Easter : History and Traditions
:
Goddess Ostara
History of Easter Eggs
History of the Easter Bunny
Goddess Ishtar and the First Resurrection
Easter History : Christian and Pagan Traditions
Interwoven
The history of Easter reveals rich associations between the Christian
faith and the seemingly unrelated practices of the early pagan religions. Easter history
and traditions that we practice today evolved from pagan symbols, from the ancient goddess
Ishtar to Easter eggs and the Easter bunny.
Easter, perhaps the most important of the Christian holidays, celebrates
the Christ's resurrection from the dead following his death on Good Friday. . . a rebirth
that is commemorated around the vernal equinox, historically a time of pagan celebration
that coincides with the arrival of spring and symbolizes the arrival of light and the
awakening of life around us.
Ostara, Goddess of Spring and the Dawn (Oestre / Eastre)
Easter is named for a Saxon goddess who was known by the names of Oestre
or Eastre, and in Germany by the name of Ostara. She is a goddess of the dawn and the
spring, and her name derives from words for dawn, the shining light arising from the east.
Our words for the "female hormone" estrogen derives from her name.
Ostara was, of course, a fertility goddess. Bringing in the end of winter,
with the days brighter and growing longer after the vernal equinox, Ostara had a passion
for new life. Her presence was felt in the flowering of plants and the birth of
babies, both animal and human. The rabbit (well known for its propensity for rapid
reproduction) was her sacred animal.
Easter eggs and the Easter Bunny both featured in the spring festivals of
Ostara, which were initially held during the feasts of the goddess Ishtar | Inanna. Eggs
are an obvious symbol of fertility, and the newborn chicks an adorable representation of
new growth. Brightly colored eggs, chicks, and bunnies were all used at festival time to
express appreciation for Ostara's gift of abundance.
History of Easter Eggs and Easter Candy
The history of
Easter Eggs as a symbol of new life should come as no surprise. The notion that the Earth
itself was hatched from an egg was once widespread and appears in creation stories ranging
from Asian to Ireland.
Eggs, in ancient
times in Northern Europe, were a potent symbol of fertility and often used in rituals to
guarantee a woman's ability to bear children. To this day rural "grannywomen"
(lay midwives/healers in the Appalachian mountains) still use eggs to predict, with
uncanny accuracy, the sex of an unborn child by watching the rotation of an egg as it is
suspended by a string over the abdomen of a pregnant woman.
Dyed eggs are
given as gifts in many cultures. Decorated eggs bring with them a wish for the prosperity
of the abundance during the coming year.
Folklore
suggests that Easter egg hunts arose in Europe during "the Burning Times", when
the rise of Christianity led to the shunning (and persecution) of the followers of the
"Old Religion". Instead of giving the eggs as gifts the adults made a game
of hiding them, gathering the children together and encouraging them to find the eggs.
Some believe that the authorities seeking to find the "heathens" would follow or
bribe the children to reveal where they found the eggs so that the property owner could be
brought to justice.
Green
Eggs . . .
. . . and Ham???
The meat that is
traditionally associated with Easter is ham. Though some might argue that ham is served at
Easter since it is a "Christian" meat, (prohibited for others by the religious
laws of Judaism and Islam) the origin probably lies in the early practices of the pagans
of Northern Europe.
Having
slaughtered and preserved the meat of their agricultural animals during the Blood Moon
celebrations the previous autumn so they would have food throughout the winter months,
they would celebrate the occasion by using up the last of the remaining cured meats.
In anticipation
that the arrival of spring with its emerging plants and wildlife would provide them with
fresh food in abundance, it was customary for many pagans to begin fasting at the time of
the vernal equinox, clearing the "poisons" (and excess weight) produced by the
heavier winter meals that had been stored in their bodies over the winter. Some have
suggested that the purpose of this fasting may have been to create a sought-after state
of "altered consciousness" in time for the spring festivals. One cannot
but wonder if this practice of fasting might have been a forerunner of "giving
up" foods during the Lenten season.
Chocolate Easter
bunnies and eggs, marshmallow chicks in pastel colors, and candy of all sorts . . . these
have pagan origins as well!
To understand their association with religion we need to examine the meaning of food as a
symbol.
The ancient
belief that, by eating something we take on its characteristics formed the basis for the
earliest "blessings" before meals (a way to honor the life that had been
sacrificed so that we as humans could enjoy life) and, presumably, for the more recent
Christian sacrament of communion as well.
Shaping candy
Easter eggs and bunnies out of candy to celebrate the spring festival was, simply put, a
way to celebrate the symbols of the goddess and the season, while laying claim to their
strengths (vitality, growth, and fertility) for ourselves.
History of the Easter
Bunny
Feeling guilty about arriving
late one spring, the Goddess Ostara saved the life of a poor bird whose wings had
been frozen by the snow. She made him her pet or, as some versions have it, her lover.
