Easter Customs….
n“The early church fathers were also careful to emphasize that Christian holidays should be very unlike pagan holidays. They were to be characterized by solemnity and decorum, in sharp contrast to the riotousness of pagan celebrations... Even more important to these early writers was that Christians stay away from pagan celebrations themselves, disobedience of which seems to have been a rather common occurance... Despite this early concern about paganism infiltrating Christianity, it seems that Christians began to develop a different perspective on the matter of pagan holidays. Rather than seen as a threat to Christianity, pagan holidays and customs came to be viewed as a way to encourage and ease conversion to Christianity.”

- History of Christian Holidays.                           (http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/holidays/history.htm)