Is Easter celebration from Paganism? (Ch. Jamkhokai Mate, (ARS) Scientist, ICAR-Govt.

of India)
Some Christian churches or anti-Christian teach that Christians should not observe Easter because the holiday supposedly originated in paganism. I feel it is
necessary to address this wrong motif propagated by some anti-Christian people. In its worst form, the idea is that people who assemble on Easter morning,
who participate in such customs as decorating or hunting for eggs, are unwittingly worshipping an ancient pagan goddess. But this is based on several
misunderstandings, and the New Testament gives no grounds for prohibiting Christian fellowship and worship on Easter or any day, Roman 14:5 (One
esteems one day as more important; and one esteems every day alike. Let each one be fully convinced in his own mind. 6. He one who observes the day,
observes it to the Lord; and the one who does not observe the day, he does not observe it to the Lord. The one who eats, he eats to the Lord; since he gives
thanks to God. And the one who does not eat, he does not eat to the Lord, and gives thanks to God. This verse itself should shut the mouth of sceptics. Lets
examine a few objections that are sometimes made against Easter and see whether they have any merit. Briefly, let us start with the word Easter itself
which we will discuss in deep later along with its etymology. This objection is irrelevant in many nations, because the word for this holiday in other
languages has no connection with the word Easter. Jesus resurrection was being celebrated centuries before the word Easter became associated with
it.) Critics claim that the word Easter comes from the name of a Germanic goddess of spring, Eastre. Venerable Bede, an English monk who lived in the
eighth century, taught this. However, many English words, such as cereal and Saturday, come from the names of pagan deities -The
word cereal derives from Ceres, the name of the Roman goddess of harvest and agriculture. But it is not a sin to use such words. Even Saturday comes
from Saturn-(Latin: Saturnus) which was a god of agriculture, liberation, and time. It is the same Greek god cronus, Saturn's name was derived from satu,
meaning "sowing". His name appears in the ancient hymn of the Salian priests. Saturn is associated with a major religious festival in the Roman
calendar, Saturnalia. Saturnalia celebrated the harvest and sowing, and ran from December 1723. Should Saturday keeper (Adventist) avoid this term or
be accused of Saturn worship because they worship on Saturday? Bede may have been wrong, and the word Easter may not have come from the name of
a goddess. The King James translators who were excellent in many languages certainly did not understand the word Easter in this way when they used it
to translate the Greek pascha, or Passover, in Acts 12:4! Another explanation is that Easter derives from an Old German root, ostern, for dawn or east,
which is the time and place of the rising sun. This makes more sense as a reason why a day commemorating Jesus resurrection would have been called
Easter. Jesus is thought to have risen shortly before sunrise on Sunday (Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:2, 9). Since he is called the sun of righteousness
(Malachi 4:2 But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed
calves.; Psalm 84:11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor;), it would be appropriate to call a day in honor of his
resurrection, Easter the dawn of the Rising Son, Jesus. In any case, even if the word Easter was associated with an ancient goddess, it does not mean
we cannot use the word today. If pagan used that should we avoid them? Before Psalm and Malachi were written there were Greek gods of sun called Sol or
Helios, even Ancient pagan Baal was associated with sun god. Should God avoid because pagan already took the title? Of couse not! Why should pagan be
given monopoly to control words and title which God created for his own uses? We have many words in the English language that were connected with
ancient deities. The word cloth comes from Clotho, the spinster goddess who was said to spin the thread of life. The word hymn is thought to come
from the Greek god of marriage, Hymen, and in ancient times meant any song offered in praise or honor of a god or gods. But when we use hymn in
church services we mean a song sung in praise of the one true God. When we use the word cereal were not thinking of the goddess or worshipping her,
but of corn flakes or granola. Cloth is fabric to us, not Clotho.
Sunrise service: In connection with the word Easter, the concept of an Easter sunrise service is also labelled as pagan by detractors. They point
to Ezekiel 8:14-17, which describes individuals with their faces toward the east, worshipping the sun. This practice in Ezekiel is called idolatry and an
abomination in Gods sight. Easter is said to be a replica of this vain worship in ancient Israel. However, in Ezekiel the individuals were forsaking the
worship of the true God, as is evidenced by them turning their backs on the temple of the Lord (verse 16). They were purposely worshipping the sun. When
Christians attend an Easter sunrise service they worship God and Christ, remembering and rehearsing the meaning of Jesus resurrection. The rising of the
sun reminds them that Jesus is the dawn of our salvation, and that he rose early Sunday morning. Did pagans worship the sun? Yes, they worshipped many
things, including stars, the moon, many animals, and even the earth itself. Devout Christians see this, and sometimes confuse ancient forms with modern
substance. They point to the association of some modern traditions with ancient religious celebrations, and shout pagan. They think, Once pagan, always
pagan. While they may admit the transforming power of Christ for people, they act as if Christ cannot transform days, customs and traditions. Yet many of
the practices God approved for ancient Israel had previously existed in paganism. Sacrifices, prayers, temples, priests, harvest festivals, music in worship,
circumcision and tithing all had ancient pagan counterparts. God can transform days and customs for his use. The fact that Christians use some of the same
methods as pagans does not mean that we worship the same gods. The annual festivals or holy days God gave Israel as part of the old covenant were based
on the cycle of the moon. The festival of Trumpets came on the new moon of the seventh month. Israelites even had a new moon celebration with a
blowing of trumpets (Psalm 81:3). Yet, the moon was regularly worshipped as a god or goddess in nearby cultures. Thats where we get our name for
Monday. It was the day of the moons worship. Even though pagans worshipped the moon god on the day of the new moon, the Israelites could worship
the true God on the same day. Just because pagans did something does not automatically mean that Gods people cannot do it. God transformed many
pagan customs into a form of worship devoted to him. Even the sun, worshipped as a god by many pagan cultures, God used to symbolize an aspect of
Jesus glory. Luke called him the rising sun (Luke 1:78). Jesus is also called the bright Morning Star in Revelation 22:16. God can use symbols
misappropriated by pagans and transform them for his own use, making them acceptable for worship. 2 Peter 1:19 called Jesus literally as day star or
morning star the same title of Lucifer Isa 14:12. Satan only copies the truth he knows how to mimic but he is not the sources. The point is that even if there
once was a pagan Easter festival, and even if the word had some pagan significance, it doesnt matter. No one takes the phrase Easter sunrise service to
mean a pagan rite or thinks that he or she is worshipping the sun. As pointed out about Monday, all the names of the days they have a pagan significance on
which different deities were worshipped. Sunday was the day of the sun; Monday was the moons day; Tuesday was Tiws day (sky god); Wednesday was
Wodens day (also called Odin god); Thursday was Thors day (thunder god) and Friday was Friggas day (fertility goddess). The latter four were all Norse
deities. But we dont worship pagan gods when we say or use these names for our days. We dont think of worshipping old gods when a new day comes.
