Easter was originally a holiday celebrated by people referred to as “pagans” in prehistory. Christians amalgamated the holiday with their own traditions to either avoid persecution or make Christianity more palatable to a majority “pagan” society. The Christian use of the word pagan refers to anyone who didn’t worship Christ and one god. The term encompasses some very different ancient religious traditions from Animism to Shamanism.
The word Easter seems to have derived from the word “Estre” or “Eostre”, which was the name of an ancient Anglo-Saxon goddess of fertility and spring. Her name is said to have derived from Ishtar, also known as Astarte, Beltis, Ostara, Artemis, Cybele, Demeter, and Isis, depending on which culture, era, and geographical location you look at. The rites practiced by people in those days to worship the goddess were probably orgy-like, because Christianity denounced them as “occultic fertility rites”. This would tie in with the celebration of the spring equinox by the heiros gamos, or divine marriage between Astarte and Dumuzzi (or Attis, Tammuz, Osiris, Dionysus, or Orpheus). After the HG, apparently Dumuzzi disappears or is taken to the underworld for 40 days, during which time Astarte mourns his disappearance. This apparently ties in with the 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter. His disappearance symbolized the Earth’s regenerative powers; the heiros gamos celebrated this regeneration.
In most ancient traditions there is egg symbolism. The egg symbolizes the birth of the world, fertility, renewal, and bounty. And in the ancient Easter traditions of the goddess worshiping people, the egg featured prominently. The eggs were dyed red to symbolize fertility, and many other colors were used as well to dye eggs which were hidden for the children who would hunt for them. Christianity uses the egg to symbolize Jesus’s emergence from the cave.
Estre, Ishtar, etc’s favorite animal was the rabbit or hare, which symbolized bountiful fertility. It was one of the most fertile animals known, with an ability to reproduce rapidly. The hare was also associated with the moon in many ancient cultures’ folklore, such as Egyptian, Chinese, and many more. Nobody can agree on why the bunny started laying eggs.
Then there are the hot cross buns famous in England as an Easter treat. These also date back to the spring rituals; the women who mourned Dumuzzi’s parting were said to make the buns for his return and the enjoyment of both Astarte and Dumuzzi. These types of buns were actually found in ancient tombs in Egypt.The symbolism continues as the flesh of Christ during the Eucharist. The cross upon them was a common symbol of ancient cultures, symbolizing the four seasons, the four directions, etc.
Which brings us to other word associations: East is where the sun rejoins the earth (and in ancient Egypt, the sun god Horus made a circle around the earth, Dumuzzi rejoins Astarte, etc.). Estrus refers to the female cycle. Estrogen is the female hormone.
If you google some of these things, you’ll see where many Christian sects are against celebrating Easter because of its pagan origins. They claim it is a day promoted by Satan (all the sexual symbolism obviously makes them uncomfortable).
So I come to celebrate Easter in all its guises and for all the reasons anyone would. I celebrate spring and the renewal of plants, I celebrate fertility, I celebrate the resurrection of wonderful things. I celebrate chocolate.