The name of our spring festival, easter, comes from the name eostre. Easter is celebrated on the first sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. The new ungers bible dictionary defines the word easter as being of anglosaxon origin and related to eastra, the goddess of spring, in whose honour sacrifices were offered about passover time each year. The babylonian origins of easter ishtar easter is a day that is honored by nearly all of contemporary christianity and is used to celebrate the resurrection of jesus christ. Ostarmanoth, is the namesake of the festival of easter in some languages. While the church says that easter sunday is the day when jesus christ rose from the dead, the fact remains that the pagan of europe celebrated easter long before christians did. The spring equinox is a solar festival celebrating the time when the day and night are of equal length. Apr 07, 2020 the naming of the celebration as easter seems to go back to the name of a prechristian goddess in england, eostre, who was celebrated at beginning of spring. Her annual arrival in spring is heralded by the flowering of trees and plants and the arrival of babies, both animal and human. The goddess was also known as eostre and although much of her story has been lost, her name lives on as it is the root of the english words for both easter and oestrogen.
The bishops issued severe edicts against the sacrilegious easter fires conc. Easter was originally the celebration of ishtar, the assyrian and babylonian goddess of fertility and sex. In other words, the easter bunny symbolizes the mother goddess. Apparently she was a pagan goddess of light and fertility and a spring goddess who breathed. Ostara is the maiden goddess of the growing light of spring. Bunnies are a leftover from the pagan festival of eostre, a great northern goddess whose symbol was a rabbit or hare. Apr 09, 2020 while easter, as we know it today, was never a pagan festival, its roots and many of its traditions have associations with ancient pagan customs and beliefs. Eostre the anglosaxon goddess of fertility germanic. Apr 23, 2011 d id you know that easter was originally a pagan festival dedicated to eostre, the anglosaxon goddess of spring, whose consort was a hare, the forerunner of our easter bunny. The goddess easter represents the sunrise, springtime and fertility, the renewal of life. Oestre is the teutonic goddess of spring and dawn who is very closely associated with the vernal equinox. But, as every christian knows, there is an obvious, direct link between easter and passover, as the first is the fulfillment of the later. This is where too many assumptions have been made as soon as its found that there was a saxon fertility goddess named eostre, the kneejerk reaction most wellmeaning christians do is jump to the conclusion.
Ostara the spring equinox, traditions and correspondences. Apr 05, 2015 the pagan goddess behind the holiday of easter. Eostre is from pagan mythology who is also known as the goddess of spring. Cybele, the phrygian fertility goddess, had a consort, attis, who was believed to have been born via a virgin birth. Easter eggs and the easter bunny both featured largely in the spring festivals of the goddess ostara. The pagan goddess behind the holiday of easter the times of israel. Simek opines that a springlike fertility goddess must be assumed rather than a goddess of sunrise. April is the month of eostre, deity of the dawn and goddess of spring easter goddess of april. What eostre has to do with easter is that both holidays were celebrated around the same time. Kristin chenoweths easter may seem to be all about fluffy bunny rabbits and pretty dresses and flowers everywhere, but underneath it all is the ancient. We are told that this is the real origin of easter in other memes propagated uncritically by online new atheists. Asase yaa is an ancient earth goddess from the ashanti people of ghana.
The word easter comes from the old english word eastre or eostre referring to the angelosaxon fertility goddess of spring. The easter bunny is not only a muchbeloved character that brings joy and easter eggs to children. Also in the reckoning of time, bede describes the anglosaxon pagans modraniht, old english for night of the mothers that was held on december 24, or christmas eve. The origin of the word east, the direction of the rising sun, comes from various germanic, austrohungarian words for dawn that share the root for the word aurora, which means to shine modern pagans have generally accepted the spelling ostara ohstarah, which honors this. Easter is the name of a pagan goddess, and her celebration takes place around the spring equinox when all life is renewed. The resurrection of jesus often takes a back seat in many christian homes and churches to the celebration of the spring season through the goddess of easter or ishtar. Goddess of spring healing oils organic oils goddess.
