Happy Easter to those who celebrate! Not unexpectedly, the Easter Bunny has some interesting... and pagan... roots. Today, as we eat colored eggs, were following in the tradition of many fascinating cultures that were, essentially, absorbed when Christianity became Europes dominant religion. Sheren Khalel wrote, Every year, Easter falls on the Sunday after the full moon of the spring equinox. It’s interesting to see Christians observing moon cycles — something you’d more commonly see from a Pagan celebration. Or maybe it’s not so surprising, considering the parallels between the Christian spring holiday, Easter, and the ancient Pagan spring holiday, Ostara. Humans have been giving baskets of goodies, dyeing eggs, playing with rabbit symbolism and holding early morning religious festivals to celebrate spring long before Christianity or Jesus Christ. According to Richard McDonald, professor at Utah Valley University and Ph.D. in medieval renaissance literature, Eosturmonath (Eostra month) is the Pagan term for the month of the goddess Eostra, April. Eostra was known as the goddess of fertility, dawn, rising and spring. Pagans worshiped Eostra by celebrating their spring holiday, Ostara. The main symbol of the goddess Eostra was a rabbit because of its awesome fertility. Eggs, another ancient symbol of fertility, were dyed to symbolize the colors of spring. Some scholars speculate that the term “east” comes from the goddess Eostra because the sun rises in the east, giving birth to a new day. (Read the rest of her article here: tinyurl/kar3f8f)
Posted on: Sun, 20 Apr 2014 13:29:40 +0000
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