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→Origins of Easter
==Origins of Easter==
While there is no universal agreement, the term Easter may derive from the goddess Eostre, who is the goddess of spring and often associated with fertility in Germanic and Norse traditions. Traditionally, the spring equinox, when darkness and day are the same amount of time, was seen as a holy period that signified the coming time of plenty and the agricultural cycle. It is possible the goddess may connect to the ancient Near East, where the goddess Ishtar also had associations with fertility and was celebrated at about the same time as her significant holidayEostre was. Eostre was also associated with rabbits and hares, which seem to be retained as symbols for Easter, where in the pre-Christian tradition rabbits and hares symbolized new life, as these creatures reappeared after winter. Similarly, Christianity used these symbols of life in relation to the life that Jesus gave his followers. Using eggs as symbols of life and fertility is not only an ancient pre-Christian tradition, likely retained in the holiday celebrations today, but perhaps even hiding eggs for children to find may have already been done by pre-Christian societies in parts of Europe.<ref>For more on the origins of Easter and Eostre, see: Stetcu, Nicolae. 2014. <i>Easter Celebration</i>. CreateSpace. </ref>
Both in Near Eastern and ancient European traditions, the spring equinox was a time of religious festivals that focused on sexuality and fertility. The ancient Babylonians had a "sacred marriage" ceremony where the king would ritualistically have sex with a female representative of the goddess Ishtar. These rituals were seen as critical in continuing life as they allowed its rejuvenation after winter. Eostre seems to be associated with many Indo-European goddesses and as Indo-Europeans migrated from India and through Anatolia, it is possible the traditions of Eostre mixed or were influenced by or along with traditions of Ishtar.<ref>For more on the symbols of fertility and sex in relation to the spring equinox, see: Armstrong, K. (1998) <i>A History of God: the 4000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam</i>. New York, Ballantine. </ref>
Interestingly, for other European cultures, the term for Easter derives from Passover. In essence, it was the Northern European Germanic traditions that may have retained their older holiday names, while southern European or Latin and Greek influenced cultures utilized a new name , derived from Passover, after their conversions. It is also likely that the southern European cultures, which converted earlier than in Northern Europe, had more time to assimilate their older traditions with Christianity.<ref>For more on the Germanic traditions in celebrating spring, see: MacLeod, S.P. (2014) <i>The divine feminine in ancient Europe: goddesses, sacred women, and the origins of western culture</i>. Jefferson, North Carolina, McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, pg. 173.</ref>
[[File:Ostara by Johannes Gehrts.jpg|thumbnail|Figure 1. The goddess Eostre, whose name may have led to the term Easter developing in Germanic languages. ]]
