Easter Traditions

Christians celebrate Easter to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Some trappings of modern Easter celebrations, however, pre-date Christianity and have ancient pagan roots.

Ancient Fertility Goddess

Easter takes its name from Ishtar, the Babylonian and Assyrian goddess of love and fertility. The Phoenicians knew her as Astarte, sister and consort of Baal, a God worshipped in much of the Middle East and Mediterranean. Some of the ancient Hebrews also worshipped Baal.

Astarte spread through Europe, becoming Ostara, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring, fertility, and the rising sun. The Old English word for Easter, "Eastre" refers to Ostara.

Around the second century A.D., Christian missionaries seeking to convert the tribes of northern Europe realized that the time of the crucifixion of Jesus roughly coincided with the Teutonic springtime celebrations, which emphasized the triumph of life over death. Christian Easter gradually absorbed the traditional symbols.

Eggs and Rabbits Have Long Legacies

The egg and the rabbit, two of Easter's most common symbols, also have ancient associations with spring.

Eggs symbolize birth and fertility in many cultures. Ancient Egyptians and the Persians colored eggs to give as gifts during their spring festival.

The legends of ancient Egypt connect the hare, which comes out at night to feed, with the moon. Rabbits have remained fertility symbols in other, later cultures.

According to Anglo-Saxon myth Ostara, wanting to delight some children one day, turned her pet bird into a rabbit. The rabbit proceeded to lay brightly colored eggs, which Ostara gave to the children.

Easter Egg Hunts

In ancient Europe, eggs of different colors were taken from the nests of various birds and used to make talismans. The eggs were often ritually eaten. The search through the woods for eggs gradually evolved into the Easter egg hunt, while painted eggs eventually replaced wild birds' eggs. Easter baskets were probably originally intended to resemble birds' nests.

Source of Information: Encarta Encyclopedia, Comptons Encyclopedia