Thats the way it is with the word Easter. Whether or not it had a pagan connection in the past doesnt matter. We dont think of it in these terms
anymore; the word does not mean that any more. The same applies to worship services on Easter Sunday morning or during resurrection Sunday. If there
were pagan resurrection celebrations to various gods on Sunday and there probably were it doesnt matter. Gods people can use those days to
worship Christ, and they are not stuck in some time warp that turns them into unwitting idolaters. The words and the days have no power of their own; they
do not change adoration of God into secret veneration of an idol. In modern times, on Easter Sunday, Christians worship Christ. Thats what is important.
Christians who keep Easter are not pagans. They do not worship nor regard pagan gods. They honor Christ as Lord and Savior. Unless we are to conclude
that celebrating Christs resurrection is in itself a detestable thing, its celebration on what was once a pagan holiday is irrelevant.
Eggs and rabbits: We should explain one other objection to Easter. What seems particularly offensive to some people is the use of colored eggs at Easter.
A related objection has to do with references to rabbits, which are known for their prodigious reproductive capacities. Of course, pagan people used eggs in
rituals and ceremonies dedicated to their gods and in fertility rites. But lets first ask why eggs might have been used in religious activities. They are a
symbol of new life, and thus would have been a ready metaphor of fertility. Since nature comes alive in the springtime, we shouldnt be surprised that eggs
may have been associated with festivities at this time and Easter occurs in spring. It is also true that many of the pagan fertility rites were associated with
abominable practices such as temple prostitution and other revelry. On the other hand, let us look at fertility and eggs from another point of view. God
created the egg. Since he is the giver of life, it would not be wrong to think of the egg as a reminder of the blessing of life that God gives to us. We dont
confuse the egg with life. We know God created life and that it comes from him through the egg. Fertility is something God himself commanded. He told
Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:28). Children are a blessing from the Lord. So is an abundance of livestock and birds. The ability of
life to reproduce is a great and necessary gift of God. The ancients were not wrong in understanding the key role of fertility in life, nor in knowing that sex
and reproduction are gifts of God. What they erred in was worshipping the created rather than the Creator, and then worshipping in ways that were
abominable to God such as in fertility revelry and temple prostitution. But there is nothing inherently evil about eggs or rabbits. When associated with
Easter, neither are used in the way pagans may have used them. In fact, eggs are hardly thought of in a religious way at all. The egg-hunting festivity is
merely a secular time of fun for children, and nothing more. We put chocolate rabbits in Easter baskets, but they have no religious association. The pagan
linkage simply no longer exists. Just as the word cereal is no longer pagan, the eggs and rabbits are no longer pagan. There is no need to look on eggs or
bunnies as evil, for God created both. Even today various symbols are used to designate and identify some religions for eg. OM for the Hindu, Bismillah for
Islam, Shin which is Hebrew symbol for God, Cross for Christianity. But will it be wrong to say that all these symbols are against the bible? NO!! If these
symbols used are wrong, as some have opined, then it will be like limiting salvation as something not a visible and reliable to be seen by other. Coming to
symbols used in Easter, why did churches use Eggs, Easter bunny, Rabbit and cake as symbol for Easter in the past? Some will say these represent the
symbol of goddess of fertility. Will that prove it was a fertility symbol? No.!! Instead it proves that Easter occurs in spring with grand feast. If we look at
our Church calendar we see Easter is celebrated in spring season during the Jewish Passover Feast when nature gets rejuvenated after a long winter spell.
