***** [Please see this recently updated article: Easter is Not a Goddess
https://fortheloveoftruth.wordpress.com/easter-is-not-a-goddess/ ]
EASTER
For several years I have been thinking of writing a complex series of articles on Easter. As the years have passed and I have gotten bogged down with life, I decided that perhaps simplicity is more appropriate. Those who consider Easter to be evil and pagan will probably not be swayed by the facts that oppose their beliefs about it – for they are deeply engrained and thoroughly processed and assimilated all over the net, in books, articles, DVDs, conferences, off the pulpit and promoted on forums. It has been said that if a lie is told often enough, it becomes the truth … and no truer words would apply to the entire Easter myth.
This author has spent months of study and reading and digging into ancient studies, as well as those in academia that have done the same. Accurate research can only come when one has no preconceived ideas. Having been part of the entire “Easter is pagan” mind set and on the other side of the fence as well, as a practicing Easter celebrator, I hoped that my searching would lead to the truth, rather than forcing one particular side over the other. And I pray I have done so, because the last thing I ever want to do is to dishonor the Lord by misjudging and promoting something that is contrary to His Word.
The word “Easter” is not a pagan word. It’s just a word. A German word that became anglicized. Easter is not a goddess, she never was. It was a myth that was either made up or assumed by the Venerable Bede in 825AD. His statements have been proven false, but unfortunately, the lie has lived on promoted by the unsuspecting … even the King James Bible, which used the word once in the book of Acts. The translators were going by tradition as Easter was the accepted term for the death and resurrection of Christ. The term, Easter, took on a life of its own after Bede announced to the uneducated public that Easter was a goddess and aimed his denigration of it at the church who he accused of celebrating the worship of a goddess with the activities of that time of year during the 9th century. One might say that he had a rapt audience and was given carte blanche by the Roman Catholic Church for his outlandish statements. And, as these things happen, it evolved into the term that is currently used for a specific time of year when Christians celebrate the resurrection of Christ, but Bede was never corrected for his mistake in the process. Instead, Alexander Hislop, Jakob Grimm and Lew White went off on a ridiculous tangent to prove this myth as truth with their inaccurate writings. So we are stuck with a term that is accepted by all and has been increasingly used as a tool to mock Christians today for their so-called paganism.
Just a note of explanation. I am not going to post a whole bunch of quotes and links to prove my statements, but I have a ton of them. It would take pages and pages to show the truth by the resources I have found. If you truly are interested in the sources, I am more than happy to share them. For this article, I need brevity so people will at least take the time to read this 🙂 Human nature is funny – if you believe something is factual, nothing anyone says will convince you otherwise, regardless if it’s in black and white. Perhaps I am too cynical, but if someone really wants the truth, they will go after it, not rely on teachers and false information to support their beliefs like I did for so many years to my own detriment …. Because I was more than happy to educate people that Easter is pagan and Christians are really worshiping the goddess Easter/Ostara/Oestre/Asheroth/Ishtar and other such complete nonsense without looking at the facts for myself at that time in my life.
The Origins of Oestre actually come from a month called Oestremonath on the Old Norse/Germanic/Teutonic/Viking calendar. It means dawn or the opening of the month – which refers to spring coming after a long dark, cold winter. There were no celebrations at that time of year. Typically, celebrations were held in the summer and in Nov/Dec. There were no sacrifices to their gods and goddesses at these times. They were festivals/celebrations of food and fun. In Sweden, to this day there is a part of the country which is called Ostaraland – named after the month, not a goddess 🙂
I searched through hundreds of old writings and histories and could find no “Oestra” or “Ostara” that was a goddess. Germany was once part of Scandinavia and Norse mythology was its religion. The main goddesses are Freija and Freya. There is no Eostra or Oestra or Ostara listed anywhere in any histories, not found in any archeology or mythology or writings or poem or traditions or oral traditions linked with Germany or Scandinavia. This goddess does not and has never has existed anywhere …..
