Doesn’t it seem a little odd for a Christian celebration to be following a pagan calendar and focusing on an Easter Bunny handing out eggs? The answer lies in Christianity’s pagan roots.
A Spring Goddess
The hint is in the name given to this time of year; Easter. It comes from the Teutonic Goddess named Eastre or Eostre. She was the spring Goddess, and symbolized renewal and fertility. Her followers were reliant on food crops springing from the dormant ground each year. A translation of Eastre gives us “radiant dawn” and that is exactly what spring was to those who had suffered through a long winter.
Death and rebirth are common themes in mythology, with the old needing to die so that fertile new grounds could be prepared. Not only is this an analogy for crops, but also for spiritual growth and the physiology of the body. In female animals, the fertility cycle is called the estrous cycle and it determines when a female is ready for ovulation and pregnancy. Even the hormone responsible for fertility, estrogen is credited to the spring Goddess.
Resurrection is represented many times over with themes in shamanic death and rebirth, the journey of the Fool in tarot, and ultimately in enlightenment. According to Gnostic schools of thought, the Christ myth is one of spiritual death and rebirth resulting in enlightenment, and not about a physical death and physical resurrection. This is one reason that the resurrection of Christ is tied to a pagan spring calendar, as it symbolizes new life and new awareness.
A Pagan Calendar
One of the eight major ceremony dates within the Celtic pagan calendar is vernal equinox or Ostara, on March 21st. At this time, the day and night are of even lengths and it is halfway between winter solstice and summer solstice. Easter is determined by selecting the first Sunday after the first full moon following vernal equinox.
A Bunny with Eggs
Where does a rabbit handing out eggs come from? The rabbit, or hare, is the symbol of Eastre and of the spring in general. Hares represent fertility and fecundity. In other words, the hare is the symbol of rebirth. The egg is also the most basic symbol of rebirth, renewal, and new growth. The association of the rabbit and egg comes from two sources. There is a myth concerning Eastre that she changed a bird into a hare to be her totem. Secondly, hares often find a small depression in the ground to sit in for protection. In the spring, the bird called a lapwing nests on the ground. Hares have been known to sit in these nests therefore looking like they are hatching eggs. This is part of the behaviour that also coined the phrase “mad March hares”. Of interesting note is that the word oestrus in Latin refers to frenzy or madness.
So Easter is a celebration of spring and renewal. The current celebration has its roots firmly in pagan myths. No matter its roots though, Easter is a promise of new growth ahead, and a new start on the ever turning wheel of the year.
References
Druid Animal Oracle, Philip & Stephanie Carr-Gomm, 1984, ISBN-13 978-0671503000
Myths to Live By, Joseph Campbell, 1993, ISBN-13 978-0140194616
Nag Hammadi Library, James Robinson, 1990, ISBN-13 978-0060669355
The Fifth Gospel of Thomas, Stephen Patterson,1998, ISBN-13 978-1563382499
Gnostic Gospels, Elaine Paigel, 1989, ISBN-13 978-0679724537
Wicca, A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner, Scott Cunningham, 1993, ISBN-13 978-0875421186
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