Easter Although Easter is a holiday deeply rooted in the Christian faith- many of it’s customs come more from the Pagan and Hebrew faiths. In this article, I will deal with the traditions and history of Easter, not necessarily the religious aspects. The Easter celebration owes it’s origin to the Teutonic mythology. The name “Easter” comes from Ēostre (or Eastre), the Pagan Goddess of Spring and Fertility. She is also the historical root of the modern day “Mother Nature”. After a long, cold winter- things started to warm up- flowers started to bloom, Mother Nature was slowly bringing everything back to life- food started being more readily available. The Pagans thanked Ēostre by holding a big festival in her honor on the Vernal Equinox. When the early Christian missionaries encountered these Pagan people, they attempted to convert them to Christianity. The missionaries spread their religious message slowly throughout the populations by allowing the ancient Pagan tribes to continue celebrating their pagan feasts, like Ēostre, but in a more Christian manner. Coincidently, the Festival of Ēostre occurred at the same time of year as the Christian observance of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. It made sense to just alter the festival itself, to make it a Christian celebration as the Pagans were slowly won over. So why is Easter celebrated on a different day every year? Easter can fall on any Sunday between March 21 and April 25. There had been dispute over the exact date of the Easter observance between the Eastern and Western Churches. The East wanted to have it on a weekday because early Christians observed Passover every year on the 14th of Nisan, the month based on the lunar calendar. The West said Easter should always be a Sunday regardless of the date. To solve this problem, Emperor Constantine called the Council of Nicaea in the year 325 AD. The council declared that Easter will fall every year on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the Spring Equinox (March 21).

Bunnies, Painted Eggs and Baskets? Eggs: At the Passover Seder, a hard-boiled egg dipped in salt water symbolizes both new life and the Passover sacrifice offered at the Temple in Jerusalem. The ancient Persians painted eggs for Nowrooz, their New Year celebration falling on the Spring Equinox. Bunnies: Technically it’s not the Easter Bunny, but the Easter Hare. Going back to Ēostre, the Pagan Goddess of Spring and Fertility- guess what her earthly symbol was? A hare- a very fertile animal. The ancient Pagans also decorated eggs and gave them to Ēostre as gifts. They put the eggs in a basket lined with grass, made to look like a rabbit’s nest. Today we continue this tradition by putting our fancy painted Persian eggs into a rabbit’s nest basket lined with fake plastic grass. On Easter Sunday Christian and Pagan beliefs are brought together to signify Resurrection- both of Jesus Christ and the sacrifice he made, and of the renewal of life by Mother Nature. Whatever your reasons are for celebrating- Happy Ēostre!!!

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SPECIAL EDITION - April 12, 2009 Written by : Support Manager Gábor

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