April 7, 2007
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Holiday Histories: Easter
Easter may have come from an early English word, Eastre (or according to the Venerable Bede, Eostre): the name of a pagan goddess of spring, the name of a spring festival, or the name of the season itself. Or it may have come from the early German word eostarun, which means dawn. This may have been an incorrect translation from the Latin word albae, which means dawn and white.
The Resurrection occurred during the Passover, on the fourteenth day of the month Nisan, so the early Jewish Christians celebrated the Crucifixion and Resurrection on that day. The Resurrection occurred on the first day of the week, so early Gentile Christians insisted it be celebrated on Sunday. The Council of Nicaea in 325, decided that the celebration should occur on the same day throughout the church. It was finally decided that the date should be the Sunday after the first full moon on or after the Spring Equinox (March 21). It can occur between March 22 and April 25. In the 4th century, the Crucifixion was celebrated on Good Friday, and Easter became devoted to the Resurrection.
It is probable that the Catholic Church in its early days adopted old pagan customs and gave a Christian meaning to them (perhaps the inevitable result of the establishment of Easter and Christmas as “Christian alternatives” to the pagan spring equinox and winter solstice festivals). The festival of Eostre in celebration of the renewal of life in the spring was easy to make into a celebration of the Resurrection. Catholic churches have an elaborate ritual for Easter services. With the rise of the Puritans in England, Protestants for a long time took no notice of Easter, or any other church festivals (like Christmas). They began to observe it during the Civil War, to comfort the bereaved of slain soldiers. The Presbyterian churches first, and then others later, used the Easter season to remind mourners of the hope of resurrection.
The egg is an ancient symbol of new life. The Egyptians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans colored their eggs long before the Resurrection. Eggs became associated with Easter originally because it was forbidden to eat them during Lent and on Easter Sunday they were served. They were dyed red either to suggest joyfulness or symbolize the blood shed on Calvary. Children were told that the rabbit lays the Easter eggs and the eggs were sometimes hidden in the garden for the children to find. Pagans regarded the prolific rabbit as an emblem of fertility. The Bermuda lily, which blossoms in the spring, is used so often in the decoration of churches for the Easter service that it has become known as the Easter lily.
Biblically speaking, the Lord’s Supper and the Lord’s Day (Sunday) are sufficient to remember the Crucifixion and Resurrection. If you want to celebrate Easter, that’s fine; just don’t invite the Easter Bunny.
