EASTER FUNNIES - Scott G Rockhold - April 1977

Scott G Rockhold

Eggs, rabbits and hot cross buns are Easter symbols familiar to us all. Yet many of us might be shocked or surprised at the real origin and meaning of many of our allegedly "Christian" Easter customs. Nearly all of the symbols and customs involved in the modern "Christi an" observance of Easter are actually not Christian at all, but derive from ancient pagan European mythology and superstition. The ancient pagan symbols have simply been taken over into mainstream Christianity and given a pseudo-Christian veneer. The modern word "Easter" itself is evidently derived from the name Eostre or Eostur, an ancient Teutonic goddess of the spring months, with whom were doubtless associated spring fertility rites (Bede, De Temp. Ratione, 15). The biblical term associated with the observance of Jesus' death is called the Pascha, a Greek term used to translate the Hebrew word " Passover." Unfortunately, we know little more about the goddess Eostre than her name. - Information Supplied By: Herbert W Armstrong Library