What makes easter pagan

Sign Up. Travel Guides. Videos Beyond Hollywood Hungerlust Pioneers of love. Amber C. The short answer is: nothing. It all goes back to an ancient Pagan tradition. The Goddess Ostara, Wiki Commons. Ostara by Johannes Gehrts. Give us feedback. Read Next View. Buonanotte Garibaldi. Their children also made nests in which this creature could lay its coloured eggs.

Eventually, says the website, the custom spread across the US and to the UK, where the fabled rabbit's deliveries expanded to include chocolate, sweets and gifts, while decorated baskets replaced nests. Easter bunnies are first mentioned in the book De Ovis Paschalibus About Easter Eggs , by Georg Franck von Franckenau, which told of the German tradition of a hare bringing Easter eggs for the children.

Most Christians agree that much of today's Easter iconography does not have its roots in the religion. Easter can mean many things to many people, says Heather McDougall in The Guardian :"Today, we see secular cultures celebrating the spring equinox, whilst religious culture celebrates the resurrection.

Skip to header Skip to main content Skip to footer. In Depth. Is Easter a Christian or pagan festival? Currently Reading 1. Easter food guide: meal kits, hampers and eggs 2. Easter food around the world 3. Currently Reading 4. Where did the Easter Bunny come from? Why do we celebrate with eggs and bunnies? See all pages. Brent Landau does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

The date of Easter, when the resurrection of Jesus is said to have taken place, changes from year to year. The reason for this variation is that Easter always falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox. I am a religious studies scholar specializing in early Christianity, and my research shows that this dating of Easter goes back to the complicated origins of this holiday and how it has evolved over the centuries.

Easter is quite similar to other major holidays like Christmas and Halloween, which have evolved over the last years or so. In all of these holidays, Christian and non-Christian pagan elements have continued to blend together. Most major holidays have some connection to the changing of seasons. This is especially obvious in the case of Christmas. The New Testament gives no information about what time of year Jesus was born.

Similar was the case with Easter, which falls in close proximity to another key point in the solar year: the vernal equinox around March 20 , when there are equal periods of light and darkness. For those in northern latitudes, the coming of spring is often met with excitement, as it means an end to the cold days of winter. Spring also means the coming back to life of plants and trees that have been dormant for winter, as well as the birth of new life in the animal world.

Given the symbolism of new life and rebirth, it was only natural to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus at this time of the year. The only reference to this goddess comes from the writings of the Venerable Bede, a British monk who lived in the late seventh and early eighth century.