MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

Here is another article I came across recently regarding whether or not Easter was based upon a pagan holiday:

“It is a popular trend in the English-speaking world to accuse Christians of stealing Easter, or of stealing the concept of the celebration from Saxon pagans. The core of this argument is based on the term ‘Easter’ itself; it is claimed the word is derived from the goddess Eostre or Ostara. However, scholars disagree as to the origins of the modern word ‘Easter’. While some believe it was named directly after the goddess, other scholars believe the root meaning of the word is ‘the opening of the month’ or ‘the dawn’ (i.e. the rising sun), and it is believed that the Christian Saxons chose this name and applied it to the feast of Christ’s Resurrection due to the significance of the term (i.e. the rising sun, or figuratively the resurrecting Son), and not because it was the name of a goddess.

Regardless of the name, the Saxon people converted to Christianity beginning in the 6th century AD, but Christians throughout the Roman Empire — including in Britannia, prior to the arrival of the Saxons — were already celebrating the feast of the Resurrection since the earliest centuries, centuries before the term ‘Easter’ was used, and centuries before the Saxons had any contact with Christians or Romans.

Something which people in the English-speaking world often also forget is that the term ‘Easter’, regardless of its meaning or its origin, is an English term used only in the English-speaking world. The term ‘Easter’ is not used in the rest of the world. There are only two other major countries which use a term with the same derivative, and that is Austria and Germany, which both refer to the celebration of the Resurrection as ‘Ostern’ (minor countries include Lichtenstein and Luxembourg, which use the terms ‘Ostern’ and ‘Ouschteren’). In nearly every other European country, the celebration which the English call ‘Easter’ is referred to either by 1) a term deriving from the Latin word ‘Pascha’ or the Greek word ‘Paskha’ (Πάσχα); 2) a term deriving from Old Church Slavonic, or 3) a term with the meaning of “Big Day” or “Great Night”. Most countries in Europe, and in the rest of the world, use a term which falls into one of these three categories, with very few exceptions.

The following countries use a term derived from the Latin word ‘Pascha’ or the Greek word ‘Paskha’ (Πάσχα):

Italy: ‘Pasqua’;
Spain: ‘Pascua’;
Portugal: ‘Páscoa’;
France: ‘Pâques’;
Belgium: ‘Paosje’ (also ‘Poaschn’ and ‘Påke’);
Netherlands: ‘Pasen’;
Denmark: ‘Påske’;
Norway: ‘Påske’;
Sweden: ‘Påsk’;
Iceland: ‘Páskar’;
Russia: ‘Paskha’ (Пасха);
Greece: ‘Paskha’ (Πάσχα)
Albania: ‘Pashkët’;
Finland: ‘Pääsiäinen’;
Romania: ‘Paște’;
Ireland: ‘Cáisc’ (or ‘Casc’ in Old Irish).

In Scotland and Wales the local terms used are ‘Pace’ and ‘Pasg’. In certain regions of England, such as Cornwall, the term used in the local Cornish language is ‘Pask’. Similarly, in the local dialect along the Rhine, in Germany, the term used is ‘Paisken’. In Low Saxon the term used is ‘Poaske’. While some of the Swiss cantons use the term ‘Ostern’, other cantons use the terms ‘Pâques’, ‘Pasqua’ and ‘Pasca’. Even in Germany, although they use the term ‘Ostern’ for Easter itself, the day prior to Easter is referred to as ‘Vollpascha’. All of these words are derived from the Latin word ‘Pascha’ (or ‘Paskha’ [Πάσχα] in Greek), which is what Christians in all the above countries call—and have always called—’Easter’, which was celebrated by the earliest Christians.

In some Slavic countries, the terms used derive from an Old Church Slavonic word for ‘Resurrection’ or ‘to resurrect’. For example:

Bosnia: ‘Uskrs’;
Croatia: ‘Uskrs’;
Montenegro: ‘Uskrs’;
Serbia: ‘Uskrs’ (Ускрс) (also ‘Vaskrs’ [Васкрс]).

These words all derive from Old Church Slavonic, and mean ‘Resurrection’.

