Easter Roots Linked to Pagan Fertility Goddess by Jenn Hardy

[Dept of PMM Artists & things]

Myths and legends surround the celebration of modern-day holidays. Many of us aren't quite sure why we celebrate Easter. Some say it is to honour a fertility goddess.

 

Some people might say Easter is celebrated because it is the day of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the son of God. A child might tell you Easter is the time when a big, fluffy bunny hides eggs around the house, for him to collect in a basket in the morning. A Pagan might tell you a story you've never heard before.

Pagan Fertility Goddess Eostre

Depicted in modern goddess art with daffodils in her hair, a rabbit or hare by her side, holding a basket filled with eggs, Eostre is the beautiful goddess of fertility.

According to some, the word “Easter” comes from the word Eostre, the name of a Germanic goddess.

Symbolism in Eostre Art

• Eggs: a symbol to many faiths of fertility; all life is born of an egg; the pregnant belly of a woman also resembles an egg.
• Rabbit/Hare: We all know the bunny's reputation for reproduction.
• Daffodils/Other Flowers: New Beginnings, rebirth or resurrection.

Eostre According to Saint Bede and Brother Grimm

Many argue that Eostre is just Neopagan fancy. She is called the Teutonic Goddess of Spring, but most of the information available on Eostre (or Ostara) is written in recent times.

She is first mentioned by Bede, (672/673 - 735) a monk in England. In his Temporum Ratione, he writes of Eostremonth (the month of April) was once called after an Anglo-Saxon goddess named Eostre who they honoured in that month.

Jakob Grimm — of Brothers Grimm fame (1785 – 1863), in his 1835 Deustche Mythologie, wrote that Ostarâ, “must in heathen religion have denoted a higher being, whose worship was so firmly rooted, that the Christian teachers tolerated the name, and applit to one of their own grandest anniversaries.”

 

Word Origins of Eostre

Dr. Leo Ruickbie, who runs the website witchology.com,dedicated to educating people on the topics of Magick, the Occult, Paganism Wicca and Witchcraft, has a few theories on the word origins of “Easter.”

Ruickbie suggests that Eostre or Ostara may have its roots in the word “east” or "dawn." Eostre has also been linked with the word “estrogen.”

Ruickbie, who holds a doctorate degree in the sociology of modern Witchcraft from the University of London, writes about the festivals of ancient Pagans, which included:

• Alban Elfed
• Teutonic festival in honour of Eostre
• Roman Hilaria Matris Deûm
• Welsh Gwyl Canol Gwanwynol ("Day of the Gorse")
• Wiccan Eostar (Ostara) Sabbat

Wiccan Holidays, Sabbats or Festival

These days, on the Spring Equinox, Wiccans celebrate Ostara, as one of their eight major holidays, sabbats or festivals.

• Beltane (May 1)
• Summer Solctice- Mid-summer (June 22)
• Lammas (Aug 1)
• Autumn Equinox- Mabon (Sept 21)
• Samhain (Oct. 31)
• Winter Solstice- Yule (Dec. 22)
• Imbolic (Feb. 2)

Whether Easter is actually named after Eostre, or it is, as Christians say, a newer holiday in celebration of the resurrection of Christ, no one will ever know, and no one will ever agree.