Since it is celebrated in spring we expect to see the activities related to spring symbol just as we expect to see any festival to associate with the respective
season, summer festivals with summer symbol, winter with winter symbol etc. The symbol of newly regenerated sign of Easter represents the fact that
Easter occurs in spring and that bible harmonizes resurrection with the Feast of First fruit in Lev 23:11. Also there is a special reason why an egg was
used with the symbol of Easter. In much of the early history of the church in 500-1500 AD Easter was celebrated on spring season as a feast after a long
period of Lent. Now Lent is a period in Church calendar that begins 40 days before Easter and ends on the Easter Sunday with grand feast to celebrate the
First Fruit (Resurrection). For those who dont know what is Lent; Lent is a term used for the period of Fast when Jesus fasted for 40 days before he began
his earthly ministry. The early Christians during Lent would gave up all sort of meat, meal, eggs and other dairy products to share the burden of Christ
although few do today. But one quick note; just because it is a Lent, chicken does not stop laying eggs. Today we go to super market to buy eggs but in
those days the condition was not the same, by the end of Lent with the arrival of Resurrection feast or First fruit (Easter) they would have to used and eat up
all those eggs, meat, milk and everything with grand feast and sometime good portion of the eggs could have gone bad because there was no refrigerator.
Hence the use of symbols like rabbit, eggs, bunny and cakes during Easter feast shows Easter has been a grand feast celebrated in spring and has nothing to
do with Fertility symbol. Easter is biblical commandment that God told Israelite to celebrate in Lev 23:11 He is to wave the sheaf before the LORD so it
will be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath.. The Jews celebrate the shadow Christian celebrate the fulfilment
1 Corinthians 15:20: But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21. for since death came through a
man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22.. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive 23. But each in his own order:
Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.
Not commanded in the Bible: Another objection to Easter observance made by some is that it is not mentioned in the Bible. These people feel we should
not set apart any day for worship unless it is specifically mentioned in the Bible. Since there is no example of celebrating the resurrection, these people say
we should not do it. But that doesnt matter. If we could only have those religious worship times and activities that the New Testament specifically
mentions, then we would be able to do very little in terms of worship and Christian ceremony. The NT never specifies any day for worship. None of the
apostles are shown to have performed a wedding ceremony or conducted a funeral, for example. But these are a part of our lives and Christian worship. The
central issue regarding Easter observance is this: How much freedom do Christians have in the new covenant, either individually or as a church, to express
their faith, worship and thanks toward Christ in forms not found in the Bible? Are Christians ever free to do anything new in worship? May church leaders
establish special days to celebrate the great acts of salvation? True, the Bible nowhere tells us to celebrate Easter. But it also nowhere says not to celebrate
the resurrection of Jesus on any day or restrict us as sin. The fact is, the Bible gives examples where God permitted human beings to set up times and forms
of worship other than what he specifically commanded. When Israel added Hanukkah and Purim to its religious calendar events that celebrated Gods
saving acts in Jewish history these were acceptable to God. So, too, was the addition of the synagogue and its traditions; God did not command it, but he
allowed the innovation. Jesus attended temple worship during Hannukah, then called the Feast of Dedication (John 10:22), and he attended synagogues
(Luke 4:16). In John 7:37 Jesus referred to the Jewish water-drawing ceremony originated after their exile, which pictured the salvation they looked for.
Jesus did not condemn this ceremony but used it as a convenient vehicle for explaining that he was the one who would bring true salvation. Even God used
heinous practice of covenant by cutting meat which was bloody practice in ancient pagan culture in Gen 15 with Abraham. Examples such as these have led
many Christians to conclude that the church also has the freedom to add to its calendar festivals that celebrate Gods intervention in human affairs. This
would include the birth of Jesus at Christmas and his resurrection at Easter time. It is not a sin to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ at Easter. After
all, his resurrection is a cause of great rejoicing and celebration. It is our hope for eternal life (1 Corinthians 15:12-26). God is pleased to see his people
worshipping Jesus and commemorating this event that is so important for their salvation. Love, not command, is what motivates many Christians to
celebrate Easter. To criticize those who choose to practice their faith in this spirit of devotion conflicts with many New Testament principles. The fact that
non-Christians or even some Christians celebrate Easter as a secular holiday, or perhaps even in a profane way, is no reason to avoid Easter. Thats not the
problem of Easter but of the people who celebrate it in a wrong manner. The decision to observe Easter, and if so how to observe it, is a personal matter.
The church hopes that Christians who celebrate Easter and those who do not are both seeking to honor Jesus Christ (Romans 14:5-6). We encourage all
who celebrate Easter to make Christ the center of their celebration.
A) Is Easter in the bible?
But lets look from the bible, is Easter in the bible? King James is the only Bible that retained this old tradition of English people celebrating Easter feast as
resurrection. I ask the readers to see in detail regarding this topic. We have cover slight portion and lets keep going.
Acts 12:4: Textus Receptus:
King James Version: And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions
of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people." [English Standard Version: And when he had seized him, he put him in
prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to
bring him out to the people.] The Greek word, (pascha), is correctly translated as
Passover 28 times in the New Testament in the KJV. For this reason, some critics say that the
KJV's isolated instance of translating the word as Easter in Acts 12:4 is an error. These critics
agree with translations such as the ESV which has Passover in Acts 12:4. This article explains
why the KJV is correct in translating Pascha as Easter in Acts 12:4. To begin with, we must set
the record straight that Easter is not a pagan word. The Hebrew word for Passover is ( pesach),
which comes from the verb ( pasach) which means to pass over. When the Old Testament was
translated into Greek, this word was basically unchanged, becoming the Greek (pascha). In
some English Bibles, this is translated Easter, and other times Passover, but its the same word. Most
other languages have the same word for both, e.g. Latin Pascha, French Pques, Italian Pasqua, and
Dutch Pasen. English also retains this word in expressions such as pascal lamb. So where did the
word Easter come from? We will dig deeper in this article.
