>>6286626 (lb)
>Some interesting connections: Baal, Astarte or Ashtaroth, ishtar, and Satan.
The Easter=Ishtar meme was popularized by Alexander Hislop who wrote a book called The Two Babylons in the 1700s as a screed against the Catholic Church. You'll probably recognize a few of the arguments made.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Two_Babylons
https://web.archive.org/web/20051126213913/http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/1999/9911chap.asp
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/anthropology-in-practice/beyond-ishtar-the-tradition-of-eggs-at-easter/
There is evidence to suggest that Easter actually comes from a celebration of a old Germanic goddess Eostre, although that claim has its detractors as well.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ēostre
https://hubpages.com/education/ostre-Germanic-Goddess-or-Bedes-Invention
>>6286657 (lb)
>It's as if they want to be blatantly obvious. What purpose does that serve? Seems stupid to me.
I think they're trying to monopolize on the confusion surrounding the origins of the holiday and subvert it to their own ends. There's enough theories & disinformation out there freely available on the internet to plant a seed of discord & doubt without too much effort on their part.
Remember their goal is to attack the faith. Since the faith of many is grounded in tradition, if they can take out the tradition, then faith has no ground to stand on. Or so they think.
Don't think they expected the pushback though.