Ostara, or eostre or eastre, is the germanic goddess of spring and dawn. Easter, also called pascha greek, latin or resurrection sunday, is a festival and holiday commemorating the resurrection of jesus from the dead, described in the new testament as having occurred on the third day after his burial following his crucifixion by the romans at calvary c. However, if you start to dig around for information on eostre, youll find that much of it is the same. Most children and families who color or hide easter eggs as part of their resurrection sunday tradition have no knowledge of the origin of these traditions. Easter the spring equinox is the real reason for the season. Posted in goddess project, goddess things tagged easter, easter bunny, easter eggs, eostre, gifting of eggs, goddess of fertility, goddess of spring, history of easter eggs, ostara, pagan origins of christian holidays, pagan rituals at 7. The answer is yes, but that does not mean the two wordnames are synonymous. At first eostre apparently was dawn goddess, but this naturally led to her becoming a goddess of spring and fertility. The name easter comes from the word eostre pronounced eestra or ostra. Another name in the same family is ishtar, the babylonian goddess of. Easter the pagan goddess has a multitude of names that span not just time, but many cultures as well. Eostre is a goddess of spring in germanic paganism. But for today, christians around the world observe easter with prayer and feasting on a traditional meal, which at many tables includes.
Eostre was the goddess of the spring and her reign began on the vernal spring equinox. English and german are in the minority of languages that use a. Full of youth and innocence, and yet ready to become much more. The easter bunny is actually a hare, the sacred animal of eostre or oestra ostara, the ancient teutonic goddess of the spring moon. The ancient saxons in northern europe worshiped the goddess oestre at the time of the spring equinox. The goddess easter represents the sunrise, spring time and fertility, the renewal of life. The emblematic rabbit and the egg, full of fertility and potential promise are hugely symbolic for this time of year. Easter, goddess of fertility and queen of heaven, is one of the great deities of all times. Ostara is a germanic goddess who, by way of the germanic month bearing her name northumbrian. The term easter actually originates with the goddess of springs name eostre. The english word easter, which parallels the german word ostern, is of uncertain origin.
This view presumesas does the view associating the origin of christmas on december 25 with pagan celebrations of the winter solsticethat christians. Ostara, or eostra, is an anglosaxon goddess representing dawn. Yes, even easter has pagan influences the mary sue. The tradition of eggs at easter scientific american. The romans celebrated cerelia, a feast dedicated to ceres, goddess of agriculture. Her name is similar to the word for the christian easter, because that holiday took its name from the ancient pagan goddess of spring and rebirth. If easter has nothing to do with ishtar, what about the claims about it coming from the pagan goddess eostre. Historically easter is not the first instance of a pagan ritual described by bede that is now imbued with christian meaning.
Easter is a christian holiday that celebrates the belief in the resurrection of jesus christ. According to the stories, she is a goddess associated with flowers and springtime, and her name gives us the word easter, as well as the name of ostara itself. Silly symphony the goddess of spring november 3, 1934 rin animations. The story of eostre, goddess of spring from norse mythology. One view, expounded by the venerable bede in the 8th century, was that it derived from eostre, or eostrae, the anglosaxon goddess of spring and fertility. Mar 12, 2019 eostre goddess of spring is ripening and preparing to emerge as the maiden on the spring equinox. The pagan roots of easter heather mcdougall opinion. Who is eostre and what does she have to do with easter. Learn more about the real meaning of easter including the history and holiday symbols. Before you go away depressed, i would have to mention that easter origin related to fertility. In the modern era, easter sunday generally falls on the sunday following the paschal full moon i. She was worshiped by the germanic people of europe before the rise of the church. It is not known whether there was a name for this festival within celtic culture but it is believed to be related to the northern goddess eostre or ostara which, in turn, inspired the christian festival of easter.
The horned god, sometimes seen as pan, symbolizes the festive enjoyment of nature through hunting, dancing, and merriment. Theories connecting eostre with records of germanic easter customs, including hares and eggs, have been proposed. Every year, on the first day of spring, eostre held a huge spring festival in the meadow. Easter gets its name from the goddess ostara, also known as eastre. It feels wonderful on sunburn, rashes or any abrasion. Once, when spring was late in coming, a little girl found a bird close to death from the cold. Konohanasakuyahime japanese she is associated with the springtime and cherry blossom as. Easter as a celebration of the goddess of spring a related perspective is that, rather than being a representation of the story of ishtar, easter was originally a celebration of eostre, goddess of spring, otherwise known as ostara, austra, and eastre. Easter, according to scripture, falls around the time of passover matthew 26. Mar 31, 20 eostre is from pagan mythology who is also known as the goddess of spring.
