Easter, to Christians around the world, is known as the sacred day that Jesus was resurrected three days after being crucified. Easter is a special day for Christians and probably their most holy celebratory day next to Christmas, which celebrates Jesus’ birth.
Is Easter a day that began with Christianity? How long has it been celebrated and where did it come from?
Ostara: The Norse Goddess of Fertility
To ancient Anglo-Saxon Pagans, Ostara (also called "Eostre") was the Great Mother Goddess, responsible for the earth’s fertility. In other words, Ostara decided whether to bless the land with new growth and healthy crops. Any deity possessing such power would have been quite special to early agricultural societies, representing the difference between feast or famine.
Deities that represented fertility were revered and celebrated year round, but most of their honor was centered around Spring, in hopes that they would bless the land. Ostara lent her name to the modern celebration of Easter, but she wasn’t the only deity celebrated in ancient times for fertility. A few of the others were:
- Aphrodite in ancient Cyprus
- Ashtoreth in ancient Israel
- Hathor in ancient Egypt
- Kali in India
Some of the Norse mythological symbols connected with Ostara are the rabbit and the egg; the rabbit for its prolific reproduction and the egg as an over-all symbol of reproduction and fertility.
Cybele and Attis : A Phrygian Fertility Goddess and her Lover
In Phrygia (modern day Turkey), the goddess Cybele was worshiped as a fertility goddess. To shorten a very long myth that varies in the telling by region, Cybele fell in love with Attis, who was said to be born of a virgin on December 25.
Attis, already smitten over another woman rejected Cybele. In a jealous rage, Cybele made Attis turn mad; he then killed himself.
Cybele is grief stricken and carries the body of Attis to her cave, where he lies dead as he visits the underworld. On the third day, Cybele brings Attis back to life.
From the myth of Cybele and Attis, came yearly rituals to purify the body of Attis, taking place in the period between March 22 and March 25.
Modern Easter Celebrations
Most historians believe that the story of Attis was the inspiration for the story of Jesus. As times change, myths, stories, rituals and celebrations change with it to represent the needs of the people. It is probable that when humans began to have an understanding of science and weather, that the need for fertility deities diminished, leaving Attis to evolve in Jesus without Cybele.
The story of Attis and Cybele, combined with the Anglo-Saxon view of the pantheon meshed together in early Christianity to form the modern Christian story of Easter.
A Historical View of the Origins of Easter
This brief summaries here of the stories of Ostara, Cybele and Attis are just a small part of what we know about the Origins of Easter. The rest of the stories are quite interesting. View the sources on this page to learn more about this fascinating subject.
Sources:
ReligiousTolerance.org
Aztriad.com
Johanna England - Johanna England is the mother of four young children between the ages of ten and three and a recent graduate of the University of Houston, ...
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