B) Myth 1: the KJV translators used Easter to refer to a pagan festival: The first myth to refute
is the claim that the KJV uses "Easter" at Acts 12:4 to refer to a pagan holiday celebrated by king
Herod. This myth is propagated by some KJV apologists who may be well-intentioned in upholding
the inerrancy of the KJV. Yet such a myth defies what the KJV translators believed and practiced. Included in the 1611 edition of the KJV is a chart for
finding the day of Easter in a given year. It is evident that the KJV translators viewed Easter as a Christian holiday. If the KJV translators considered
Easter to be a Christian holiday, it is doubtful that they used it to mean a pagan holiday at Acts 12:4 or give us how to find Easter feast in their calendar.
C) Myth 2: Easter" comes from the goddess named Ishtar or Astarte
Those who propagate myth 1 typically identify Herod's pagan holiday as that of the Semitic goddess, Ishtar or
Astarte. This false connection between Easter and these names of a Semitic goddess can be traced to the
work of the Scottish minister Alexander Hislop. Hislop was an outspoken critic of Roman Catholicism. His
book The Two Babylons exposed many of the unbiblical doctrines and practices of Roman
Catholicism. However, Hislop erred when it came to statements about the etymological relationship between
Easter and the ancient idols, Ishtar or Astarte. At page 103 of his book, he writes: He wrote: Then look at
Easter. What means the term Easter itself? It is not a Christian name. It bears its Chaldean origin on its very forehead. Easter is nothing else than Astarte,
one of the titles of Beltis, the queen of heaven, whose name, as pronounced by the people of Nineveh, was evidently identical with that now in common use
in this country. That name, as found by Layard on the Assyrian monuments, is Ishtar. The worship of Bel and Astarte was very early introduced into
Britain, along with the Druids, the priests of the groves. Some have imagined that the Druidical worship was first introduced by the Phoenicians, who,
centuries before the Christian era, traded to the tin-mines of Cornwall. But the unequivocal traces of that worship are found in regions of the British
islands where the Phoenicians never penetrated, and it has everywhere left indelible marks of the strong hold which it must have had on the early British
mind (The Two Babylons, Alexander p103). Linguists and true Assyriologists would laugh at the claims made by Hislops pseudo-scholarship. Since it
does not hold up under basic scrutiny, Easter has origin in proto-Germanic language not from Semitic. Sure enough, "Ishtar" (a form of "Astarte") may
sound similar to "Easter", but the two words are not etymologically related. Astarte is ( ashtarot) in Hebrew found many time judges 2:13, 10:6, 1
Sam 7:4, 12:10, 31:10 as a false god [KJV Lexicon says Ashtaroth, the name of a Sidonian deity, and of a place East of the Jordan ]. This name is derived
from the word "( ashterah)" which means increase or "flock" (Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Definitions). "( ashterah)" is translated as
flocks four times in the KJV in Deu 7:13, 28:4, 18, 51. Further this ashterah is rooted from Hebrew ashar translated as increase or rich in Gen 14:23, 1
Sam 2:7, Ps 65:9 etc. Hence, the name Astarte or Ishtar is a Semitic word related to animal fertility. This makes sense because Astarte was regarded as
a goddess of fertility but Easter is not related to Semitic language at all. Hislops theory has been rejected down through history by all scholars
D) Myth 3: Easter comes from the goddess named Eostre Easter" means dawn
The first person to connect Easter with goddess of dawn was Jakob Grimm who took up the question of Eostre in his Deutsche Mythologie of 1835, writing
of various landmarks and customs which he believed to be related to a goddess Ostara in Germany. Critics suggest that Grimm took Bede's mention of a
goddess Eostre at face value and constructed the parallel goddess Ostara around existing Germanic customs. Grimm also connected the Osterhase (Easter
Bunny) and Easter Eggs to the goddess Ostara/Eostre and cited various place names in Germany as being evidence of Ostara, but critics observe these place
names simply refer to either "east" or "dawn" rather than a goddess. The Old English word for the month of April was Eosturmona. The Venerable
Bede (672-735) claimed that the word Eostre came from the name of a Saxon spring fertility goddess who went by that name. He wrote: Eostur-
monath, qui nunc Paschalis mensis interpretatur, quondam a Dea illorum qu Eostre vocabatur, et cui in illo festa celebrabant nomen habuit: a cujus
nomine nunc Paschale tempus cognominant, consueto antiqu observationis vocabulo gaudia nov solemnitatis vocantes. (De Ratione Temporum)
"Eostur-monath, which now is translated Paschal month, was once called after a goddess of theirs named Eostre, and whose name was celebrated in the
festival at that [time]: by whose name they now designate the Paschal season, calling the joys of the new festival by the familiar ancient observance.).
