What is the meaning of the word "Easter"?

Right in the middle of Spring, a Christian festival, which was established to commemorate Jesus resurrection, mixes rabbits, chicks and chocolate eggs with religious rites. But what do all of these have to do with Easter? What is EXACTLY the meaning of the word "Easter"?

In the 7th century in England, a monk known as Venerable Bede, who had studied literature and astrology, decided to write about a contentious topic at that time: a day to celebrate the festival. He was motivated by the fact that, at that time, there were lots of arguments among scholars depending on the theory they followed. One group of Christians said it should be celebrated on the exact day described in the New Testament as the day of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead: the third day of his burial after his crucifixion by the Romans. Another group said it should be commemorated after the spring equinox*, whose calculation was very complicated. And a third group thought it should follow the older Jewish celebration of Passover, meaning it could fall on different days of the week depending on the Jewish calendar. 

How do people celebrate "Easter"?

Adults and kids love this festival. Egg hunts, different games and activites, special food, drinks and sweets are among the eggcellent things that can be prepared if you are planning to host a bash with family, neighbours, friends or co-workers or just to spend time with your loved ones. The decoration of the house can include baskets full of eggs, rabbit paws and tulips, which are considered the "heralds of spring"!

Enjoy this eggciting moment of the year with some of the ideas that I selected for you. Just click on the buttons below and have fun!

In the middle of his thorough work on this topic, he also wrote a few lines indicating what inspired the name of the holiday: a germanic goddess named Eostre, who represents spring and fertility. Pagans had celebrated her in April, the same month of Jesus resurrection. That would explain the associations with the eggs, chicks and bunnies which are fertility symbols. Or, in his own words, people started "calling the joys of the new rite by the time-honoured name of the old observance."