Easter is the Christian celebration of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
The word "Easter" comes from the name of the pagan goddess, Eastre,
meaning "spring". Eastre represented motherhood, fertility and new life to Saxons
in Northern Europe. For this reason, some Christians do not use the name "Easter"
preferring instead to say "Resurrection Day". In Europe, many Christians refer to the day as Pasch, which is derived from the Hebrew Pesach, meaning Passover.
Two hundred years before Jesus, worshippers of the Great Mother, who was called by many different names, began to observe the worship of another pagan god named Tammuz. Tammuz was said to be the lover of Eastre. Their followers were mainly found in the Vatican hill area of Rome.
They believed that Tammuz was born of a virgin, died, and resurrected every year. The observance of his death and resurrection correlated with the coming of spring. It began with a day of blood called Black Friday, and ended three days later with a time of rejoicing over the resurrection of Tammuz.
During the spring celebrations honoring these false gods, EASTER EGGS were first given as gifts. Eggs represent fertility, and they were brightly colored to represent sunshine. BUNNIES were also a symbol of fertility.
Some have speculated that as the Biblical Passover is also in the spring, and was celebrated by early Christians in remembrance of Jesus, the pagan and holy celebrations became intertwined. The Great Mother became The Virgin Mary. Black Friday became Good Friday, and Tammuz became Jesus. This is somewhat supported by the fact that there are not three days between "Good Friday" and Easter Sunday, yet we know that Jesus was buried for three full days. See Subtracting Tradition to Equal Truth.
Early Christians, who were primarily Jewish, celebrated the resurrection of Jesus during the Passover celebration. Passover, however, moves around during the week. Passover always begins the 15th of Nissan on the Hebrew calendar, and can land on any day of the week. Many early Christians wanted to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus on the first day of the week, because it was on the first day of the week that Jesus rose from the dead. In 325 AD, the Catholic church decided to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus on the first Sunday after the first full moon of Spring.
Copyright 1998, 2008 Kathryn A. Frazier. Contact author for reprint information.