Thus unlike the Easter/Ishtar connection myth, there is some linguistic basis to the claim that the name Easter" comes from the name of a Saxon goddess
called Eostre. However, if the feast of the goddess was as ancient as Bede claimed, it is doubtful that he would have actually known which came first,
the name of the month "Eostur-monath" or the goddess "Eostre". In fact, "Eostur-monath" comes from "star-mnod", the Old Germanic name for the
month of April. Thus the origin of this name of the month of April is more ancient than the Anglo-Saxon language itself. By Bede's time, the tradition of
the goddess had already been established so it may have appeared to him that the month was named after the goddess. However, it is far more logical that
the name of the month, which means, "East/Sunrise month", came first in the ancestral language of the Saxons, which is Old Germanic, because March is
the time when the days noticeably begin to start earlier (as stated under the section for myth 2, the Saxon word "east" was a descriptive word that referred to
the dawn or sunrise. The -er suffix in "Easter" comes from the influence of either the Proto-Germanic austra or the Old Frisian aster). This
religiously neutral origin for the name of Eosturmona, derived from the Old Germanic star-mnod, is very likely because each of the months of the Old
Germanic calendar is named after a natural phenomenon that characterizes the month. Table given below shows how all the Old Germanic months are
named after seasonal characteristics, it is more likely than not that "star-mnod" was originally a name given to the month based on its seasonal
characteristic of the sunrise starting earlier. The Saxons borrowed the name for April from Old Germanic. It is clear that by the time of the Saxons, some
of the months had been named with religious overtones (e.g. Yule, Rheda, Blood (sacrifice)). Blood Month," when animals were slaughtered. No other
month was dedicated to a deity, with the exception (according to Bede) of Hrethmonath (roughly March), which he claims was named after the goddess
Hrethe. But like Eostre, there is no other evidence for Hrethe, nor any equivalent in Germanic/Norse mythology. Another problem with Bede's explanation
concerns the Saxons in continental Europe. Einhard (AD775-840), the courtier and biographer of Charlemagne, tells us that among Charlemagne's
reformations were the renaming of the months too like April was renamed Ostarmanoth. Charlemagne spoke a Germanic dialect, as did the Anglo-Saxons
in Britain, although their vernacular was distinct. But why would Charlemagne change the old Roman title for the spring month to Ostarmanoth?
Charlemagne was the scourge of Germanic paganism. He attacked the pagan Saxons and cut down their great pillar Irminsul (after their god Irmin) in 772.
He forcibly converted them to Christianity and savagely repressed them when they revolted because of this. It seems very unlikely; therefore, that
Charlemagne would name a month after a Germanic goddess. The importance of resurrection is not something related to paganism but purely biblical. It
may well be that by the time of the Saxons, a pagan meaning had become attached to the name of "Eostur-mna"; but that was a later development.
Interestingly, the English term Eostre, according to the Ven. Bede (De temporum ratione, I, v), relates to Estre, a Teutonic goddess of the rising light of day
and spring, which deity, however, is otherwise unknown, even in the Edda (Simrock, Mythol., 362 AD) who recorded all the deities of European nation.
The name Eostre or Estre is never found in any ancient records.

Modern months Old Germanic months Meaning

January Harti-mnd Severe frost month

February Hornung Shedding of antlers
March Lenzin-mnod
April star-mnod East/Sunrise month
May Winni-mnd Graze month
June Brh-mnod Fallow month
July Hewi-mnod Hay month hay(making) month
August Aran-mnod Harvest month
September Herbist-mnod Leaves month
October Wndume-mnod Vintage month
November Wintar-mnod Wintermonat "winter month"Herbstmonat
December Hailag-mnod "holy month Christmonat "Christ month", Heiligmonat "holy
month
Modern months Anglo-Saxon months Meaning
January ftera Jola After Yule
February Sol-mna Soil month
March Hr-mna Rheda's month or wilderness month
April Eostur-mna East/Sunrise month
May rimilki-mna Three milkings month
June rra La Before midsummer
July ftera La After midsummer
August Weod-mna Plant month
September Hrfest-mna Harvest month
October Win-mna Wine month
November Blt-mna Blood (sacrifice) month
December rra Jola Before Yule
(Sources: Wikipedia entry on "Germanic calendar")
The naming of the first spring month as "East/Sunrise month" is logical and it is most likely afterwards that Old Germanic and Saxon pagans personified
and deified this "sunrise" or "dawn" and celebrated her feast during the month (the Saxons called her "Eostre" and the Old Germans called her
"Ostara"). What is commonly seen among cultures is that some words referring to natural phenomena become personified as pagan deities. For
example, the Semitic fertility goddess Ashtoreth (Joshua 9:10) is the deification of the Semitic word "( ashterah)" which means "flock" (e.g.
Deuteronomy 7:13). Another example is the Semitic fertility god Dagon (Judges 16:23) who is the deification of the Semitic word "( dagan)"
which means "wheat" (e.g. Jeremiah 31:12). Another example is the name of the Roman goddess Aurora, which is the Latin word for "dawn". The Latin
word "aurora" just means "dawn" if it is used in an ordinary sense. If a Christian goes on an "Aurora Borealis Tour", he is by no means participating in a
pagan activity but is rather simply enjoying a magnificent "dawn-like" natural phenomenon in the arctic regions. Likewise, the fact that a Saxon goddess
went by the name "Eostre" does not mean that "Easter" is a pagan word. Those who hold this myth make it sound as if there was once a goddess with a
certain name and Saxon Christian simply took that name arbitrarily without any biblical basis. If, for example, the pagans worshiped a goddess by the
name of "Sally" and Christians today refer to the day of the Lords resurrection as "Sally", then surely we have a problem. But that is not the case for Saxon
Christians using "Easter" as the name of the day of the Lord's resurrection. As "easter" was a descriptive word that referred to the dawn or sunrise, we can
understand why both pagans and Christians wished to use the word "east" for their respective purposes. Pagans wished to worship a goddess of sunrise so
they called her "Eostre". Christians on the other hand wished to celebrate a very special dawn, so they called the day "Easter".
