Quote:
Originally Posted by PR_Tom
The ancient Saxons celebrated the return of spring with an uproarious festival commemorating their goddess of offspring and of springtime, Eastre. When the second-century Christian missionaries encountered the tribes of the north with their pagan celebrations, they attempted to convert them to Christianity.
As it happened, the pagan festival of Eastre occurred at the same time of year as the Christian observance of the Resurrection of Christ. It made sense, therefore, to alter the festival itself, to make it a Christian celebration as converts were slowly won over. The early name, Eastre, was eventually changed to its modern spelling, Easter.
The Easter Bunny is not a modern invention. The symbol originated with the pagan festival of Eastre. The goddess, Eastre, was worshipped by the Anglo-Saxons through her earthly symbol, the rabbit.
Happy Easter  |
Eastre, Ostara, Eostre, all different forms for the same goddess.. The myth itself is Phrygian in origin, however pagans often interchange the names of gods/goddesses simply depending on the region. Aphrodite, Ashtoreth, Astarte, Demeter, Hathor, Ishtar, Kali, Ostara, essentually the same "goddess" with a different name
Christmas is another one of those lovely pagan-originated, Christian-bastardized holidays.
Either way it's a nice time to spend time with the family, no matter what your religious beliefs.