Easter Pagan Origins of Easter
Easter, the celebration of Christ's death and resurrection, is the holiday nearest and dearest to Christian hearts with the exception of Christmas, the celebration of Christ's birth. But was it always a Christian celebration or did the rites and rituals we keep originate in earlier, pre-Christian times? The Greek word pascha' came from the Hebrew term Passover. Many early Christians were of Jewish origin, and already celebrated Passover. The addition of the Easter festival was simply a new aspect which had been foretold by the prophets as an integral factor of the advent of the Messiah.
Another spring festival (Easter) story is the story of Persephone, daughter of the Earth Goddess Demeter, who returned from the underworld after being kidnapped by the god of the underworld. Her mother, Demeter, who had neglected the earth allowing it to die (winter) now began, in her joy at having Persephone back at her side, to nurture the earth, bringing it to life again (spring/rebirth).
The 8th-century English scholar St. Bede gave credence to the belief that the name Easter came from the ancient goddess Eastre, the Great Mother Goddess of the Saxon people whose festival was held in April. Eastre was also known as Ostare, Ostara, Ostern, Eostra, Eostre, Eostur, Eastra, Eastur, Austron and Ausos, in other cultures, all of which could have been derived from the ancient term for spring, "eastre". Other goddesses whose celebrations were held around the spring equinox were Aphrodite (Cyprus), Ashtoreth (Israel), Astarte (ancient Greece), Demeter (Mycenae), Hathor (Egypt), Ishtar (Assyria), Kali (India), Cybele (Phrygian), Isis (Egypt), Venus (Roman) and Ostara (Norse). Ostara and Eastre's symbols were the hare or rabbit.
Eggs have represented birth and resurrection in most cultures. In many cultures the egg itself represents the origin of the world. Egyptian mythology cites, "An egg of wondrous size is said to have fallen from heaven into the river Euphrates. The fishes rolled it to the bank, where the doves, having settled upon it and hatched it, out came Venus, who afterwards was called the Syrian Goddess" (Astarte.)
Perhaps the most intriguing story of an ancient mystery religion is one that came from ancient Babylon and is said to originate from the Bible itself. Noah's descendant, Cush, married a woman named Semiramis. Semiramus' son, Nimrod, married his mother and became king when his father was killed by enemy forces. Semiramus had no intention of giving up the kingdom and created the worship of Baal (Nimrod), setting herself up as his queen on earth. Nimrod, who had been an earthly king, became a heavenly god (sun) who was present in the flames of candles and lamps used during religious ceremonies. Not content with being queen, Semiramis now declared that she was immaculately conceived and born of the moon goddess in one of the eggs that descended to the earth every 28 days. It was at this point that she claimed the name Ishtar and became a goddess.
When the goddess Ishtar was impregnated by the rays of the sun-god Baal, the child born, Tammuz, was destined to become a god also. The young man-to-be-a-god was gored by a wild pig during a hunt and was killed. Having outwitted death once before, Ishtar now declared that Tammuz had ascended to his father, Baal, and they were both represented by the flame of the candles used during religious ceremonies. Taking the mystery religion a step further, Ishtar proclaimed a forty day observance in honor of Tammuz during which no meat could be eaten and his followers were to reflect on the sacred mysteries of Baal and Tamuzz. At the end of this forty day observance, there would be the great celebration of Ishtar (rebirth), symbolized by feasting on pigs, rabbits and eggs.
Another version of this story is that Ishtar had Nimrod killed and took over the kingdom, claiming it for her son, Tammuz. When Tammuz became of age and asked that the kingdom be given to him, Ishtar refused and planned to get rid of Tammuz the way she had Nimrod. Tammuz discovered the plot and had Ishtar killed, ascending the throne himself.
Many of our Easter customs could have originated in pagan religious rituals, or ancient festivals celebrating the renewal of the earth after winters dreariness or they could have been revisions of pagan rites with observances sanctioned by Christianity. Whatever their origins, none of them change the fact that, except for Christmas, Easter is considered the holiest of Christianity's celebrations of Christ's life. Easter is the culmination of the Word becoming Flesh, the commemoration of Christ's death and rebirth for the salvation of Christians everywhere. When we color our eggs with red (to remember the blood that was shed for us) and with pictures of the cross (to remind us how He died) our thoughts are centered toward our Savior, not some ancient religion that has no part in our life today.
REFERENCES: http://www.innvista.com/culture/religion/deities/easter.htm, http://www.lasttrumpetministries.org/tracts/tract1.html,http://www.history.com/content/easter/pagan-origins, http://www.religioustolerance.org/easter1.htm, http://www.thercg.org/books/ttooe.html, http://ldolphin.org/semir.html
