Easter

[Traveler]

Where did the term Easter come from and where in history was it first used?

The Traveler

[lestertheemt]

Easter

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Easter

16th century Russian Orthodox icon of the Descent into Hades of Jesus Christ, which is the usual Orthodox icon for Pascha.

Observed by Most Christians

Type Christian

Significance Celebrates the resurrection of Jesus

2009 date April 12 (Western)

April 19 (Eastern)

2010 date April 4 (both Western and Eastern)

Celebrations Religious (church) services, festive family meals, Easter egg hunts, and gift-giving (latter two, especially in USA and Canada)

Observances Prayer, all-night vigil (almost exclusively Eastern traditions), sunrise service (especially American Protestant traditions)

Related to Passover, of which it is regarded the Christian equivalent; Septuagesima, Sexagesima, Quinquagesima, Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, Lent, Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday which lead up to Easter; and Ascension, Pentecost, Trinity Sunday, and Corpus Christi which follow it.

Christianity portal

Easter (Greek: Πάσχα, Ethiopic: ፍሲካ, Pascha) is the most important annual religious feast in the Christian liturgical year.[1] According to Christian scripture, Jesus was resurrected from the dead three days[2] after his crucifixion. Christians celebrate this resurrection on Easter Day or Easter Sunday[3] (also Resurrection Day or Resurrection Sunday), two days after Good Friday and three days after Maundy Thursday. The chronology of his death and resurrection is variously interpreted to be between A.D. 26 and 36. Easter also refers to the season of the church year called Eastertide or the Easter Season. Traditionally the Easter Season lasted for the forty days from Easter Day until Ascension Day but now officially lasts for the fifty days until Pentecost. The first week of the Easter Season is known as Easter Week or the Octave of Easter. Easter also marks the end of Lent, a season of fasting, prayer, and penance.

Easter is a moveable feast, meaning it is not fixed in relation to the civil calendar. Easter falls at some point between late March and late April each year (early April to early May in Eastern Christianity), following the cycle of the Moon. After several centuries of disagreement, all churches accepted the computation of the Alexandrian Church (now the Coptic Church) that Easter is the first Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon, which is the first moon whose 14th day (the ecclesiastic "full moon") is on or after March 21 (the ecclesiastic "vernal equinox").

Easter is linked to the Jewish Passover not only for much of its symbolism but also for its position in the calendar.

Cultural elements, such as the Easter Bunny and Easter egg hunts, have become part of the holiday's modern celebrations, and those aspects are often celebrated by many Christians and non-Christians alike.

[Guest HEthePrimate]

Where did the term Easter come from and where in history was it first used?

The Traveler

From the same Wikipedia article cited by LestertheMT:

The modern English term Easter developed from Old English word Ēastre or Ēostre or Eoaster, which itself developed prior to 899. The name refers to Eostur-monath, a month of the Germanic calendar attested by Bede as named after the goddess Ēostre of Anglo-Saxon paganism.[8] Bede notes that Eostur-monath was the equivalent to the month of April, and that feasts held her in honor during Ēostur-monath had died out by the time of his writing, replaced with the Christian custom of Easter.[9] Using comparative linguistic evidence from continental Germanic sources, the 19th century scholar Jacob Grimm proposed the existence of an equivalent form of Eostre among the pre-Christian beliefs of the continental Germanic peoples, whose name he reconstructed as *Ostara.

The implications of the goddess have resulted in scholarly theories about whether or not Eostre is an invention of Bede, theories connecting Eostre with records of Germanic folk custom (including hares and eggs), and as descendant of the Proto-Indo-European goddess of the dawn through the etymology of her name. Grimm's reconstructed *Ostara has had some influence in modern popular culture. Modern German has Ostern, but otherwise, Germanic languages have generally borrowed the form pascha, see below.

Rabbits and eggs were symbols of the Goddess Eostre, representing (for obvious reasons!) fertility. Seems logical given that at this time of year, the earth seems to be springing back to life, and the ancient pagans were probably also hoping that the crops that were starting to grow would bear much fruit. :)

HEP

Edited April 13, 2009 by HEthePrimate

[Moksha]

Perhaps when we contemplate Easter Eggs, we might also think toward Mithra Mints and Beltane Milky Way Bars.

So many groups share this time of year. BTW, Passover this year was April 8th.

[daenvgiell]

I thought we used eggs to represent new life

[Hemidakota]

To add to the Wiki Gospel, from Improvement Era, 1930

Easter Symbols and Customs

By L.D. STEARNS

EASTER—anciently termed the "Festival of Flowers"—is the sacred festival of Spring. The name Easter came, originally from Eostre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring, who was also worshipped as a personification of the East, where sunrise appears, bringing in the new day. It was thought that spring vegetation, of every form, was subject to her will.

In some localities the festival is ushered in at daybreak by trumpets from the church towers; in other places, pealing bells ring out the triumphant message of good cheer.

