Eosturmonath
The
Month
of
the
Goddess
Eostra
Venerable
Bede's
Involvement
According to Bede an 8th century English
Christian monk (who died in 735 CE)
wrote in the De Tempore Rationum ("On
the
Reckoning
of
Time"), "The
English months", the word Easter is derived from Eostre the Anglo-Saxon
goddes of spring, and also a festival held in her honor. Bede
connects it the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring, relating to the
month April, and called it Eostur-monath. He derived the name Easter
from the Teutonic goddess Eostre which refers to a spring festival in
Anglo-Saxon Culture that procededs Christianity.
However there is speculation that
Eostre was fabricated by Bede. There are theories that connect Eostre
with records of a Germanic fold custom which includes hares and eggs.
In his De
temporum
ratione , Bede wrote
in Latin:
"Eostur-monath,
qui
nunc
paschalis
mensis
interpretatur, quondam a dea illorum quae
Eostre
vocabatur et cui in illo festa celebrabant nomen habuit."
Translation:
"Eostur-month,
which
is
now
interpreted
as
the paschal month, was
formerly
named after the
goddess Eostre, and has given its name to the festival."
Sacred Symbols of Eostre
One
of
the
most
prominant
symbols
of
Eostre
is the hare, later known as the
Easter Bunny. Hares are a sign of fertility because
of thier extremely
fertil reproductive practices. It has also been
suggested that The Goddess of the Dawn, was carried by hares.
While others have said that she was depicted as having the head of a
Hare.
The hare
connection to the Goddess is that they are a
direct representation of
what she
embodies, springtime life.
Another
well
known
symbol
are
the
eggs,
which
represents
coming out of the womb and procreation. Colored eggs are also said
to
remind us of the colors of spring time.
Evolution of Easter
Eventually the Christian church adopted the Easter festival
incorporating the story of Jesus Christ's Resurection.
It was
easy to intagrate Eostre festival into Christian religion because it
could also represent the re-birth of Christ and
his resurection while
slightly changing the name from Eostre to Easter.
· Allen, Stuart. "Eostre." Anglo-Saxon Heathenism. 22 July 2003. Web. 7 Apr. 2010. <http://englishheathenism.homestead.com/eostre.html>.
· Baskervill, Charles R. "Dramatic Aspects of Medieval Folk Festivals in England." Studies in Philology, 17.1 (1920): 19-87. JSTOR. Web. 7 Apr. 2010.
· "Easter." Answers.com. Web. 7 Apr. 2010. <http://www.answers.com/topic/easter>.
· "Easter." Wikipedia. 5 Apr. 2010. Web. 7 Apr. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter#Anglo-Saxon_and_German>.
· "Eostre." EconomicExpert.com. Web. 7 Apr. 2010. <http://www.economicexpert.com/a/Eostre.htm>.
· "Eostre." Search.com. Web. 7 Apr. 2010. <http://www.search.com/reference/Eostre>.
· "Eostre." Wikipedia. 5 Apr. 2010. Web. 7 Apr. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C4%92ostre>.
· "The Christian Holiday of Easter Is Named after a Pagan Fertility Goddess." De-fact-o.com. 23 Mar. 2008. Web. 7 Apr. 2010. <http://www.de-fact-o.com/fact_read.php?id=111>.