Easter or Ostara? A Hidden History
It is sometimes said in Pagan circles that Easter is a holiday that Christians have stolen from Pagan traditions. Even some Christians don’t participate in activities such as egg hunts because they believe they come from ancient Pagan practices worshipping the goddess Eostre (Ostara). Let’s get down to the actual history, shall we?
Did Easter come from a Pagan holiday?
There is VERY little evidence of the goddess Ostara. No shrines or ancient writings refer to her. The only mention of Eostre is in the writings of Bede. Jacob Grimm believed Bede that there was such a goddess and names her Ostara. Stephen Winkick writes: “It’s impossible to tell if Ostara as a goddess ever existed outside Grimm’s proposal. As for Eostre, there’s no evidence of her worship except in Bede’s book, and possibly in place names (which could, however, just mean “east”).” (Source)
“So in sum, Eostre was worshiped in England before Bede’s time, in the 600s—if she ever was worshiped at all. Ostara was invented in 1835 as a possible but unproven German version of Eostre. Finally, the connection between Ostara and a hare wasn’t made until 1874, as a way to make sense of an already popular Easter Bunny tradition.” Stephen Winick, “On the Bunny Trail” Folklife Today
Why is Easter in the Spring?
There is, for one, the obvious symbolism involved. Spring is a time of resurrection in the natural world, as the sleeping Earth awakens. It’s the perfect time to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. Jesus died during Passover week, so it is celebrated around the same time.
Some Christians wanted to continue to celebrate Easter on the Passover, emphasizing Christ’s death, and some wanted to celebrate on Sunday (when the tomb was found empty), emphasizing the Resurrection. Easter’s official date, the first Sunday after the first full moon of the vernal equinox, was decided by the Council of Nicea. (source)
Where did the Easter Bunny come from?
Some tradition of an “Easter Hare” existed in Germanic countries, and was brought to America by the Pennsylvania Dutch around the 1750s. Eggs and rabbits were not symbols of an ancient Goddess, but symbols of spring that anyone with eyes could see around them. Spring is a time of birth, when the rabbits multiply and the eggs are aplenty! (source)
Where did the word Easter come from?
Most languages use some variation on the Passover as their word for Easter. The “pascal lamb,” Jesus, led to “Pascua,” “Pasqua,” and “Pasen” (Italian, Spanish, and Dutch names for the holiday, respectively). (source)
Only English and German have words for the holiday unrelated to Passover. While it is possible that “Easter” and “Ostern” come from Bede’s one reference to Eostre, it is more likely that they are derived from the same Germanic root as the word “East.” As in, where the sun rises. You get the metaphor… (source)
So… if you want to celebrate Ostara. Go ahead. No one is stopping you. Just don’t act like it’s an ancient holiday now that you know better. If you want to be historically accurate, a Spring Equinox celebration, a Passover Celebration, or a Christian Easter Celebration are all apropos.