Easter has etymologically been attached to the Christian season for centuries. It is just a word, a term for Christ’s resurrection. It is not an evil word, nor is it something that causes people to unknowingly worship a goddess. It is really not any different than the word “Passover” which William Tyndale, a Catholic man, who translated the Scriptures into English [Tyndale Bible 1500s] for the common man came up with a word to represent Pesach > the Israelite feast of slaying a lamb and painting the doorway with blood. The angel of the Lord “passed over” keeping their first born safe from death. Passover is not considered an evil word even though a Catholic man came up with it and it’s used even by those who go on and on about “Easter” being pagan. The Jews use “Passover” as well. It is not a bad word ….. Language is just words, words are not evil, they are how we communicate with each other.
There is another despicable lie that is being circulated having to do with eggs being dipped in baby’s blood. Can I say what a disgusting thing to accuse Christians of? There is NO, NONE, NADA, historical support for such an evil myth. And those who keep harping on this at Easter should be more than ashamed of themselves for promoting such a nasty and perverted concept.
Easter eggs, bunnies and chicks are not evil either … and they have NOTHING to do with a goddess. They were part of tradition in spring type celebrations, heralding the season of spring when new birth is evident in God’s creation. The eggs were hidden in hare’s nests and the kids went looking for them. That is how eggs got connected with rabbits. Grimm made up a myth about Ostara and rabbit laying eggs – which has become listed as a pagan tradition in Messianic circles. Dying eggs has nothing to do with making Jesus death and resurrection evil and pagan. They are just traditions, not used for worship. There is nothing wrong with using colored eggs as decorations at a time of year when we remember new life in Christ. For me, it only emphases HIM, not detracts from Him. It is a joyous time of year we remember His death on the cross and then His resurrection. Perhaps those of us who live in the more northern parts of the USA appreciate it due to the long cold winter. The arrival of spring has always been a special time of year when Easter is recognized in various ways and the crowning of Christ as risen King and Lord is only enhanced by the joy of this holiday. Shame on people for stealing what the rest of Christianity sees as a time of year to rejoice and sing praises to our Lord for His salvation and eternal life and celebrate with colored eggs, bunnies, baskets and bright colors! We are NOT worshiping the traditions, we worship the Lord!!!
I have also heard that Easter comes from the word “estra” having to do with the process of reproduction. Ridiculous. They are not even from the same root word. It’s just another disgusting lie associated with Easter to make it more evil and perverted, and not worth the time to discuss it further.
Easter is NOT Ishtar. Ishtar is a Canaanite goddess that means “to lead”. Ishtar was a goddess of war and sex. She has nothing to do with Easter – they are not even remotely connected. Shame on Alexander Hislop for suggesting such nonsense and for people to promote this horrible lie without checking their facts first. Easter means “dawn”. How easy it is to see that it became the word in England applied to what we know as Easter due to Jesus rising at dawn! Germany took over England around the 5th century so its language assimilated into English, which is how Oestre became Easter. And that is all there is to it. No conspiracy, just simple linguistics and language etymology.
One last item – sunrise services are not some pagan invention that Christians are all enamored with. They became popular because people wanted to worship the Lord early in the morning in remembrance of the Scriptures which tell us that Jesus arose at dawn. It’s that simple. To this day, I do not understand why people would come up with such lies and innuendos against those who love the Lord and seek to honor and worship as the Holy Spirit leads them to. How small minded to point fingers at those who choose to be obedient to the NT texts that encourage them to worship the Lord at all times.
I pray what I have written is edifying and helps with some factual knowledge. I cannot stop anyone from continuing to push the lies and myths about Easter, but I can at least show some how wrong it is to accuse Christians of something that is nothing more than a myth to denigrate their celebrations of Christ in the spring of the year, commonly known as Easter. I hope people will stop and think about what they are saying about others who love the Lord with all their hearts, because it is not edifying to the Him in the least.
Another article on Easter that give more information here on my blog is …
Part 1 – Is Easter a Pagan Celebration or is it the Fulfillment of Passover/Pesach?
For The Love Of Truth 