Down the Rabbit Hole: Easter Myths
The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge; but fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7)
The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. (Proverbs 9:10)
The Bible teaches that the fear of God is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom. This is of necessity because Jesus is wisdom. In his first epistle to the church at Corinth, Paul, setting down God-breathed Scripture, tells the church that Christ is the power and wisdom of God.
For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this world? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: but we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18-24)
One necessary implication from all of this is that apart from Christ there is no wisdom. Those who reject Christ still make claims to have wisdom. This is inescapable because they live in God’s world and they cannot exist apart from God, who is wisdom, and who created the world in His wisdom.
“Yahweh by wisdom founded the earth, by understanding He established the heavens. (Proverbs 3:19)
But Yahweh is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide His indignation. Thus you shall say to them, “The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth and from under these heavens.” He has made the earth by His power, He has established the world by His wisdom; and by His understanding He has stretched out the heavens. (Jeremiah 10:10-12)
The cosmos, ye reality itself, belongs to the true and living God. Consequently, the concept of wisdom is one that the unbeliever cannot escape. Yet, in their unbelief, they try to convince themselves that wisdom exists apart from Christ. They claim to have wisdom without Christ who is the power and wisdom of God.
Paul acknowledges the unbelievers’ claims of wisdom when he writes, “in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom knew not God.” What those who reject Christ consider to be wisdom is what God, in His wisdom, blinds them with in order that they would not know Him who is wisdom. To borrow a phrase of Paul from another epistle, Oh the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
In the case of these claims that Easter was originally a pagan celebration stolen by Christians the unbelievers put their foolishness on display. They confidently make assertions because they heard somebody on Tik Tok, or saw a meme on Facebook, or even, in some instances, heard these claims in supposedly reputable media outlets. In this post I will address only a few of the stolen Easter claims but it should be enough to show that all of the claims are baseless. Christians did not usurp pagan festivals or symbols to create Easter.
MYTH #1 - THE WORD “EASTER” IS PAGAN
One common claim for the pagan origin of Easter is that the very word, “Easter,” comes from the worship of pagan deities. Some assert that the word comes from the worship of Ishtar, a Babylonian goddess of fertility. The assertion is made on linguistic similarity that the two words are related. There is one major problem. Similarity is not sameness.
There is no etymological connection between the words Ishtar and Easter. These words are an example of what linguists call false friends which also happen to be false cognates. False friends is the term linguists use to describe two words in different languages that look/sound alike but have different meanings. False cognates is the term linguists use to describe words that sound similar but have different etymologies.
Sadly, this foolishness is traced back to a professing Christian. In the latter half of the 1800’s Scottish Protestant theologian Alexander Hislop, arguing against Roman Catholicism, published his book, The Two Babylons. The book has had, and still has, broad influence in certain circles but it is replete with falsehoods and inaccuracies. Hislop confused and conflated differing pagan myths resulting in the creation of his own myth. A myth that continues to have deleterious effects in that his errors are parroted by pagans in their own erroneous claims about Easter.
Another claim for the origin of the word Easter is that it comes from the name of the Germanic spring goddess, Ēostre. Interestingly, we also owe this connection to a Christian writer. Venerable Bede, in 725AD, published his book, On the Reckoning of Time, in which he mentions the goddess. Perhaps more interestingly, Bede is the first and only source we have concerning the history of the goddess Ēostre. There is no source prior to Bede, Christian or pagan, that mentions Ēostre.
Bede says next to nothing about Ēostre. He was discussing different calendars, and he merely mentions that the month Eosturmonath, which roughly corresponds to our April, was named after the goddess and that festivals, or feasts, were celebrated to honor her during this month. Here is what Bede writes about Eosturmonath and Ēostre:
Eosturmonath has a name which is now translated "Paschal month", and which was once called after a goddess of theirs named Eostre, in whose honor feasts were celebrated in that month. Now they designate that Paschal season by her name, calling the joys of the new rite by the time-honored name of the old observance.
That’s it. That’s all of it. This tiny tidbit of information has been built up as something which ties together the Christian celebration of Easter and the pagan celebration of Ēostre. There is not a single shred of evidence about anything at all related to Ēostre before this brief mention by Bede. Bede is the only historical attestation of Ēostre. There are no temples, no statues, no paintings, no writings, no folklore; not a thing. So anything you see or hear beyond Bede about Ēostre and her connections to Easter are all, without exception, created post-Bede and without historical attestation. In other words, it’s all fabricated.
Bede wrote in the early 8th century. The earliest records we have of Christians observing a Paschal (Easter) celebration are from the middle of the 2nd century. Christians were celebrating Pascha for a minimum of six centuries before Bede’s mention of Ēostre and doing so in lands far outside of Germany. This point alone makes the notion of Easter being pagan in origin because of Ēostre and Eosturmonath utterly absurd.
Now, Eosturmonath, as it roughly corresponds to our month of April, would have been the time of the year Christians celebrated Pascha, that is, the celebration of Christ’s resurrection. Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that Christians did come into these Germanic territories and celebrated Pascha during the month called Eosturmonath. And let’s say that for whatever reason, over time, people began referring to the celebration by the name of the month in which it was celebrated. It does not necessarily follow that this means they were incorporating pagan ideas.
For example, this year my birthday is on a Thursday. Well, the origin of the word Thursday comes from the Old English for “Thor’s Day.” Oh no. A pagan deity. Will I be participating in paganism if I celebrate my birthday on “Thor’s Day?” Of course not. Besides, it is a colossal “if” whether the origin of the word Easter even comes from the word Ēostre or Eosturmonath. Wait. I said colossal. The etymology of the word colossal goes back to the Greek word kolossos which means “gigantic statue.” Oh no. I hope it’s not a pagan statue. You get my point.
