Easter: Another Pagan Holiday

This evening I found myself curious about the origins of the holiday Easter.  Like most people, I was aware of the religious significance and its association with the resurrection of Jesus, but I did not understand all of the little extras we have added over the centuries.  I could not make a connection between the resurrection of a Messiah and a bunny rabbit, not to mention the brightly colored eggs, the hot cross buns, the sunrise services, and the baked hams.
Well, I have found the best way to learn about a subject is to do the research and see what pans out.  I was surprised at some of the facts I dug up, facts which were reinforced time and again with each query I made.
The ancients tended to invent their own gods to explain forces that were beyond their comprehension or  control.  These were of course the forces of nature; the sun, the moon, and the seasons.
The very name Easter is derived from several different names (estre, eastre) for a prehistoric pagan spring festival celebrated with a feast at the spring equinox, and also for names of goddesses (Eastre, Ishtar) of dawn and heaven.  Oh yes, the word estrogen is derived from these same names, so the overtones of fertility are indeed evident.  
The traditional sunrise service is in fact a holdover from the sun worshippers, who would gather at the spring equinox to witness the rebirth of the sun, which they believed died annually and made sacrificial offerings to so that the coming year would be a bountiful one.
The rabbit has long been a symbol of fertility, and rabbits were sacrificed to the pagan goddess Ishtar, which is pronounced exactly like Easter, in her honor.
Eggs also are a symbol of fertility and rebirth.  The goddess Astarte (Syrian for Ishtar) was believed to have hatched from a huge egg that dropped from the sky into the Euphrates river.  When Astarte's (Ishtar's) husband Bel, or Baal, (Tammuzz) died, the people were ordered to mourn and fast for forty days, abstaining from meat and eggs, which were considered sacred to the goddess.  From this fable comes the traditional observance of Lent.
Turns out the serving of the traditional baked ham is a vestige of the ancient practice of sacrificing a pig to the pagan goddess.  
The followers of Ishtar also made cakes for the Queen of Heaven, decorated with a cross, a symbol that represented life in Egyptian hieroglyphics.  Today we have Hot Cross Buns.
So, we have yet another modern holiday that has risen from prehistoric times as a pagan ritual, been blended with Judaism and Christianity, and practiced generation after generation until none of us really know why we do it anymore.  We follow without question, going through the motions and providing ample opportunity for the retail industry to free us of our hard earned income so that we might decorate our homes and places of business with tacky, tasteless collateral to commemorate another holiday that has lost its meaning.
For some great facts on this ancient pagan observance, check out the following links:
http://www.mmcg.org/articles/easterdeception.htm
http://www.st-athanasius.org/pi_logos/4_2000_18.htm
http://www.ynca.com/Mini Studies/The Counterfeit Called Easter.htm