The History of Easter: Assimilating Pagans into Christianity
Time of Year. The timing of Easter is directly related to the vernal (spring) equinox which heralds the end of winter and the beginning of spring. It is the day of the year when, as the days are growing longer, they reach their midpoint and day and night are equal. Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox. Pagan cultures have celebrated the Spring Equinox since many centuries before the time of Christ. The Christian holiday Easter derives its name from the Goddess of the Dawn, a lunar fertility goddess whose Saxon name was Eostre, German name was Ostara, and whose festival was held on the first full moon after the Spring Equinox. While the traditions and symbols have varied from culture to culture the presiding themes are fertility, conception, renewal, breaking of the end-of-winter fast, descent into Hell or the underworld for three days, and the triumph of light over darkness or good over evil.
Parallel Stories. The most similar story originated in Phrygia one thousand years before the time of Christ. The Phrygians worshiped Cybele a fertility goddess. Like Christ, Cybele’s lover Attis, was born of a virgin mother, and was also said to have died and come back to life after three days. Centuries later, about 200 years before the time of Christ, the Romans worshiped Attis with a three day festival, held where St. Peter’s in Vatican City is now located, that included eating bread a symbol of the body of Attis. The Romans believed that Attis was born on December 25th, having been conceived during the Spring Equinox, and that when Attis was sacrificed his blood ran down and redeemed the earth. The Ancient Greeks believed that Persephone, daughter of Demeter, was forced to spend each winter in the underworld. During this time Demeter, the goddess of the harvest, would hide away mourning for her daughter, and the world would be infertile. Persephone would return to her mother every year at the Spring Equinox, and the growing season would begin again. There are many other similar stories, all believed to have taken place during the Spring Equinox.
From The Easter Bunny to Easter Eggs. The rabbit is a symbol of fertility in many cultures. Saxons believed that Ostara rescued a bird named Lepus from being frozen in the snow. Since his wings were broken, Ostara turned him into a hare and made him very fast so that he could escape hunters. He was still able to lay eggs one day out of the year. The eggs were all different colors. When Lepus angered Ostara she turned him into the constellation Lepus which resides in the sky at the feet of the hunter Orion, but allowed him to return to the earth once a year to lay colored his eggs for children. Lepus later became knows as Oschter Haws in Germany. Eggs are a symbol of fertility and renewal of life. The tradition of giving colored eggs during the Spring Equinox was practiced by the Romans, Greeks, ancient Egyptians, Gauls, and Persians. The Christian tradition of rolling eggs downhill to represent the rolling away of the stone from in from of Christ’s tomb was adapted from the Beltane tradition of rolling eggs downhill in imitation of the movement of the sun. Beltane is the Celtic fertility festival celebrated on May 1st, and the origin of the maypole.
Foods and Fasting. Ham is a traditional Easter food. In celebration of the coming abundance of food in spring, the last of the meats cured in autumn festivals are consumed. Prior to the spring festivals Pagans fast, typically for forty days, to eliminate the toxins built up over winter, and to prepare for the coming abundance of food. The Christian observance of Lent which also lasts for forty days was passed down from the Hebrews, who adopted the tradition from the Babylonians. Ancient Egyptians observed Lent in honor of Osiris, and a similar forty days of mourning was observed by the Greeks each year prior to the return of Persephone. Hot cross buns are another traditional spring festival food. Now served by Christians on Good Friday, they were once banned in Christian countries because of their Pagan origins. Greeks used to offer a cake marked with a cross, representing bull horns, to their god Zeus. The word bun comes from the Saxon word boun meaning “sacred ox”. During the Feast of Eoster, Saxons would sacrificed an ox, and carve the symbol of the horns onto their sacred bread. The cross also represented the four quarters of the moon.
The practice of assimilating Pagan cultures by adopting their symbols and traditions has been met with mixed reactions. Most Christians today are not aware of the Pagan influences associated with Easter. Others reject the more blatant Pagan symbols such as the Easter Bunny and Easter eggs. Many Christians deny that there are any Pagan associations with Easter or any other Christian holiday, and claim that history has been fabricated by Satan to undermine God. Since the survival of ancient civilizations depended on a deep understanding of nature and the seasons, it is obvious why the oldest traditions and celebrations coincide with the changing seasons. While modern Christianity often denounces any ties with nature or the seasons, the timing of all Christian holidays can be directly traced back to ancient Pagan festivals which were held for hundreds or thousands of years before the time of Christ. The symbols associated with modern Christian holidays, and even names of some of these holidays, have been directly adapted from ancient Pagan traditions.