In some other Slavic countries, and even Baltic countries, the terms used mean ‘Big Day’ or ‘Great Night’. For example:

Bulgaria: ‘Великден’;
Czech Republic: ‘Velikonoce’;
Latvia: ‘Lieldienas’;
Lithuania: ‘Velykos’;
Poland: ‘Wielkanoc’;
Slovakia: ‘Veľká noc’;
Slovenia: ‘Velika noč’;
Ukraine: ‘Velykdenʹ’ (Великдень);
Belarus: ‘Vialikdzień’ (Вялікдзень);
Macedonia: ‘Veligden’ (Велигден).

The terms used in Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Belarus and Macedonia all mean ‘Big Day’ or ‘Great Day’, while the terms used in the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia mean ‘Great Night’. In Poland, Slovakia and Belarus the Latin word ‘Pascha’ is also used as a secondary term.

Some unique exceptions to the above three linguistic categories is Hungary, which celebrates ‘Húsvét’, and Estonia, which celebrates ‘Lihavõtted’. These terms both mean ‘meat taking’ or ‘taking meat’, which is a reference to eating meat after abstaining during the period of Lent. Although the primary term used in Estonia is ‘Ülestõusmispühad’, which means ‘Resurrection’ or ‘Rising holiday’. In Malta the term used is ‘L-Għid il-Kbir’, which means ‘the Great Feast’, however the term historically used in Malta is ‘Pasqua’ from the Latin word ‘Pascha’.

The Christian celebration of Christ’s Resurrection (called ‘Easter’ in English) has nothing to due with Saxon paganism or with the goddess Ostara. In fact, some scholars even doubt the existence of a goddess named Ostara. To date no evidence has been found that Saxon pagans ever worshiped a goddess by that name. It is believed that Saxon Christians merely applied the descriptive term ‘Eostur’ or ‘Ostara’ to Christ’s Resurrection due to its figurative significance, not due to copying the formal name of a goddess. Nonetheless, early Christians in Italy, Greece, Gaul, Anatolia, and throughout the whole Roman world were already celebrating the feast of the Resurrection, independent of the Saxons, centuries before the Saxons were encountered, and centuries before their customs became known to us.

A brief timeline of the history of the Christian celebration of the Resurrection:

• First and Second Century AD – Christians throughout the Roman Empire celebrate a spring festival honouring the Resurrection of Christ, known as Pascha.

• Second and Third Century AD – The East and West argues over when Pascha should be celebrated; some say it should be celebrated according to the lunar calendar (as was the custom in parts of Asia Minor, especially Antioch), others say according to the solar calendar (as was the custom in Rome and Alexandria).

• Fourth Century AD – The Council of Nicaea decides that Pascha should be celebrated by all on the same date, on the Sunday after 14 Nisan.

• Fifth Century AD – The tribes of Angles, Saxons, and Jutes invade and settle in Britannia.

• Sixth and Seventh Century AD – The tribes which settled in Britannia — collectively called Anglo-Saxons — convert to Christianity.

• Seventh or Eighth Century AD – The converted Christians in Britannia (and later in Germany) begin to use the word ‘Eostur’ and ‘Ostara’ to describe the day of celebration which everyone else in the Christian world referred to as ‘Pascha’.

It is clear then that the celebration known as ‘Easter’ in the English-speaking world does not have its origins in Saxon festivals honouring Ostara, nor is it based on any other festivals honouring an old goddess. What the English-speaking world calls ‘Easter’ (and what is today referred to as ‘Ostern’ in a few other countries) was already an established holiday in the early Christian Church, and the celebration had nothing to do with Saxon pagans or their festivals. In fact, the very existence of the Saxon people was not realized by the Roman and Christian world until approximately the fourth century AD; at that point Christians had already been celebrating the feast of the Resurrection for at least two centuries.

To conclude, Christians did not ‘steal’ Easter from the Saxons; the feast celebrating the Resurrection of Christ, known as Pascha, predates the designated term ‘Easter’ (and ‘Ostern’); the term ‘Easter’ is merely a word Anglo-Saxon Christians used for an already-existing Christian holiday, a day which was celebrated throughout Christian lands long before the existence of the English language.'”

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