UNTIL quite recently, in some parts of northern England, men and boys went about on Easter Monday, each carrying a decorated chair. Placing within it any girl they chanced to meet, they held it high above their heads until she either paid a forfeit of sixpence, or gave a kiss to the lifter. The program was reversed on Tuesday, the women and girls then going about lifting the men.

In olden days the hare was a symbol of the moon, and since the Egyptian word "un" had the three meanings—hare, period and open—all these words gradually became associated with springtime and Easter, which was quite natural, considering the fact that the exact time of the Easter celebration depends upon the moon.

ACCORDING to an old fable an exceedingly beautiful snow-white hare slipped into houses after midnight at this time, and left numerous colored eggs about.

The egg, always typical of newbirth and creation, was used by our forefathers to represent the revival of life at the vernal equinox. It became immediately connected with the re-birth, or resurrection, of Christ, and the two—the hare and the egg—became, quite as a matter of course, twin Easter symbols. The earliest eggs were always colored red, symbolizing the blood of Christ.

IN our own country the giving of eggs is confined mostly to children; but in some of the other countries it has come to mean the giving of beautiful and very expensive gifts among adults. Slav women are particularly noted for decorating the egg more beautifully than those of any other nation although the French eggs are wonderfully clever and beautiful, being sometimes composed of expensive materials, as silver or mother-of-pearl, and holding gifts of jewelry or money.

An interesting story is told concerning an Easter egg on exhibition at the Berlin Museum. The egg which was fastened into an iron case, or shell, was said to have been sent by a prince to a beautiful princess. Upon being opened a silver lining was revealed, in which was set a secret spring, which upon being pressed, opened to a golden yolk. A second spring opened this yolk, disclosing a crown of flaming rubies. Touching still another spring, the jeweled crown dropped an exquisite diamond ring—the pledge of the young prince's affection—into the lap of the princess.

THE old Druids, far back in ancient times, were accustomed to stain eggs with wild blossoms and roots and present them to neighbors to bring sun, and insure goodluck with the crops. Kernels of grain were also used as symbolizing creation, or re-birth, at this season.

In our own country the lily is symbolic of Easter, and churches at this period, are largely adorned with it. Many are sent as Easter gifts to hospitals and homes and given to friends.

A MOST peculiar Easter custom has long been in vogue—and is still continued—in Hallaton, England, known as the "Hare-Pie Festival." An immense hare-pie is made for the occasion and taken to the church, to which a procession, led by a brass band, repairs, after having marched through the principal streets of the town. Assisted by two or three other officials, the rector cuts this pie and the pieces are scrambled for down a steep bank, known as Hare-Bank. It is considered lucky to secure the largest piece. A banquet in the village follows this ceremony.

In Scotland, it was anciently believed that the sun rose with a whirling motion on Easter morning, thus showing its exceeding great joy.

A great deal of superstition was attached to the weather on this day, an old folklore song running—

"A good deal of rain on Easter day, Gives a crop of good grass, but little good hay."

If the sun shone on Easter morning it was claimed it would shine a little, at least, during every day throughout the year.

Many people do not know the rule which determines the time of Easter celebration, which sometimes comes in March, and sometimes in April, but always with this difference: it never occurs two consecutive years in March, while it may come in April several successive years. It always comes upon the first Sunday after the first full moon after the twenty-first of March. In addition to its spiritual significance, Easter is the time when, by general consent, Mistress Fashion makes her bow to the world.

Although not generally known, Florida received its name from the fact that Ponce de Leon, searching for the fountain of perpetual youth, landed there on Easter Sunday—the Spanish name for which is Pascua Florida—in 1512.

[Traveler]

Could we say that the use of the term “Easter” as the designation of a most sacred religious holiday among Christians is an indication of the paganization of traditional Christianity?

The Traveler

[Guest HEthePrimate]

Could we say that the use of the term “Easter” as the designation of a most sacred religious holiday among Christians is an indication of the paganization of traditional Christianity?

The Traveler

Sort of. Historically, the Christian church had a difficult time "rooting out" the old (and popular) pagan festivals. In a compromise, the Church decided to let people continue their traditional festivals and customs, but tried to give new, Christian, meanings to them. For example, the pagan winter solstice festival Yule was "Christianized" as a celebration of Jesus' birthday. The logic was that Yule celebrated the "rebirth" of the sun (the days were just starting to get longer again), and so it made sense to make this about the birth of Jesus.

Likewise, the pagan goddess Brighid was transformed into a Christian saint, St. Bridget. The celebration of the fertility goddess Eostre became associated with Christ's resurrection (the world was being infused with new life in the springtime). Even Samhain was turned into a Christian holiday, as the eve of All Saints' Day, Hallowe'en.

Guess the Catholics took a "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" philosophy, but tried to make the best of the situation by changing the meaning while retaining some of peoples' favorite customs.

HEP