Happy Easter everyone! (or should that be 'Eostre'?)

[Gandalf]

How many people know that most of what we associate with the Easter celebrations is actually pagan? (much like halloween and christmas).

The name has two main origins. The 8th century anglo-saxon monk Bede says the name, and the festival comes from the anglo-saxon/germanic fertility goddess 'Eostre' or 'Ostra' who was celebrated at the Spring Equinox to celebrate the growth of spring and fertility.

Many of our Easter customs formed part of the festivities attributed to Eostre. including the 'March Hare' or rabbits, ancient symbols of fertility (later to become the 'easter bunny' in the US), 'hot cross buns', coming from the tradition of baking cakes and buns to honour coming fertility and abundance of Eostre. And painting eggs with bright colours, as eggs were ancient symbols of rebirth, fertility and the coming spring. The painting of them with bright colours celebrated the anticipation of the new colours of spring and the flowering plants. These were given to people as gifts or used in games, such as rolling or hiding the eggs.

However, besided the anglo-saxon origin, the Equinox festival and variations of it were celebrated throughout the ancient world and go back much further than the anglo-saxon goddess 'Eostre', who was but the latest incarnation.

In fact, all these traditions got back further to the ancient near-east such as at Babylon, and the spring rites of the goddess Ishtar (whose name was pronounced 'easter' as we say it!).

She was born in a giant cosmic egg which fell into the Euphrates, therby signalling the coming of Spring. Again, rabbits, baked buns and painted eggs formed  a large part of the festivities.
Later with the cult of the Great Mother, an eastern goddess who became popular in Rome from the 2nd century BC, she had a male consort called Attis, who was born of a virgin and represented vegetation. He was symbolically killed during the equinox festival, on what we call 'black Friday' and ressurected three days later, representing the renewal of Spring... sound familiar?

The reason these pagan festivals survive in Christian guise is due to the fact that these pagan festivities were far too popular to ban so the early christian leaders, in a stroke of genius, decided that instead of banning them, the answer was to incorporate them! That way people could carry on with celebrating their ancient rites but the christian leaders could incorporate them into the christian message and alter their meaning so as to have christian significance. eg the egg rolling becomes the stone being rolled away from the tomb of christ and so on.

However, although this makes perfect sense in my opinon, and i dont know why pagan festivals cannot be reinterpreted to convey christian meanings, some churches in the US have started a campaign to remove all the fun stuff in easter, ie the bunnies and eggs and even to ditch the name 'Easter'.. they dont like the Eostre/Ishtar origin; They want to call it 'Ressurection Day' instead...

A bit extreme in my opinion!
Anyway, as I am not Christian and therefore enjoy the ancent pagan origins, I am quite happy to celebrate the coming of Spring with eggs and easter bunnies... the celebration of the coming Spring means a lot more to me personally than any grafted on christian message. Each to their own!

Doug

PS I wonder what the anglo-saxon goddess would have thought about *chocolate* eggs though!.... I don't think she'd mind, after all, most women love chocolate!

[chohan]

PS I wonder what the anglo-saxon goddess would have thought about *chocolate* eggs though!.... I don't think she'd mind, after all, most women love chocolate!

I can't speak for the women but the thing I enjoy most about Easter are the chocolate Cadbury Creme Eggs. Perhaps Eostre would approve.

Happy Spring Equinox,
cho

[Leannain]

nice information.

thing I enjoy most about Easter  are the holidays

[You]

I prefer Ishtar, Babylonion goddess of love and war. Easter is the celebration of the rebirth of Tammuz, god of the soil, and consort to Ishtar, not Jesus

[Gandalf]

i already mentioned Ishtar, as well as Eostre, the anglo-saxon goddess of spring and fertility, as I have just being saying Tyciol. Do you not read other's posts?

Doug