 E) The resurrection morning = dawn par excellence
The Bible describes Christ's resurrection as being discovered in the "morning" at "dawn" or at the rising of the sun. 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)
o 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)
o But at dawn, on the first day of the week, he arose and appeared first to Maryam Magdalitha, from whom he had cast out seven demons. Mark 16:9
(Aramaic version)
o Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and
certain others with them. (Luke 24:1). As the Bible associates the resurrection with the dawn, there is biblical basis to calling the time of the resurrection
the "dawn" par excellence. "Par excellence" means the referent is deserving of that noun more than any other. There have been many dawns throughout
history, but that special dawn on the day of the resurrection is deserving of that noun more than any other. We often refer to notable biblical events using
par excellence nouns, such as the fall, the flood, the exodus, the exile, the advent, the cross", etc. Easter" is the Saxon word for this
greatest dawn in all of history The Dawn. By way of metonymical association, this term which refers to the "dawn" of the resurrection came to refer to
the entire day of the resurrection.
F) The resurrection = spiritual dawn
Christ's resurrection is a "dawn" also in a spiritual sense because that is when the light of salvation rose (resurrected) from the darkness of death. The
following passages compare Christ to the sun rising from darkness:
o Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the
people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of
thy rising." (Isaiah 60:1-3)
o But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings;" (Malachi 4:2)
o And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; To give knowledge of
salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring or day star or sunrise (noun:
anatole) from on high hath visited us, To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. (Luke
1:76-79). This antole is translated as East in Matt 2:1, 2 (his star in the east), 8:9 (from east and west), Rev 7:2 (rising of the sun). Thayer's Greek-English
Lexicon define antole (noun) as 1) a rising (of the sun and stars); 2) the east (the direction of the suns rising). The word Anatole is used by the LXX. to
translate both Motsah the Dawn (Jeremiah 31:40)
o 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 (phosphoros anatello-verb) in your hearts:" (2 Peter 1:19).
o I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star (Greek-aster)." (Revelation 22:16)
Some Christians try to avoid anything that has to do with sunrise imagery, presuming that it is pagan. Yet God in his Holy word compares Christ to the
rising sun. He called himself as the Sun Psalm 84:11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. The word, Easter"
(austra in Proto-Germanic and aster in Old Frisian) with its connotation of a sunrise, pays tribute to this biblical imagery of Christ as the Sun of
righteousness. The Old West-Saxon version of the Gospel of Luke translates the word as "eastdle", which is the Saxon word for "east/sunrise". Luke
1:78 in West-Saxon reads, "urh innoas ures godes mildheortnesse. on am he us geneosode of eastdle up springende;" This is another proof that the
word Easter came from the biblical language of the Saxons.
The etymology of Easter is similar to that of A : "Easter" is etymologically related to "east" (the direction) and refers to the "rising" of our
Lord. This connection between the eastern direction and the resurrection makes some Christians nervous about a possible pagan influence. However, there
is no reason for such concern because this connection between the eastern direction and the verb "to rise" is even found in the language in which the New
Testament was written. The Greek verb (anatello-from anatole) means "to rise" (Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon) and it is the word translated
as "arise" in the above passage in 2 Peter 1:19 about Christ rising in our hearts. It is also the word used in Hebrews 7:14 which says that our Lord
sprang out of Juda. And " " is related to the word, (anatole), which means, "the east (the direction of the suns rising)" (Thayer's
Greek-English Lexicon). So there is a connection between the eastern direction and the verb to rise even in the language of the New Testament. The
writers of the New Testament did not avoid using the verb (to rise) despite its derivation from the Greek word for "east"
G) Myth 4: Easter is tainted by residual pagan etymology:
Despite any explanation that "Easter" is derived from a generic Saxon word for "dawn" that is not pagan in and of itself (as with the Proto-
Germanic austra and the Old Frisian aster), the mere possibility that a goddess went by the name of "Eostre" appears to scare some Christians into avoiding
the word "Easter". These Christians need to realize that pagans should not be given monopoly over valid words in the English lexicon. If today it is
discovered that a pagan sect calls its goddess by the name "Dawn", would these Christians abandon the word "dawn" from their everyday usage? No, that
would be silly and it would amount to surrendering a perfectly biblical name to pagans. Anglo-Saxon and Old Germanic Christians may have been aware
that a goddess went by the name Eostre or Ostara if there was although it was not there. These Christians may have deliberately taken a word that was
 popular among pagans in order to reclaim the proper use of the word and made it Ostern (the Dawn or Rising Sun)-to remember Christ resurrection at
Dawn. Thus the word "Easter" ("Ostern" in German) stands as a testimony of the Anglo-Saxon and Old Germanic Christians' rejection of the goddess
Eostre or Ostara in reception of the true God, Jesus Christ. Such a victorious reclaiming of a beautiful word for the cause of Christ should be honored,
not opposed. The funny thing is that many Christians who oppose the use of the word Easter still celebrate Good Friday or Saturday. 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 died on Wednesday or Thursday and rose on Saturday. Yet
"Wednesday", "Thursday," and "Saturday" are also derived from the names of the pagan gods Woden, Thor and Saturnus, respectively. If one would
actually like to avoid a "pagan connection", he would be wiser to avoid using the words "Friday", "Thursday", "Wednesday" and "Saturday" rather than the
Christian word Easter. There are 365 days in a year and there are thousands of rites and rituals hold every day. Connecting with paganism would leave
us no days for Christian. Avoiding all of these words and days, of course, is an impossibility if we wish to communicate with others regarding or worship
God on any day of the year. 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. Also to be noted is the irony that this word "Ishtar" which some Christians wish to avoid appears to be related
to "Esther", which is the name of an entire book of our Holy Bible. Esther lived in a pagan culture and was given a pagan name as with Mordecai (which is
related to the pagan god Marduk). While it has been demonstrated that Easter has nothing to do with Ishtar, the Bible itself shows that God can redeem a
name even if it is in fact related to Ishtar. The name Esther in Aramaic means star (ester) as much as Isthar is related to goddess of fertility.