Ishtar was the goddess of love and war and sex, as well as protection. It is the culmination of the passion of jesus, preceded by lent or great lent, a 40day period of. Apr 10, 2020 the goddess who supposedly originated the name of easter is so obscure as to be very likely not real, as she was probably guesswork on the part of bede and can be found nowhere else in the historical record. The easter fire is lit on the top of mountains easter mountain, osterberg and must be kindled from new fire, drawn from wood by friction nodfyr. Animals and children from all over the world would attend and bring gifts for the goddess of spring to show how happy they were with the fresh new season. Eastre was the goddess of the east from where the sun rises, her symbol was the hare a symbol of fertility, and a festival called eastre was held during the spring equinox by the. On the old germanic calendar, the equivalent month to april was called ostarmanod or easter month.
The word easter is of saxon origin, eastra, the goddess of spring, in whose honour sacrifices were offered about passover time each year. Eostre pronounced estra was an anglosaxon goddess of spring to whom offerings of cakes and colored eggs were made at the vernal equinox. The ancient pagan origins of easter ancient origins. The word easter is derived from the name of the anglosaxon goddess eostre. Why easter is called easter, and other littleknown facts.
Mar 11, 2018 easter, goddess of fertility and queen of heaven, is one of the great deities of all times. Very little is known about the origins of this germanic goddess. Ostara, otherwise known as eostre, is the germanic goddess of spring and dawn. Eostre goddess of spring is ripening and preparing to emerge as the maiden on the spring equinox. The goddess ostara is also linked to the festival of easter, hares and sacred eggs. Pagan anglosaxons made offerings of colored eggs to her at the vernal equinox. They placed them at graves especially, probably as a charm of rebirth.
Mar 31, 20 the word easter does not appear to be derived from ishtar, but from the german eostre, the goddess of the dawna bringer of light. She is closely related to the easter bunny who was honored for giving her an egg in self sacrifice. Annual spring time fertility rituals are associated worship of the mother goddess and tammuz, the reincarnation of her husband. Many, perhaps most, pagan religions in the mediterranean area had a major seasonal day of religious celebration at or following the spring equinox.
Apr 29, 2019 according to the stories, she is a goddess associated with flowers and springtime, and her name gives us the word easter, as well as the name of ostara itself. Anglosaxon pagans celebrated this time of rebirth by invoking eostre or ostara, the goddess of spring, the dawn, and fertility. A germanic goddess, eostre was very popular with the anglosaxon pagan brigade who worshiped her under the name and kicked off the whole easter business without a jesus in sight. It is a pastoral recognition of the spring equinox, and although a figment of the imagination, her incarnation is glorified in myths and legends. The babylonian origins of easter ishtar the truthers journal. That is why her title is, the fertility goddess of spring. The easter hare was no ordinary animal, but a sacred companion of the old goddess of spring, eostre. It is often assumed that the name easter comes from a pagan figure called eastre or eostre who was celebrated as the goddess of spring by the saxons of northern europe. Easter may have started out as a sex ritual and heres why. The goddess eostar is the goddess of dawn and new beginnings. In ancient germanic the month of april was eostre month, and the goddess was celebrated at that time. Easter gets its name from the teutonic goddess of spring and the dawn, whose name is spelled oestre or eastre.
Its wonderful to read about ostara, the saxon goddess of spring, who is set to arrive whilst day and night are still of equal length, and the light and dark remain in balance. Apr 17, 2017 if easter has nothing to do with ishtar, what about the claims about it coming from the pagan goddess eostre. Ostara is the germanic spring goddess, her symbols of the egg and rabbit still form part of todays easter celebrations. She was the symbol of the resurrection of all nature and was worshipped in early spring. The pagan goddess behind the holiday of easter the. Every year at ostara, everyone begins chatting about a goddess of spring known as eostre. Is easter related to the pagan goddess ishtarashtoreth. The vernal equinox takes place each year between march 19 and march 22, while easter always occurs between late march and early april. The pagan easter celebrates spring and all the meaning associated with the season. This view presumesas does the view associating the origin of christmas on december 25 with pagan. Apr 18, 2014 is easter related to the anglo saxon goddess eostre. The easter bunny is said to have been the bird which at one time drew the chariot of the goddess of spring and was turned into a hare. Lent means spring, and ostara marks the spring equinox, that time of year when, after the fading cold of winter, the day is finally as long as the night. Her name is similar to the word for the christian easter, because that holiday took its name from the ancient pagan goddess of spring.
