Easter Exposed

Many of the symbols of Easter have their roots in diverse ancient cultures, ranging from Scandinavia to Greece to Syria, all of which worshipped the sun and rejoiced when spring returned after the long, dark days of winter.

Modern Easter traditions are firmly grounded in  pagan customs. In fact, the name Easter comes from Oestre, an Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring and fertility.  We have her to thank for the Easter bunny.  According to legend, her totem animal was the rabbit, due to its prolific reproduction.

The vernal equinox was the ancient time of rejoicing the return of warmer days, and for worshipping the goddess who had brought them another growing season.  The date on which Easter falls is also based upon the vernal equinox, and the yearly date is calculated such that the holiday falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the first day of spring.

Even the tradition of new clothes for Easter dates back to pagan times. According to,  A Treasury of American Superstitions, by Claudia De Lys, “it was considered discourteous and therefore bad luck to greet the Scandinavian goddess of Spring, or Eastre, in anything but fresh garb.”

The Easter bonnet is another holdover from ancient ways, when a garland of flowers or vines was worn, “which expressed the round sun and its course in the heavens which brought the return of spring,” according to De Lys.

Feasting and fasting were also part of the celebration.  An article, “Pagan Origins of Easter,” by Cameron Delaney, states that people would feast after, “a fast to purge toxins of heavy winter meals.”  That does echo a bit of the Lenten tradition.

Traditional foods also have ancient roots.  According to, “Pagan Easter Food Traditions,” by Frannie Bogojevich, people ate up the last of the hams they had cured for the winter, since fresh food was soon to be had, and the cross on hot cross buns was originally representative of the moon’s quarters and was another symbol of fertility.

Eggs are perhaps the most obvious symbol of fertility, with their association with life and rebirth.  The pagans colored them to resemble flowers.  The pastel colors favored for Easter wear harken back to this practice.

According to the Rev. Corey Sharpe, pastor of Hopewell United Methodist Church and Wesleyan Chapel UMC, “when Christianity (then the official religion of the Roman Empire) supplanted the pagan religions (as empires tend to do) as the dominant religion, they tended to incorporate some of the pagan beliefs into their own teachings.  In this case, that would mean applying Christian meanings to the symbols of eggs with Christian meanings of resurrection and new life.”

Of course, there is a Christian origin for the word Easter, as well.  There was a Latin term, “hebdomadal alba,” or “white week,” which referred to the white clothing worn by those who had been instructed in Christianity and were about  to be baptized, Sharpe explained.  When that was translated into the Germanic language, it became, “eostarum,” or “dawn.”

No matter the origins of the name of Easter, nor the source of the traditions, the holiday remains the source of the celebration of renewed life and the promise of good things to come.