Easter Stories and Myths – Storytelling for Everyone

Have you ever wondered why colored eggs, rabbits, and baby chicks, are symbolic of Easter? And why we give Easter baskets filled with candy to children? Most historians, including Biblical scholars, agree that Easter was originally a pagan festival.

Ancient Celebration of the Spring goddess

Easter was originally a celebration of Eostre, goddess of Spring, otherwise known as Ostara, Austra, and Eastre. One of the most revered aspects of Ostara for both ancient peoples was a spirit of renewal. The Sumerian goddess Inanna was known outside of Mesopotamia by her Babylonian name, “Ishtar.” In ancient Canaan, Ishtar was known as Astarte, and her counterparts in the Greek and Roman pantheons were known as Aphrodite and Venus.

Celebrated at Spring Equinox on March 21, Ostara marks the day when light is equal to darkness, and will continue to grow. As the bringer of light after a long dark winter, the goddess was often depicted with the hare, an animal that represents the arrival of spring as well as the fertility of the season.

According to Jacob Grimm’s Deutsche Mythologie, the idea of resurrection was ingrained within the celebration of Ostara: “Ostara, Eástre seems therefore to have been the divinity of the radiant dawn, of upspringing light, a spectacle that brings joy and blessing.”

The Origins of Easter Customs

The most widely-practiced customs on Easter Sunday relate to the symbol of the rabbit (‘Easter bunny’) and the egg.  As stated, the rabbit was a symbol associated with Eostre, representing the beginning of Springtime. Likewise, the egg has come to represent spring, fertility and renewal. 

In Germanic mythology, it was said that Ostara healed a wounded bird she found in the woods by changing it into a hare. Still partially a bird, the hare showed its gratitude to the goddess by laying eggs as gifts.

The Encyclopedia Britannica explains the pagan traditions associated with the egg: “The egg as a symbol of fertility and of renewed life goes back to the ancient Egyptians and Persians, who had also the custom of coloring and eating eggs during their spring festival.” In ancient Egypt, an egg symbolized the sun, while for the Babylonians, the egg represents the hatching of the Venus/Ishtar, who fell from heaven to the Euphrates.

And so, the Easter basket is symbolic of a nest, and eggs are symbolic of birth, and a new beginning. There was a time when families would put their Easter meal in a basket and bring it to their local church to have it blessed. By the late 19^th century chocolate eggs began to replace the real kind, and today we think of an Easter basket as something to give a child.  

Whether it is observed as a religious holiday commemorating the resurrection of Christ, or a time for families in the northern hemisphere to enjoy the coming of Spring and celebrate with egg decorating and Easter bunnies, the celebration of Easter still retains the same spirit of rebirth and renewal, as it has for thousands of years.

Source:   https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/ancient-pagan-origins-easter-001571

Image: Spring Goddess (Nejron Photo / Adobe Stock)