Easter

EASTER (ISHTAR)

Easter is perhaps the most popular holiday, or festival, in the Christian religion. The date moves from year to year to occur on the Sunday after the vernal equinox. According to Christian tradition Easter Sunday celebrates the resurrection of Christ on the third day. However

Origin of the word "Easter"

In Acts 12: 4 we find the only instance of the word " Easter" in the Bible. However, the word was translated from the Greek word "Pascha" which means "Passover". When read in context it becomes clear that Luke is not referencing the resurrection. The word "Easter" actually derives from the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre. She is identified with the Babylonian fertility goddess Ishtar.

Intermingled Symbols and Practices of Pagan Worship Easter Eggs

In addition to the name, the symbols associated with Easter also show its pagan influence. In paganism the egg symbolizes the manifestation of the cosmos. The egg is also a symbol of rebirth that is associated with various pagan deities. The ancient Egyptians hung eggs in their temples. Seb, the Egyptian god of time supposedly laid an egg. In the ancient Greek Orphic tradition the primordial hermaphroditic god hatched from an egg and then created the deity. The Chinese believed that when the earth was in total darkness that Poon-Koo-Wong came out of an enormous egg as a human being with tremendous powers. According to one Babylonian legend an egg containing Ishtar fell from heaven and landed in the Euphrates River. In Babylon we also find the beginnings of Easter eggs hunts. Colored eggs were also used in honor of Ishtar. Ancient pagans believed that finding "Ishtar's egg" in nature at the time of her rebirth would bring forth a blessing. After the rise of Christianity the egg became a symbol of the tomb where Christ was resurrected, and Christians continued the pagan custom of painting eggs during the festival of Easter. In ancient Anglo-Saxon mythology the fertility goddess Ostara changed her bird into an egg laying hare, or rabbit.

Hares/Rabbits

In paganism the rabbit is a sign of sexual fertility and the moon. A rabbit or hare has four to eight litters each year. During its lifespan a rabbit can potentially produce up to six hundred offspring. It was believed that hares were associated with the fertility goddesses. The hare, like Easter, is associated with the moon. The nocturnal hare, or rabbit, carries her young for a month, the length of the moon cycle. The hare was also a symbol of pagan folklore because it was said that the dark patches on the moon looked like leaping hares.

New Clothing

During Easter it is customary to wear a new set of clothing. Pagans also did this around the time of the Equinox in celebration of the Ostara. In the Teutonic pagan tradition it was bad luck to wear spring garments before Ostara. New elegant garments were sewn during the winter to be worn during the spring festival.

Easter Lilies

Lilies are among the flowers associated with the Easter season. The lily is also revered by pagans. Pagans revered the lily and considered the flower to be a phallic symbol because it resembled the male reproductive organ.

Easter Ham

Many Christians traditionally eat a ham on Easter. This custom may in fact have derived from Babylon. According to legend, Tammuz was killed by a wild boar on a hunting expedition, and Ishtar descended into the underworld to rescue him. Each year a pig was consumed by the followers of Ishtar and Tammuz to avenge the death of their sun god.

Sunrise Service

Both Catholics and Protestants observe a sunrise service on Easter. This custom comes from the ancient spring festivals. During the Vernal Equinox in pre-Christian times pagans celebrated the rising sun. Ezekiel 8:6-18 (verse 16) “So He brought me into the inner court of the Lord’s house; and there, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, and they were worshiping the sun toward the east.” Although many Christians celebrate sunrise service in honor of the Resurrection of Christ, it is done in error. (see “Resurrection” post)

Easter was not celebrated by Early Christians

Easter was not observed by the Apostles or the early Christians. Even Tertullian asks, "If the Apostles set aside all reference to days and months and years, why do we celebrate Pascha in the first month of each year?"  There is no evidence that Easter was observed in the New Testament. Easter in relation to Christ was not celebrated until several hundred years after His death. It was common practice of the Catholic Church to overtake the pagan days and rites in order to draw in the pagans. The obvious problem is that stamping the name of Jesus on a pagan day does not in reality make the day "Christian".

Text quoted heavily from The Pagan Origins of Christian Holidays by Elisha Israel and various Wikipedia pages.