Easter: Also Pagan in Origin

Unfortunately I'm at work so I won't go into intense detail about the history of Easter or other Christian holidays that have their origins in pagan festivals/holidays. Also, as a disclaimer, I'd like to say that I'm not religious. But I was raised in the Christian church and I love history, so I like to study this stuff.

Ooh, and "Pagan" is not synonymous with "Satanic". Please stop listening to the zealots who tell you that if it's not "of God", then it must be of Satan.

Anyway, Easter. Easter gets its name from the Germanic goddess Eostre (also Eastre or Ôstarâ). During an old Scandinavian (Germanic? Same thing?) festival the heralding of spring by Eostre was celebrated. Not going to go into the particulars of the festivities, but it was believed that every year spring was brought by Eostre and that she must be kept happy in orer to ensure that she would return.

The celebrations were held on and around the vernal equinox (March 21st). Today in Western Christianity Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. Eastern Christians link Easter more closely to the Jewish feast of Passover (Biblical history places Jesus' crucifiction and resurrection during Passover) and so place its date according to the observation of Passover.

While much of the history surrounding Eostre and her feast(s) are not written in stone, it is generally accepted that her animal was the hare and that she also was linked to the egg. Eggs in many culture represent fertility or new birth (both also ideas connected to spring). The hare and egg symbolism was carried over to the Christian anniversary and remain so today. Some Christians have adopted the egg and changed its meaning to represent the tomb Christ was buried in or to symbolize the rolling away of the rock at the tomb's entrance.

Just a skim. My friend is pressuring me to go to lunch with her now so I can't get into too much detail.

Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and the Damned | Screenshots!

In 2008, Rockstar was in danger of being no more or worse: sold into the hands of a someone other than Take Two, its parent company. Take Two had some financial issues and for most of 2008 was pretty close to being the subject of a hostile takeover by EA (insert "ugh" here). Microsoft saw an opportunity to steal even more gamers from the Playstation camp (I'll admit I jumped ship) and struck a deal with the Rockstar guys: they would grant Rockstar a $50 million loan to help them make the most expensive game ever ($100 million) if the next GTA installation included two downloadeable expansions exclusive to Xbox 360. The Grand Theft Auto series got its fame on the PS2 but money talks. The deal was made and Rockstar/Take Two got the money needed to keep their place as the gods of console violence for the new millenium.

The first episode is here...well...almost. It'll be available to download via Xbox Live on February 17th and I'll be ready to send it through my broadband connection and into my box on the 18th (I'm teaching myself patience). No word on pricing or file size yet. But do I care? No. I'm setting myself up with an Xbox Live membership (finally...), a hard drive, and some HDMI cables in preparation. You'll be playing as Johnny Klebitz, a member of The Lost biker gang from GTA IV. To continue random acts of violence on innocent bystanders--I mean for more new missions with purpose and no casualties you need an Xbox 360, Grand Theft Auto IV, and an Xbox Live membership.

One issue: I haven't been able to decently handle a chopper in any GTA game during a chase. But how am I gonna look as a biker gangster in a two seater coupe?