++++ - - Dr. Chadwick's Email Circular - - ++++

Brief comments to encourage faithful Christian living.

++++++++ - - - April 6, 2002 - - - ++++++++

I realize that Easter is past, but let me ask you a question. Where did the name "Easter" come from? Those who are only familiar with the King James Version of the Bible would quickly answer, "The name 'Easter' is from the Bible". And actually, the word can be found there once, but it's not found in more recent versions because the translation is not a good one.

On the other hand, there was a monk who lived 1300 years ago who explained in his writings where the name "Easter" came from. His name was "Venerable Bede", and he explained why this Church holiday celebrating the resurrection of Christ was called Easter.

This ancient Christian Monk explained that the title Easter was used in connection with the Anglo-Saxon goddess called Eostre or Ostara. This was the goddess of spring, to be worshipped at the time of the vernal, or spring, equinox. It's pretty easy to see that this goddess, and the symbolism around her, closely corresponds to the springtime themes of rebirth, new life, new hope, and light - some of the very themes associated with the story of the resurrection.

But who is this goddess Eostre? According to the legend, she saved a bird whose wings were frozen from the harsh winter by turning the bird into a rabbit. However, it was a magical rabbit who could actually lay eggs. Also, because rabbits reproduce so rapidly, they are often associated with fertility. Consequently, we have today Easter Bunnies, Easter Eggs and a celebration of Spring, none of which is directly related to the true meaning of this greatest of all Christian holidays - the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. So if we want to distance ourselves from this pagan goddess of Easter, it would probably be better to call this holiday something else.

From now on, let's call it the "Resurrection Celebration". But that means that we must be ready to believe that Jesus really did rise from the dead, we must believe in the resurrection.

Taken from "A Monk Explains Easter"

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