Many
Orthodox Christians insist "Pascha" or any derivitive of the word
Passover is the only correct name for the celebration of the Resurrection of
Christ, among possibly other liturgical words for the feast, but insist the
word "Easter" is innapropriate because it supposedly has pagan
origins. Does it truly have pagan origins that would prohibit its use? Or are
there in fact justifiable reasons to allow for "Pascha" and
"Easter" to both be used with a clean conscience. Since
"Pascha" is without controversy, we will examine these things for the
word "Easter".
Etymological relation vs. etymological
descendance
The word
"Easter" has some etymological baggage. Some Christians are wary of
using the word because of its supposed pagan origin. The Venerable Bede
(672-735) asserted that the word "Easter" derived from
"Eostre", the goddess of the Saxons (De Ratione Temporum). In modern
times Alexander Hislop connected Easter to the Babylonian goddess Astarte (The
Two Babylons, 1858). Apparently, there was indeed a goddess by the name
"Eostre" ("Ostara" in German). Hence it seems that
"Easter" and "Eostre" are etymologically related. However,
it is foolish to take etymological relation as evidence of a "pagan
connection" between "Easter" and "Eostre". To see the
foolishness of this, consider the following example: There was a Christian
theologian in the third century by the name of "Lucian" of Antioch.
There is also the name "Lucifer" ascribed to Satan (Isaiah 14:12).
Both "Lucian" and "Lucifer" are derived from the Latin word
for "light (lucis)". This means that "Lucian" and
"Lucifer" are etymologically related. However, neither is an
etymological descendant of the other, which means neither name is derived from
the other name. Each name is a separate etymological descendant of the root
word for light, "lucis". Thus it would be foolish to say, "A
Christian should never call himself Lucian because the word is related to
Lucifer!" Etymological relation between a negative word (i.e. Lucifer) and
the impugned word (i.e. Lucian) does not mean anything. The issue is whether
the impugned word is an etymological descendant of the negative word. As for "Lucian",
it is not an etymological descendant of "Lucifer". Likewise, Easter
is not an etymological descendant of Eostre but rather a separate etymological
descendant of a common root word which in itself carries a neutral connotation.
"Easter" is derived from "East"
The root
of "Easter" is "east" just as the root of
"Ostern" ("Easter" in German) is "Ost"
("east" in German). Likewise, the root of "Eostre"
(English) and "Ostara" (German) is the word for "east."
Thus both "Easter" and "Eostre" are derived from the word
"east". This means neither "Easter" nor "Eostre"
has to be an etymological descendant of the other, but each could be a separate
etymological descendant of the word "east". The etymology of
"east" gives us clues as to why both pagans and Christians wished to
use the word "east" for their respective purposes. The etymology of
the Saxon word "east" is:
- "O.E.
east, from P.Gmc. *aus-to-, *austra- "east, toward the sunrise" (cf.
Du. oost, Ger. Ost, O.N. austr "from the east"), from PIE *aus-
"dawn" (cf. Skt. ushas "dawn," Gk. aurion
"morning," O.Ir. usah, Lith. auszra "dawn," L. aurora
"dawn," auster "south"), lit. "to shine." The
east is the direction in which dawn breaks." (Online Etymological
Dictionary)
- "In
the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week,
came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre." (Matthew
28:1)
-
"And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto
the sepulchre at the rising of the sun." (Mark 16:2)
The day
of Christ' resurrection was in the morning at the rising of the sun. In fact,
it was not only a physical morning but also a spiritual morning because the
light of salvation had come into the world. Christ began to rise as the
"Sun of righteousness" at his resurrection. The following passages
compare Christ with the rising of the sun:
-
"But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with
healing in his wings;" (Malachi 4:2)
- "We
have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed,
as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day
star arise in your hearts." (2 Peter 1:19)
- "I
am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star."
(Revelation 22:16)
With
these details of Christ and his resurrection, there is no mystery as to why
Anglo-Saxon Christians called the day of his resurrection "Easter," a
word derived from "east," which means dawn, sunrise, morning. Just as
the sun rises from the darkness of night, the "Sun of righteousness"
rose (resurrected) from the darkness of death. Christ's resurrection was the
sunrise of all sunrises - hence, Easter. This association of Christ's
resurrection with the dawn is not pagan but based on biblical narrative and
symbolism.
Christians reclaimed the true meaning of
"Easter"
Anglo-Saxon
Christians may have given the name "Easter" to the day of Christ's
resurrection to identify Christ as the true God of sunrise (in the sense of
being Creator of the sun as well as spiritually being the "Sun of
righteousness"). Thus the word "Easter" stands as a testimony of
the Anglo-Saxon Christians' rejection of the goddess in reception of the true
God, Jesus Christ. It is counterproductive to suggest that Christians should
abandon the word "Easter". Why should we give the pagans a monopoly
over a word which signifies the dawn, one of God's most stunning works of
creation? The funny thing is that many Christians who oppose the use of the
word "Easter" still celebrate "Good Friday". Yet the word
"Friday" is based on the name of a pagan goddess. The word
"Friday" means "Day of Frige" - Frige being the name of a
Norse goddess. "Good Friday" literally means "Good day of Frige
(the goddess)". Some Christians say that Christ rose on
"Saturday", yet "Saturday" is also derived from the pagan
god Saturnus. If one would actually like to avoid a "pagan
connection", he would be wiser to avoid using the words "Friday"
and "Saturday" rather than the Christian word "Easter".
Avoiding all of these words, of course, is an impossibility if we wish to
communicate with others regarding the days of the week. We just have to admit
that the English language is the language of a people who were once pagan and
that there are many vestiges of pagan etymology in English. It is only by God's
redemptive grace that the words of our mouths (notwithstanding the occasional
pagan etymologies) are found acceptable in His sight:
"Let
the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy
sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer." (Psalm 19:14)
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