Eostre, easter, ostara, eggs, and bunnies jason mankey. A better understanding of the pagan celebrations of this season which gave. Rabbits were sacred to her, especially white rabbits, and she was believed to have taken the form of a rabbit. There are many goddesses around the world associated with the season of spring. In german easter is called ostern, and according to jakob grimm yup, one of the fairy tale brothers who was writing in the 1830s the name derives from the german goddess. Mar 16, 2017 introduction to the germanic goddess eostre, as a continuation of the previous video about the vernal equinox spring. Eostre is variously depicted by scholars as a fertility goddess and a goddess of dawn and light. The pagan goddess behind the holiday of easter the times. Ostara celtic painted eggs and white rabbits are sacred to ostara, the celtic goddess of spring, fertility and rebirth. This word has germanic roots and refers to the eastern direction from which the sun rises. Her festival is celebrated on the vernal equinox, the first day of spring. Easter bunny in egg mug easter the spring festival. She was the great mother goddess of the saxon people in northern europe. Eostre or ostara is a germanic goddess who, by way of the germanic month bearing her name.
Apr 09, 2017 the goddess ostara easter in ancient indoeuropean myths ostre or ostara was associated with the light of spring and the goddess who brings the new light. The word easter is of saxon origin, eastra, the goddess of spring, in whose honour sacrifices were offered about. According to the stories, she is a goddess associated with flowers and springtime, and her name gives us the word easter, as well as the. Maidens clothed in white, who at easter, at the season of returning spring, show themselves in clefts of the rock and on mountains, are suggestive of the ancient goddess. Ostara, eastre eostre is an obscure germanic and anglosaxon goddess of spring and dawn, and is thought to be the namesake of the christian holiday easter. Easter is the celebration of the resurrection of jesus from the tomb on the third day after his cruxifixion. Mar 21, 2020 the word easter evidently comes from ostara, the scandinavian goddess of spring. It was a custom with the pagan norsemen at that time to exchange coloured eggs called the eggs of ostara. Hebe greek the goddess of eternal youth and spring. Her animal is the hare which is the origin of the easter bunny. The modern myth of the easter bunny adrian bott the guardian. Spring goddess of fertility and bouncy bunny girl she has her own festival on 21 march, the spring equinox, in which bouncing springy behavior is encouraged. Before christ was born the people living in northern europe had a goddess called eostre, the goddess of the spring. She is only mentioned once in scholarly writings of the period bede the monk states that during eostremonath the old anglosaxon names for april, the pagan anglosaxons help festivals in her honor.
What is clear from the writings of saint bede the venerable, who documented the computation of easter date in his treatise the reckoning of time, is eostre was a goddess so important that an entire month in the old english calendar was named after her. The warren, minnesota, sheaf of april, 1911 ran the following version with a new detail about ostaras chariot, drawn from the already growing and already fanciful literature about the goddess. In the new testament of the bible, the event is said to have. The word easter evidently comes from ostara, the scandinavian goddess of spring. The oil is light and has beautiful healing properties. Her symbols haves been incorporated into the christian celebration of easter. Every year, in spring the people had a festival for her. The goddess who supposedly originated the name of easter is so obscure as to be very likely not real, as she was probably guesswork on the part of bede and can be found nowhere else in the historical record. Spring, the victory of light that made crops grow was celebrated in almost every society. Easter first started out as a celebration of the spring equinox. Is the easter holiday biblical, how does god feel about it. The egg tradition traces back to germany and eastern europe, where painting eggs was popular in the spring, and the osterhare, or easter bunny has a curious relationship with the goddess that gave.
As a spring goddess, she watches over plants and the fertility of earth. Silly symphony the goddess of spring november 3, 1934. One goddess that seems to get the most attention however, is ostara perhaps its because her name closely resembles that of easter, and may explain why her fertility totems such as hares and eggs, are a part of this religious tradition. D id you know that easter was originally a pagan festival dedicated to eostre, the anglosaxon goddess of spring, whose consort was a hare, the forerunner of our easter. Ashtoreth astarte from greek astarte is the name of a major goddess as known from northwestern semitic regions, cognate in name, origin and functions with the. The holiday often involves a church service at sunrise, a feast which includes an easter ham, decorated eggs and stories about rabbits.