Unfortunately I'm at work so I won't go into intense detail about the history of Easter or other Christian holidays that have their origins in pagan festivals/holidays. Also, as a disclaimer, I'd like to say that I'm not religious. But I was raised in the Christian church and I love history, so I like to study this stuff.
Ooh, and "Pagan" is not synonymous with "Satanic". Please stop listening to the zealots who tell you that if it's not "of God", then it must be of Satan.
Anyway, Easter. Easter gets its name from the Germanic goddess Eostre (also Eastre or Ôstarâ). During an old Scandinavian (Germanic? Same thing?) festival the heralding of spring by Eostre was celebrated. Not going to go into the particulars of the festivities, but it was believed that every year spring was brought by Eostre and that she must be kept happy in orer to ensure that she would return.
The celebrations were held on and around the vernal equinox (March 21st). Today in Western Christianity Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. Eastern Christians link Easter more closely to the Jewish feast of Passover (Biblical history places Jesus' crucifiction and resurrection during Passover) and so place its date according to the observation of Passover.
While much of the history surrounding Eostre and her feast(s) are not written in stone, it is generally accepted that her animal was the hare and that she also was linked to the egg. Eggs in many culture represent fertility or new birth (both also ideas connected to spring). The hare and egg symbolism was carried over to the Christian anniversary and remain so today. Some Christians have adopted the egg and changed its meaning to represent the tomb Christ was buried in or to symbolize the rolling away of the rock at the tomb's entrance.
Just a skim. My friend is pressuring me to go to lunch with her now so I can't get into too much detail.
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3 comments:
If that is the case, when exactly did Easter go from being widely accepted as a pagan holiday to being recognize as the commemoration of Christ's resurrection?
There's no exact date, but the earliest (still existing) known reference to the holiday is a Paschal homily by Melito of Sardis (mighta spelled Melito wrong) in the mid-2nd century. It was called the "Peri Pascha" ("Homily of the Pascha" or "On the Passover"). It is believed that by that time it was a well-established celebration.
It was most likely a very gradual change. The early church spread in conjunction with the Roman Empire. It wasn't uncommon practice for church leadership to keep the dates of traditional holidays for locals when they were assimilated into the Roman republic. This helped keep peace and to make them feel as if they weren't being forced out of their culture. They simply changed the reason for celebration and gradually the original celebration was forgotten.
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