MYTH #2 - EASTER EGGS ARE PAGAN
Along with the false or dubious claims surrounding the relationship of Ishtar and Ēostre to Easter is the claim that these fertility goddesses have among their cultic symbolism the egg. What could be more symbolic of fertility than the egg? After all, new life springs from eggs. The only problem is that, once again, these claims are fabricated. Among the symbolism for Ishtar are lions and stars (both eight-pointed and sixteen-pointed) but no eggs. Among the symbolism for Ēostre is, well, nothing. You remember the quote from Bede, right? That brief quote is the full extent of all historical attestation to Ēostre. Bede gives no account of the worship practices of her religious adherents. Nor does he give any reference to what symbols were related to her. So, as I’ve already stated, anything you see or hear beyond Bede about Ēostre and her connections to Easter are all, without exception, created post-Bede and without historical attestation. They are fabricated.
Some have pointed to evidence of egg decorating in various cultures prior to the Christian era. But simply recognizing similarities between two things while ignoring differences does not make one’s case. Prayer is an activity practiced by various pre-Christian pagan cultures. That does not make prayer an inherently pagan practice, let alone a pagan practice pilfered by Christians.
More likely is that the Easter egg developed as a result of the practice of fasting during Lent. In Medieval Europe the foods prohibited to those fasting during the forty days of Lent included meats, milk, and eggs. Eggs would have been a major source of protein, particularly for peasants. Once the forty days of Lent were over on Easter Sunday, forty days in which hens continued to lay eggs, there would have been considerable relief to have this protein source unrestricted once again. In a 1925 article, scholar Louis Gougaud, lamented:
The use of Easter eggs, as well as certain other traditions of undoubtedly Christian origin, is becoming more and more secular … During Lent the use of eggs, as well as milk foods, and meat, was forbidden to the faithful. Consequently, says Don Guéranger, “In their simple joy at recovering the use of a food the withholding of which had been very trying, the faithful requested the Church to give a blessing to the first eggs appearing at table on Easter Sunday” … The true origin of Easter eggs is that which we have already pointed out, namely, the prohibited use of eggs during Lent.
Even if Gougaud is incorrect in his analysis it remains that there is no evidence for the necessary connection between Easter eggs and paganism. Dr. Peter Gainsford, author of, Early Greek Hexameter Poetry, puts it this way on his blog:
The main argument in favour of pagan origins for Easter eggs has always been, and always will be, that egg-decorating is a widespread custom, stretching over many different cultures and many millennia. That gives reasonable grounds to suspect that there is some genuine influence from pre-Christian customs. It’s just that we can’t document that influence.
Does that amount to pagan origins? Well, it can. But it’s a matter of emphasis. If you want, you can emphasise the documented development of the custom in mediaeval Europe; or, if you prefer, you can emphasise the cross-cultural universality of painted eggs.
But that’s a long, long way from saying that Easter eggs are plundered or plagiarised from some particular source.
In other words, similarity is not sameness. The most that those who want to argue for the pagan origin of Easter eggs can do is point to similarities. They cannot provide any historical documentation to prove sameness. Of course, this does not stop them from asserting truth claims they cannot prove using their own historical criteria.
MYTH #3 – THE EASTER BUNNY IS PAGAN
Another assertion without evidence is that the Easter Bunny is a pagan symbol hijacked by Christians. The claim is usually framed in relation to Ēostre. Not only was one of her symbols the egg but the rabbit as well. I hope by now that my statement is stuck in your mind - anything you see or hear beyond Bede about Ēostre and her connections to Easter are all, without exception, created post-Bede and without historical attestation. The single short attestation by Bede about Ēostre is the only historical evidence we have of Ēostre. And he mentions nothing about Rabbits. The claim is a fabrication.
The earliest record we have of any mention of an Easter Rabbit is from Georg Franck von Franckenau in 1682 writing about Easter egg traditions in Germany. He references a folktale in which the eggs were called rabbit eggs or bunny eggs because they were hidden by the Eastern Rabbit or Easter Bunny (der Oster-Hase) for children to find. Beyond this there is nothing more than the continued confusion of similarity and sameness. The best explanation we have for the origin of the Easter Bunny is not that it comes from the celebration of pagan fertility festivals but that it comes from a simple German folktale used to entertain children.
CLOSING REMARKS
My thoughts regarding the celebration of Easter are such that I’m not particularly concerned with celebrating or not celebrating. Scripture does not command us to celebrate Easter so I would not tell anyone that they must celebrate a special Sunday called Easter. But I would tell someone they are wrong if they think Easter Sunday is a special holy day and participating in it earns us favor with God. It isn’t and it doesn’t.
Christians ought to live in the power of the Resurrection of Christ in every moment. That being said, if Christians want to gather on a particular day to emphasize and celebrate a particular truth, in this case the resurrection of Christ, I think they are free to do so. May their celebration be a rejoicing in the Lord and not the celebration of man-made religious impositions.
Scripture teaches us of the resurrection of Christ without any command for an Easter celebration, and it certainly has no mention of Easter eggs or Easter bunnies. While there is no proof these things have pagan origins neither do they have biblical origins. I think they should simply be viewed as cultural traditions that have emerged from the celebration of Easter.
Some people try to create narratives that use Easter eggs and the Easter Bunny to illustrate the death and resurrection of Christ. This stretches things too far for me. Personally, I disregard the rabbit. But I do like eggs. I’ll be enjoying those with a sprinkling of salt and with thanksgiving to God while I pray to continually live in Resurrection power, even as I engage in the celebration of that power along with brothers and sisters in Christ on a particular day set aside for its emphasis.
The Lord is risen!
Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. (Ephesians 1:15-23)