"German pagans named the Spring Equinox after Ēostre or Ostara, their goddess of spring, fertility, and rebirth. In England, among the Anglo-Saxon tribes, Ostara was known as Eostre. The modern holiday of Easter is derived from the name "Eostre" and the associated myths.
According to these myths, Eostre was a playful goddess whose reign over the earth began in the spring when the Sun King journeyed across the sky in his chariot, bringing the end of winter. Ostara came down to earth then, appearing as a beautiful maiden with a basket of bright colorful eggs.
Ostara's magical companion was a rabbit who accompanied her as she brought new life to dying plants and flowers by hiding the eggs in the fields.
Many of the traditions associated with Easter have direct links with Paganism. Even the word Easter is named after the Teutonic Goddess Eostre, the Goddess of Spring who gives fertility to the earth. (Note that Easter coincides with Spring in the Northern Hemisphere)
Eggs are another Pagan symbol of Easter. From the earliest of times, the egg has represented immortality. The egg is the World Egg, laid by the Goddess and opened by the heat of the Sun God. The hatching of this World Egg was celebrated each year at the Spring festival of the Sun.
As Spring is the season of nature's rebirth, the symbol of the egg was of course particularly significant at this time. The Druids dyed eggs scarlet to honour the Sun, and Pagan Anglo-Saxons made offerings of their coloured eggs to the Goddess Eostre. They also (like many Pagan cultures before them) placed patterned eggs in tombs or on fresh graves, to ensure the rebirth of the deceased.
The Easter Bunny is another symbol that has obvious links to the fertility, rebirth, and the abundance of life that is evident in Spring. Easton's Bible Dictionary defines Easter this way: originally a Saxon word (Eostre), denoting a goddess of the Saxons, in honour of whom sacrifices were offered about the time of the Passover.
Hence the name came to be given to the festival of the Resurrection of Christ, which occurred at the time of the Passover. In the early English versions this word was frequently used as the translation of the Greek pascha (the Passover).
When the Authorized Version (1611) was formed, the word "passover" was used in all passages in which this word pascha occurred, except in Acts 12:4. where it was tranlitrated into Easter.
Easter Originally a Saxon word (Eostre), denoting a goddess of the Saxons, in honour of whom sacrifices were offered about the time of the Passover. Hence the name came to be given to the festival of the Resurrection of Christ, which occured at the time of the Passover. In the early English versions this word was frequently used as the translation of the Greek pascha (the Passover). When the Authorized Version (1611) was formed, the word "passover" was used in all passages in which this word pascha occurred, except in #Ac 12:4 In the Revised Version the word, "passover," is always used. Look at the passage from Compton's Encyclopedia and you decide what the symbols really mean. "Many Eoster customs come from the Old World."
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