Easter's Pagan Influences

Many, Christians and non-Christians, have wondered why the feast that celebrates Jesus' resurrection is called "Easter."  What does the word mean? Where did the word come from? Why isn't it used in the New Testament? Why isn't it celebrated on the same day every year? And, what does "the easter bunny" have to do with this feast? How do "easter eggs" fit in? Why the lilies?
Although these questions were not dealt with in our Baltimore Catechisms, the answer to most is that sometime before 899 the Christians chose to incorporate certain aspects of Anglo-Saxon paganism into the Christian celebration of Jesus' resurrection. 


Since the 1st Council of Nicaea (325) decided that the  Resurrection feast would be celebrated on the 1st Sunday after the full moon following the Spring Equinox,  it coincided with an already existing Anglo-Saxon celebration whose rituals took place at the same time of the year. The pagan spring festival was dedicated to the fertility goddess, Oestre. (The British monk, Venerable Bede, made reference to this in the 7th century) The Christians appropriated that name, Easter, and the concept of springtime being a period of nature "returning" to life. The Christians had no qualms about assuming some of the rituals ( the Easter fire) and some of the Anglo-Saxon symbols.

Christians apparently began painting "Easter eggs" in medieval times as eggs symbolized new life. In the 17th century, the "Easter hare" who brought eggs to good children appeared in German communities.  The Germans who settled in Pennsylvania brought that tradition to this country, again emphasizing the rabbit's reputation for fertility and thus new life.

Although there are some Christians today who are apparently embarrassed by the pagan origin of the name and symbols, others proudly point to the ingenuity and flexibility of those early Anglo-Saxon Christians who were willing to adapt pagan terminology and practices to serve what they considered the true religion. And, without doubt, using practices already familiar to the population had a beneficial proselytizing result.


For a more complete picture, search "pagan origins of Easter."  Quasi-religious celebrations surrounding the Spring Equinox have a long history, and their influence is obvious in today's Christian celebration of Easter. If one gives it a second thought, there is an obvious relationship between the belief that Jesus rose from the dead and springtime, the season in which nature resurrects itself from the death of winter.


Perhaps those Christians of today who want to separate the feast of Jesus' resurrection and the terminology and symbolism of the Equinox would do better to appreciate the convergence of themes as did the Anglo-Saxon Christians.