The Myths of Easter

[Thomas]

As we're between the Western and Eastern celebrations, I though I'd make a quick dive into Easter, with regard to eggs, bunnies and what have you ...

First – the word 'Easter'
Apparently, the English word likely derives from Ēostre, an Anglo-Saxon goddess of the dawn or spring, whose festival was celebrated in April.

This, the oldest reference we have, is according to the 8th-century British monk Bede. The name traces back to the Proto-Germanic Austrōn ('dawn' or 'east'), which is connected to the Proto-Indo-European root aus- ('to shine).

While the goddess theory is prominent, alternative linguistic views suggest the name may stem from the Latin phrase in albis ('in white' or 'dawn'), which evolved into Old High German eostarum and eventually the modern terms Easter and German Ostern.

Most other languages – eg French Pâques, Spanish Pascua, and Italian Pasqua, derive their names for the holiday from Pascha, tracing back to the Hebrew Pesach ('Passover').

So the Easter link to the Anglo-Saxon applies in the English-speaking world only. And the language of learning being Latin, its usage must be late?

 

[Thomas]

The Easter bunny is, again, a very recent tradition, of German origin.

Its popularity seems to be due to the practice carried by German immigrants to the United States, where the whole thing was commercialised on a grand scale – chocolate easter eggs, and all that.

 

[Thomas]

The hare/bunny thing, again ... this time with reference to eggs:

In Germany in the Middle Ages, Green or Maundy Thursday before Easter was typically the end of the business year and therefore when farmers would have to pay their dues to landowners. Due to the Lenten fast leading up to Easter, there would be a surplus of eggs, so farmers would supplement their payments with cooked eggs, and and hares/rabbits etc. they had killed in their fields.

By the 17th century, German parents were telling their kids the eggs came from Easter bunnies – and the Easter Egg Hunt was born. But foxes, cranes and storks were also sometimes named as the mystical creature, depending on the region. By the end of the Second World War, the bunny had become mainstream.

And naturally the bunny didn’t just stay in Germany, travelling abroad to places like the United States with German or Prussian immigrants.

The tradition of painting eggs for Easter is also quite German: The oldest surviving decorated egg dates back to the fourth century AD, and was discovered in a Romano-Germanic sarcophagus near Worms in Rhineland-Palatinate.

 

[Thomas]

Eggs have a broader significance. Eggs have a significance across many cultures.

On the one hand, the eating of eggs was something of a post-lenten celebration.
The egg stands for rebirth, and the empty eggshell evoked the empty tomb.
Painting eggs red signified spilled blood, sacrifice, etc.

There were many symbols of the resurrection, both flora and fauna, but the egg/bunny thing emerged as general due to commercialisation.

 

[Thomas]

What is not evidenced, is any Christian practice depended upon pagan practice, rather, the symbols were generic to largely agrarian communities.

The association with the bunny/hare with the Goddess Ēostre, for example, is without foundation.

 

[TheLightWithin]

The tradition of painting eggs for Easter is also quite German:

Ukrainian too...

While the goddess theory is prominent, alternative linguistic views suggest the name may stem from the Latin phrase in albis ('in white' or 'dawn'), which evolved into Old High German eostarum and eventually the modern terms Easter and German Ostern.

Just at a glance, the words also evoke the idea of "east" (or even "west" - este and oeste being east and west in Spanish, very similar in several other languages)

or even estrus/oestrus, related to eggs.