Easter is a vernal equinox festival that honors the coming of spring and the sun. It is named after the Anglo-Saxon goddess of the Dawn and Spring named Eostre. It celebrates the triumph of spring over winter and life over death. The Norse Eostur, Eastar, Ostara, and Ostar, means season of the growing sun. In Wales Alban Eiler, eos is nightingale, ostl is inn, os is branch. The festival lasts a month and is called Eastur-monath (pron. eh-YAW-stir MOH-nawth).
When Christianity arrived, the church substituted Paschal fires, fires for Christ, for the old ones. Easter became Christ’s resurrection.
Easter Eggs
The egg is one of the oldest Springtime symbols in the world. Ancient Persians, Phoenicians, Hindus and Egyptians believed the world began with an egg. A legend says a great egg broke in half forming the earth and sky with the yolk as the sun.
Eggs were given as gifts in ancient China, Greece and Rome. The Celts worshipped serpents eggs that stood for eternal life. As Christianity appeared the egg became the symbol of Christ’s resurrection from the tomb. Now people decorate eggs of all types and they can be encrusted with gold, silver, and precious stones.
