Where did Easter originate?

Answer 1

• Everywhere they hunt the many-colored Easter eggs, brought by the Easter rabbit. This is not mere child's play, but the vestige of a fertility rite, the eggs and the rabbit both symbolizing fertility.
• The book The Two Babylons, by Alexander Hislop, had this to say: 'What means the term Easter itself? It is not a Christian name. It bears its Chaldean origin on its very forehead. Easter is nothing else than Astarte, one of the titles of Beltis, the queen of heaven, whose name, as found by Layard on the Assyrian monuments, is Ishtar. Such is the history of Easter. The popular observances that still attend the period of its celebration amply confirm the testimony of history as to its Babylonian character.' The hot cross buns of Good Friday, and the dyed eggs of Pasch or Easter Sunday, figured in the Chaldean rites just as they do now
• Here, the "dyed eggs" are mentioned as part of the Chaldean(Babylonian) rites. The Catholic Encyclopedia comments: A great many pagan customs, celebrating the return of Spring, gravitated to Easter. The egg is the emblem of the germinating life of early spring. The rabbit is a pagan symbol and has always been an emblem of fertility.
• Reference works that speak of the subject agree that the egg was a symbol of life and fertility among Pagans. The book Celebrations says: Eggs were said to be dyed and eaten at the Spring festivals in ancient Egypt, Persia, Greece, and Rome. The Persians of that time gave eggs as gifts at the vernal equinox.
• From these references, it is clear that the colored eggs originated in the ancient springtime fertility rites. The hunt, however, could also have originated there or came into play later, just as the annual Easter egg roll that occurs on the White House lawn. Again, maybe some others here will help with more info.
• A professor told us the true origin was an offshoot of the crusades through Ireland by French knights. The crusaders would bribe children with food or money, to tell them the names of all the farmers who practiced the pagan tradition of burying a blue egg in their fields with their wishes written on it, for the spring season, that supposedly brought fertility to their crops. The soldiers would then go to the farms of those found with eggs buried and execute the owners for practicing pagan rituals.

Answer 2

Easter is at the time of the Vernal Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and it marks the beginning of Spring. The return of the sunlight and the warm and fertile Earth was celebrated in the ancient world. Like all Christian holy days and holidays, Easter was overlayed on the time of pre-Christian Spring Festivals that celebrated the return of the balance of day and night and fertility of the crops and animals.

There are no Easter bunnies nor brightly colored easter eggs in the biblical literature. Those ancient traditions that are still practiced provide living proof that pagan traditions have left their mark on the modern world.

Spring festivals were widespread in the ancient world. In fact, the return of Spring was one of the most significant times of the year to the ancient cultures along with the harvest. Consider the following:

• There was an ancient Babylonian holiday that celebrated the resurrection of the god, Tammuz, who was brought back from the underworld by his mother, Ishtar, the goddess of Spring. The pronunciation of her name is very close to the pronunciation of Easter. In Phoenecia she was called Astarte.
• The ancient Anglo-Saxon goddess of Spring was called Eastre or Ostera or Eostre. Many of our Easter traditions came to us from the Anglo-Saxons, especially bunnies laying eggs in little nests in the grass.
• Lent, the forty day abstinence period, was also derived from the ancient world and fasting was done to honor several different gods.
• The egg was the symbol of fertility in the ancient world- the perfect way to welcome the return of Spring. They were dyed and hung in Egyptian temples.
• The hare was also an ancient world symbol of fertility as it is today.

Answer 3

AnswerEaster is a Christian holiday that Croatians adapted into their religion.The idea of an Easter egg hunt within this Holiday comes from the worship of the Goddess of fertility that these pagans had.

A mong Ukrainians there is a belief that the fate of the world depends upon pysanky. As long as egg decorating continues, the world will exist.

Easter Eggs can be grouped into 6 main categories which are: 1) solar symbols, 2) bezkonechnyk - never ending lines, 3) plant symbols, 4) animal symbols, 5) geometric symbols and 6) Christian symbols.

The writing of Easter eggs was suppressed by the Soviets in the past century and many beautifully decorated eggs were destroyed in museums.

Check out these Ukrainian batik dyed Easter Eggs that are 60 years old - from the old country - covered with intricate geometric patterns and plants.

Answer 4

If you go way back, though, the Easter Bunny starts to make a little sense. Spring is the season of rebirth and renewal. Plants return to life after winter dormancy and many animals mate and procreate. Many pagan cultures held spring festivals to celebrate this renewal of life and promote fertility. One of these festivals was in honor of Eostre or Eastre, the goddess of dawn, spring and fertility near and dear to the hearts of the pagans in Northern Europe. Eostre was closely linked to the hare and the egg, both symbols of fertility.

As Christianity spread, it was common for missionaries to practice some good salesmanship by placing pagan ideas and rituals within the context of the Christian faith and turning pagan festivals into Christian holidays (e.g. Christmas). The Eostre festival occurred around the same time as the Christians' celebration of Christ's resurrection, so the two celebrations became one, and with the kind of blending that was going on among the cultures, it would seem only natural that the pagans would bring the hare and egg images with them into their new faith (the hare later became the more common rabbit).

Answer 5

It first started when the ukranian people decorated the eggs to fight of evil spirits.

Answer 6

Rabbits and eggs are a sign of fertility. Easter dates long before Jesus. It used to be (& still is) a celebration of the fertility of the Earth, which is renewed each spring.

Answer 7

it began in 1567 when Nathan humphies thought of a good idea to creat something new so that's when he come up with an eidea

Answer 8

It is from Pagan religion

Answer 9

in 1409