Elsa looks up the origin of the Word ‘Easter’

_Elsa_

Back at home, Elsa gather her thoughts together for her new story about Easter. There is one thing that is bugging her.  How did the word ‘Easter’ originate? She takes out her laptop and does a Google search.  

As she begins to read some of the articles she finds that there are many stories and legends surrounding the name.  

“To some, it is the history and celebration of spring; for others it is a day to remember deliverance; for many it is the celebration of new life in Christ. Let's look at a few explanations:

Eostre - a pagan Anglo-Saxon Goddess

This mythical figure is said to have been the goddess of the sunrise and the spring. She is the Teutonic goddess of the dawn. The direction of the sunrise, East, is named for her. In Norse mythology, the name is spelled Eostare. Another considered the Norse/Saxon goddess of spring is Ostara. Eastre is believed to be an ancient word for spring.

Pesach - the Passover

While pagans celebrated the rites of spring, the Jews celebrated Passover, the anniversary of the day God delivered them out of Egyptian bondage. God had demanded the firstborn male from every household, but had promised to pass over any house with the blood of a perfect lamb smeared on its doorpost. He then commanded the Jews to remember their deliverance through the ceremony of the Passover. Pesach is the Hebrew word for Passover. Its position in the Jewish calendar coincidentally corresponds to the beginning of Spring.

Easter: An Early Celebration of Christ's Resurrection

Another idea involves the history of the Frankish church (Germans who settled in Rome during the fifth century). Their the celebration of Christ's resurrection included the word alba, which means white (the color of the robes worn during the resurrection festival). Alba also meant sunrise. So when the name of the festival was translated into German, the sunrise meaning, ostern, was selected, likely in error. One theory is that Ostern is the origin of the word Easter.

More important than the question of how the word Easter originated is what it means to us today. When you think of the word Easter, what do you see? If you see bunnies and baskets of chocolate eggs, you are missing out on the richness of this day, considered by many Christians to be even more significant than Christmas. Easter, to Christians, is actually Resurrection Day.” You can read more about this here.  

Let’s continue the story here -  Elsa finishes the story

Start at the beginning here - Tiffi thinks about Easter