Filled with compassion for him since he could no longer fly (in some versions, it was
because she wished to amuse a group of young children), Ostara turned
him into a snow hare and gave him the gift of being able to run with incredible speed so
he could protect himself from hunters. In remembrance of his earlier form as a bird,
she also gave him the ability to lay eggs (in all the colors of the rainbow, no less), but
only on one day out of each year.
Eventually the hare managed to anger the goddess Ostara, and she cast him
into the skies where he would remain as the constellation Lepus (The Hare) forever
positioned under the feet of the constellation Orion (the Hunter). He was allowed to
return to earth once each year, but only to give away his eggs to the children attending
the Ostara festivals that were held each spring. The
tradition of the
Easter Bunny had begun.
The Hare was sacred in many ancient traditions and was associated with the moon
goddesses and the various deities of the hunt. In ancient times eating the Hare was
prohibited except at Beltane (Celts) and the festival of Ostara (Anglo-Saxons), when a
ritual hare-hunt would take place.
In many cultures rabbits, like eggs, were considered to be potent remedies for
fertility problems. The ancient philosopher-physician Pliny the Elder prescribed rabbit
meat as a cure for female sterility, and in some cultures the genitals of a hare were
carried to avert barrenness.
Medieval Christians considered the hare to bring bad fortune, saying witches changed
into rabbits in order to suck the cows dry. It was claimed that a witch could only be
killed by a silver crucifix or a bullet when she appeared as a hare.
Given their "mad" leaping and boxing displays during mating season as well as
their ability to produce up to 42 offspring each spring, it is understandable that they
came to represent lust, sexuality, and excess in general. Medieval Christians considered
the hare to be an evil omen, believing that witches changed into rabbits in order to suck
the cows dry. It was claimed that a witch could only be killed by a silver crucifix or a
bullet when she appeared as a hare.
In later Christian tradition the white Hare, when depicted at the Virgin Mary's feet,
represents triumph over lust or the flesh. The rabbit's vigilance and speed came to
represent the need to flee from sin and temptation and a reminder of the swift passage of
life.
And, finally, there is a sweet Christian legend about a young rabbit who, for three
days, waited anxiously for his friend, Jesus, to return to the Garden of Gethsemane, not
knowing what had become of him. Early on Easter morning, Jesus returned to His favorite
garden and was welcomed the little rabbit. That evening when the disciples came into the
garden to pray, still unaware of the resurrection, they found a clump of beautiful
larkspurs, each blossom bearing the image of a rabbit in its center as a remembrance of
the little creature's hope and faith.
Ishtar,
Goddess
of Love, and
the First Resurrection
Ishtar, goddess of romance, procreation, and war in ancient
Babylon, was also worshipped as the Sumerian goddess Inanna. One of the great goddesses,
or "mother goddesses", stories of her descent to the Underworld and the
resurrection that follows are contained in the oldest writings that have ever been
discovered. . . the Babylonian creation myth Enuma Elish and the story of Gilgamesh.
Scholars believed that they were based on the oral mythology of the region and were
recorded about 2,100 B.C.E.
The most famous of the myths of Ishtar tell of her descent into the
realm of the dead to rescue her young lover, Tammuz, a Vegetation god forced to live half
the year in the Underworld. Ishtar approached the gates of the Underworld, which was ruled
by her twin sister Eresh-kigel, the goddess of death and infertility. She was refused
admission.
Similar to the Greek myths of Demeter and Persephone that came
later, during Ishtar's absence the earth grew barren since all acts of procreation ceased
while she was away. Ishtar screamed and ranted that she would break down the gates and
release all of the dead to overwhelm the world and compete with the living for the
remaining food unless she was allowed to enter and plead her case with her twin.
Needless to say, she won admission. But the guard, following
standard protocol, refused to let her pass through the first gate unless she removed her
crown. At the next gate, she had to remove her earrings, then her necklace at the next,
removing her garments and proud finery until she stood humbled and naked after passing
through the seventh (and last) gate.
In one version, she was held captive and died but was brought back
to life when her servant sprinkled her with the "water of life". In the more
widely known version of the myth, Ishtar's request was granted and she regained all of her
attire and possessions as she slowly re-emerged through the gates of darkness.
Upon her return, Tammuz and the earth returned to life. Annual
celebrations of this "Day of Joy", were held each year around the time of the
vernal equinox. These celebrations became the forerunners of the Ostara festivals that
welcomed Oestre and the arrival of spring.
A section on the
Goddess Ishtar,
her myths and symbols, is currently being written and soon will be included with the myths
of the goddesses at this website.
Easter eggs, the Easter Bunny, the dawn that arrives with
resurrection of life, and the celebration of spring all serve to remind us of the cycle of
rebirth and the need for renewal in our lives. In the history of Easter, Christian and
pagan traditions are gracefully interwoven.
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