nPostednon April 20, 2014
n
n
n
n
n
nAsnI have mentioned in earlier posts, like this one, and this other one, and this third one, Easter is a Christiannholiday that celebrates the tradition that Jesus died and wasnresurrected just after the Jewish holiday of the Passover. I’ve alsonmentioned that the holiday is celebrated with spring-and-fertilitynsymbols such as bunnies and eggs. But I haven’t yet explained thenname for the holiday, Easter.
n
n
n
n
Mostnhistorians think that Easter got its name from Eostre or Ostara, anGermanic pagan goddess. How did a Christian holiday get named for anpagan goddess?n
n
n
nBacknin the day, the Romans conquered vast territories and managed to rulenan empire for hundreds and hundreds of years. We’re talking more thanntwo million square miles (more than six million square kilometers) ofnlands in Africa, Asia, and Europe. How did the Romans hold on to sonmuch land and so many people?
n
n
n
n
n
n
nThenRomans were pretty smart about allowing people to keep their belovedncustoms and beliefs. Instead of trying to foist their own gods andnholidays on people, the Romans tended to absorb the gods andngoddesses from every other religion into their own, and they oftennintegrated the holidays of others’ with their own celebrations. Whennthe Roman Empire became Christian, the Roman Catholic Churchncontinued to absorb everybody else’s customs—but of course modifiednthem with Christian characters and meanings.
n
n
n
nInnlanguages other than German and English, the holiday we Englishnspeakers call Easter (and German speakers call Ostern) isnderived from the Latin word for Easter, which is Pascha. Andnthat, in turn, is derived from the Hebrew word Pesach, whichnmeans Passover. Here is the name of Easter in some other languages:
n
n Spanishn– Pascua
n
nItaliann– Pasqua
n
nFrenchn– Paques
n
nDutchn– Pasen
n
nDanishn– Paaske
n
nBulgariann– Paskha
n
nSwedishn– Pask
n
nIcelandicn– Paskar
n
n
n
n
Whynwould Easter have a name unrelated to all these other names innEngland and Germany? Perhaps it’s because Eostre (Ostara) was alreadynbeing celebrated in those places during the time of the year of thenChristian celebration of Jesus’s death and resurrection—so in thentypical Roman fashion, the pagan holiday became absorbed andnmodified.n
n
n
nAnothernthing to notice is that Easter is related to the word eastn(and the German Ostern is related to the German word for east,nosten). What does the holiday, or the goddess Eostre, have tondo with the direction east?
n
n
n
nIfnyou think about it, no matter where you are in the world, “east”nis defined as the direction of the dawn, of sun up. So it is thendirection of the rebirth of day, the resurrection of the sun (whennviewed with an ancient lens). It makes some sense to name a goddessnof fertility and birth with a word connected to dawn and rebirth.
n
n
n
nAccordingnto Jacob Grimm (yes, he was one of the Grimm Brothers), Eostre wasnthe goddess of “radiant dawn, of upspringing light,” and ofnspringtime resurrection and rebirth. In many places in the world, innthe spring, the land seems to come back to life after being dead andnbare during the winter months. Leaves give forth new leaves, flowersnbloom, grasses sprout, and in many cases new babies are born. Eggsnand bunnies are obvious tie-ins to this springtime / fertility motif.
n
n
n
n
nAlsonon this date:
n
n
n
n
n
nAnniversarynof the demonstration of the first American electron microscope
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nAnniversarynof the start of Jacques Cartier’s Voyage of Discovery
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nDetectivenStory Day
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nInternational Dark Sky Week begins (April 20 – 26)
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nPlannahead:
n
n
n
nChecknout my Pinterest boards for:
n
n
-
nApriln holidays
n
n
-
n
n
-
n
n
n
nAndnhere are my Pinterest boards for:
n
n
Mostnhistorians think that Easter got its name from Eostre or Ostara, anGermanic pagan goddess. How did a Christian holiday get named for anpagan goddess?
Whynwould Easter have a name unrelated to all these other names innEngland and Germany? Perhaps it’s because Eostre (Ostara) was alreadynbeing celebrated in those places during the time of the year of thenChristian celebration of Jesus’s death and resurrection—so in thentypical Roman fashion, the pagan holiday became absorbed andnmodified.