H) Myth 5: Celebration of spring festival is pagan.
They point to ancient fertility feast described in the Bible in passages such as Ezekiel 8:14-16 and Jeremiah 7:18 & 44:17-19. There are Christians today
who avoid using the word Easter for fear that it necessarily refers to these pagan symbols and practices. However, the fact that our culture has come to
associate fertility symbols with the name Easter does not mean that Easter itself is pagan. As with the word "Easter", even the Greek word "Pascha"
has become associated with pagan fertility symbols in present day Greece because Pascha is the Greek word for "Easter" (this will be explained in the
next section of this article). Yet nobody in his right mind would advise Christians against using the word "Pascha". Just because spring symbol is involved
does not mean it is paganism. The Jewish Feast of Passover or Unleavened Bread itself is celebrated in spring. By that standard they are associated with
fertility hence pagan.
I) Dictionary:
Now that it has been demonstrated that "Easter" is a biblical word referring to the day to celebrate Christ's resurrection, it will be shown why the KJV is
correct in translating " (Pascha)" as "Easter" at Acts 12:4. For starters, here are some modern Greek-English dictionaries showing that at least in
modern Greek the primary meaning of "Pascha" is "Easter", not "Passover":

Oxford Greek-English Learner's Collins Greek-English Dictionary, Divry's Modern English-Greek and Greek-English Desk Dictionary
Dictionary (Oxford UP, 2012) HarperCollins, 2003) (D.C. Divry, 1991)
J) Pascha meaning:
Pascha is a polyseme, a word with multiple meanings. In certain contexts it refers to the Jewish Passover (celebration of the Exodus). In other contexts it
refers to the Christian Easter. When used by Jews in a context prior to Christs resurrection, the word always refers to the Jewish Passover. However,
when used by Greek Christians in a context after Christs resurrection (as Luke, the narrator of Acts, did in Acts 12:4), the word refers to Easter. Many
English-speaking people are deceived by the similar sounds between "Pascha" and "Passover" and therefore find it difficult to understand
that "Pascha" could mean Easter. The English word, "Passover", is a perfect translation of "Pascha" in the context of the Jewish celebration because the
root Hebrew word, "( pasach)", means "to pass over" (Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Definitions). Yet it is only in English that the verb, pass over,
and "Pasach/Pascha" are phonetically similar. In other languages, it is not so obvious from phonetics that "Pascha" refers to the Passover. Perhaps that is
why in most other languages the primary meaning of Pascha is not Passover. For example, in modern Greek, (Pascha)" primarily means
Easter. When a non-Jewish Greek person says, ! (Happy Pascha!), he is not wishing you a happy Jewish holiday but rather a happy
Christian holiday. In modern Greek, Passover is the secondary meaning of Pascha. "Pascha" means Passover only when the context is clearly Jewish or
when the word is qualified as being the Hebrew or Jewish Pascha as follows:
o Easter = (Pascha)
o Passover = (Hebrew Pascha), (Pascha of the Jew)
Although Pascha was originally a Hebrew word ("( pesach)"), Greek, being the language of a predominantly Christian nation, had appropriated the
Jewish word and gave it the Christian meaning of "Easter". That is why in modern Greek, the primary meaning of " " is Easter and Passover is
actually the secondary meaning when " " is qualified as the " (Hebrew Pascha)" or the " (Pascha of the
Jews)". Many other languages of Christendom are like modern Greek in making Easter the primary meaning of the transliteration of "Pascha":

Language Word for Easter Word for Passover

Danish Pske Psken

Dutch Pasen Joods Paasfeest
French Pques Pques de Juifs
Italian Pasqua Pasqua ebraica
Latin Pascha Pascha
Portuguese Pscoa Pscoa dos judeus
Romanian Pati Patele evreiesc
Spanish Pascua Pascua Juda
Swedish Psk Judarnas Pskhgtid
As with Modern Greek, the transliteration of Pascha in these languages could refer to either Easter or Passover depending on context or a modifier. But
often the primary meaning of "Pascha" is Easter. In French, for example, Easter is Paques and Passover is Paques de Juifs (Pascha of the Jews). The
Same is in Danish Jewish one is Paske and Christian Easter is Pasken. In Spain Jewish Passover is Pascua Judia Christian Easter is Pascua. When spoken
for Jews it is always qualified by Jews as Jews Passover in all languages.
