady making traditional decorated eggs in the Bukovina Region of Romania. Source: Matthew / Adobe Stock.

Eggsquisite Art: Romania’s Stunning Traditional Craft of Egg Painting

The small village of Ciocăneşti in Romania is known for its elaborate motifs that adorn its buildings, and these designs are reflected in the decorated eggs. The art of egg painting has elevated the...
Easter table decoration. Source: Viktoriia / Adobe Stock.

History of the Holidays: Easter (Video)

Easter is the holiest day on the Christian calendar, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. However, despite being a Christian holiday, the history of Easter has pagan and Jewish roots. The...
Pagan ritual. Source: Justinas / Adobe Stock.

Uncomfortable Truth: The Dark Origins of Easter? (Video)

The story of Easter is one that is steeped in tradition and has become one of the most celebrated holidays in the Christian calendar. However, many people are unaware of the pagan roots of this...
Jesus on the cross. Source: ImagineDesign / Adobe Stock.

The Crucifixion Gap: Why it Took Hundreds of Years for Art to Depict Jesus on the Cross

The cross , or crucifix, is arguably the central image of Christianity. What’s the difference between the two? A cross is just that - an empty cross. It stands as a statement that Jesus is no longer...
Easter egg and rabbit. Source: Milenko / Adobe Stock.

Easter Rebirth: How Rabbits and Eggs Came to Symbolize New Life (Video)

The Easter holiday, known for its themes of resurrection and rebirth, has a history that dates back thousands of years. One of the most recognizable symbols of Easter is the rabbit , which was a...
Bologna, San Petronio: Meridian of Giandomenico Cassini

Synchronizing Science and Religion? Why We Find Solar Observatories and Astronomical Features in Churches

It is often assumed that science and faith are always at loggerheads with each other. This, however, is a common misconception, as there are numerous instances demonstrating the co-existence and co-...
Hares and chickens were revered during the Iron Age. Source: Uros Petrovic / Adobe Stock.

Curious Reverence of the Chicken and the Hare by Iron Age Brits

New archaeological research demonstrates brown hares and chickens held godly status in Iron Age Britain . We invite you to tumble down the rabbit hole and learn about a new archaeological analysis...
Spring Goddess

The Ancient Pagan Origins of Easter

Easter is a festival and holiday celebrated by millions of people around the world who honor the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred three days...
One of the decorated ostrich eggs used in the study.  Source: Tamar Hodos et al. / Antiquity Publications Ltd

Scientists Unscramble Secrets to World of Ancient Ostrich Eggs

An international team of scientists have revealed secrets about the ancient creation skills, trade and economy of decorated ostrich eggs in the Mediterranean and Middle East. Easter is here again and...
On March 29th ancient people sharpened their swords and went to battle under the power of their resurrected sun gods. Source: Oleksandr /Adobe Stock

March 29: When Viking and Christian Sun Gods Drew Swords

Easter corresponds with the first Sunday following the full moon after the March equinox and as such the holy day occurs on different dates around the Christian world. However, the story of the...
Main: Group of Moai monoliths during sunset on Easter Island. Inset: Birdman cult carvings on the back of standing Moai.       Source: Aliaksei & thakala / Adobe stock

Easter Island’s Birdman Cult: A Story of Struggle and Survival

The Pacific Ocean is a world filled with diverse and remote islands, which are the home to some truly unique natives. Many of these islands were discovered comparatively recently in our history, and...
Heavens Gates Opening. Source: Alswart / Adobe.

What and Where is Heaven? The Answers Are at the Heart of the Easter Story

My pious Baptist grandmother once shockingly confessed, at the ripe old age of 93, that she didn’t want to go to heaven. “Why,” we asked? “Well, I think it will be rather boring just sitting around...
US Navy employees receive the sacramental ashes during an Ash Wednesday celebration.

4 things to Know About Ash Wednesday

William Johnston / The Conversation For Christians, the death and resurrection of Jesus is a pivotal event commemorated each year during a season of preparation called Lent and a season of...
Easter procession in Bilbao, Spain

Under the Hoods: The Brotherhoods (and Sisterhoods) of Spain’s Holy Week

“Spain is different!”. Napoleon took this view after his defeat by Spanish guerrilla warfare tactics. Generalissimo Franco’s government later made use of this slogan to promote Spain’s unique appeal...
Forty days in the wilderness: Temptations of Christ, St Mark’s Basilica.

The Surprising Truth About Fasting for Lent

M J C Warren / The Conversation The excesses of the carnival are over, the clean-up completed. And so begins the year’s traditional period of abstinence. Leading up to Christianity’s most holy day,...
An Easter postcard depicting the Easter Bunny.

The Very Strange History of the Easter Bunny

While you’re biting the heads off your chocolate bunnies this weekend, you might wonder how rabbits became so central to our Easter celebrations. It’s tempting to assume that because there’s no...
Easter Island's main diet: Rats

Easter Island Inhabitants Ate Rats as Major Part of Their Diet

New research published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology has revealed that the indigenous population that once inhabited Easter Island, famous for its more than 1,000 ‘walking’ Moai...
The Cataclysm of Easter Island - The Museum in Hanga Roa

The Cataclysm of Easter Island - The Museum in Hanga Roa (Part 6)

Our last stop was the archeological museum in Hanga Roa. Our group made a walk to the museum at the far end of town. We bought our tickets to museum and trailed in to look at the various exhibits in...
Wall of Vinapu, Easter Islands

The Cataclysm of Easter Island - The Megalithic Wall of Vinapu (Part 5)

When Jacques Cousteau came to Easter Island, he performed several important investigations. One was diving around the island searching for statues and other possible artifacts in the ocean. The...
The Cataclysm of Easter Island - Stones Walking

The Cataclysm of Easter Island - Stones Walking (Part 4)

The theory that the statues had been moved to their places by the use of wooden rollers or sleds has some problems: one was that the island is so rocky, it would have been impossible to roll any logs...
The Cataclysm of Easter Island - And the Statures Walked

The Cataclysm of Easter Island - And the Statues Walked… (Part 3)

Easter Island may have been first discovered over 5,000 years ago, though the oldest carbon dating is from about 300 AD. Most sites are near the ocean and would have been washed and destroyed by...
The Cataclysm of Easter Island - The Strange Rongorongo Script

The Cataclysm of Easter Island - The Strange Rongorongo Script (Part 2)

Little is known of this strange script which includes pictographic and geometric shapes; often the figures are of a birdman with his arms and legs in various positions. The script was written in the...
The Cataclysm of Easter Island

The Cataclysm of Easter Island - Part 1

It was on a windy spring morning in February of 2013 that I stepped off the Lan Peru jet onto the runway on Easter Island/Rapa Nui. A group of WEX members and I had boarded the plane in Lima, Peru...