K) ***John already made a distinction between Jews and Christian celebration:
Pascha meant our modern Easter celebration in the first century. There is no doubt that means Easter in modern Greek. The charge, however, is
that " " did not mean Easter until centuries after the composition of Acts 12:4. This is not true. In the Gospel of John which was written in 90-110
AD there is already a distinction being made between the Christian and the Jewish . One of the words for Passover in modern Greek is
" " (Passover of the Jews). We see this same phrase already in the time of John the Apostle:
o John 2:13: "And the Jews' passover was at hand...." ( )
o John 11:55: "And the Jews' passover was nigh at hand...." ( )
The fact that John writes, "Jews Pascha ( )" indicates that there was a need to qualify the word Pascha for the immediate audience of
John's Gospel. Such a phrase would be redundant unless there were already a distinction between a "Jew's" Pascha and "another" Pascha. Apparently
within the first century, Christians had already appropriated the word Pascha to refer to the Christian celebration of the resurrection. Eusebius' (early
church father) testimony is clear that the Apostles were already celebrating the "Saviour's Pascha", which is clearly not the Jews' Pascha: A question of
no small importance arose at that time. For the parishes of all Asia, as from an older tradition, held that the fourteenth day of the moon, on which day the
Jews were commanded to sacrifice the lamb, should be observed as the feast of the Saviour's Passover. It was therefore necessary to end their fast on that
day, whatever day of the week it should happen to be. But it was not the custom of the churches in the rest of the world to end it at this time, as they
observed the practice which, from apostolic tradition, has prevailed to the present time, of terminating the fast on no other day than on that of
the resurrection of our Saviour." (Church History, Book V, 23:1, Translation from www.newadvent.org). The writer who lived during 300-400 AD
understood that Easter or Pascha was already observed in his day and even before his day. In church history we call it Easter controversy. The problem was
not whether they should observe but the date. This shows that it had an apostolic origin. Those who deny that " " came to mean "Easter" in Apostolic
times are unable to explain when the shift in meaning arose. There is no record of councils or debates documenting the shift in the meaning of " " in
Greek. There is also no logical reason for the shift in meaning to take place over hundreds of years. As far back as we can document, Greek Christians
have accepted that " " refers to the celebration of the Lord's resurrection, which is "Easter". Given John's use of the word and the uncontradicted
testimonies of early church fathers, it is far more candid to accept that " " already meant what we call "Easter" in the first century not the Lamb
sacrifice but resurrection. In the Bible, " " means Passover only when used by Jews or by anyone specifically referring to the Jewish celebration. In
passages prior to Christs resurrection, the KJV translates as Passover because the narrators and characters are still referring to the Jewish
festival. The only times the KJV translates as Passover after the resurrection are in 1 Corinthians 5:7 and Hebrews 11:28. In 1 Corinthians 5:7,
the word "Passover" refers to the Passover lamb rather than the day of the year, so it is correctly translated "Passover". In Hebrews 11:28, the narrative
refers retrospectively to Moses' conduct, which was before the resurrection, so the word is properly translated Passover.
 L) Pascha meant Easter (resurrection celebration) to Luke, the narrator of Acts 12:4
Whether should be Passover or Easter at Acts 12:4 must be determined by discerning who is using the word in this instance. If the word is used
by a Jew, then the word would mean Passover. If the word is used by Herod, then the word would mean Passover or perhaps a pagan festival (although
the possibility of referring to a pagan festival has no basis in history or etymology). Contrary to what many believe, it is neither the Jews nor
Herod who is using the word at Acts 12:4. It is actually Luke, the Christian narrator of Acts, who is using the word to describe the
timeline of events for his Christian readers in the latter first century, many of whom were Gentile Christians. At the time of Luke's writing, at
Acts 12:4 was no longer the Passover but Easter. When Luke speaks in Acts 12:4 as narrator, he is using words according to the mutual Christian
perspective of himself and his readers. This is evident because he uses the word "church" ( ) at Acts 12:1 to refer to Christians. This is a
dignifying Christian word to refer to the congregation of those who are called out by God. Neither Herod nor the Jews would have referred to these rebels
as "the called-out ones". However, when coming from a Christian narrator for a Christian audience, the word " " carries a Christian
meaning. The same goes for the word " ". It may well be that Herod and the Jews had no concern or knowledge about Easter. Although Herod and
the Jews were waiting for the Jewish Passover, Luke uses " " according to its Christian meaning of "Easter" to explain the timeline of events to his
Christian readers. That is why " " is Easter in Acts 12:4. He already introduced Christian term for believers in Acts 11:26 just 7 verse before he
introduced Pascha or Easter for Christian. The conclusion is that Acts 12:4 is nothing related with Jewish Passover but Passover related to Christ
resurrection, KJV retained it correctly. The whole Feast of unleavened Bread is also called Passover in Luke 22:1 and Ezekiel 45:21. Early Christian
wanted to distinguish from Jews by substituting with different word for the whole seven weeks of Jews with suitable term Easter to designate
resurrection which was the First Fruit of the unleavened Bread. Pascha (Passover) in terms of Resurrection cannot be the true name assigned because the
word Pascha is Jewish term for slaying of Lamb and Resurrection is not at all the same. Pascha is killing of Lamb and Easter is the resurrection of the
slained Lamb. Hence, early English speaking adopted the term Easter to differentiate the Lords resurrection which occurred during the Feast of Jewish
Pascha.
M) Etymology
Easter word is not from Paganism: Easter ("Ostern" in German) is a Germanic word derived from the word "east" ("Ost" in German). Today, "east"
refers to the direction from which the sun rises. The direction of east goes by that name because the Saxon word "east" meant "dawn", "sunrise" or
"morning". The etymology of "east" is as follows: "Old English east "east, easterly, eastward," from Proto-Germanic aus-to-, austra- "east, toward the
sunrise" (cf. Old Frisian ast "east," aster "eastward," Dutch oost Old Saxon ost, Old High German ostan, German Ost, Old Norse austr "from the east"),
from PIE aus- "to shine," especially "dawn" (cf. Sanskrit ushas "dawn;" Greek aurion "morning;" Old Irish usah, Lithuanian auszra "dawn;"
Latin aurora "dawn," auster "south"), literally "to shine." The east is the direction in which dawn breaks." (Online Etymological Dictionary). There is
nothing in "East" that suggests animal fertility. Hence the word has nothing to do with Astarte or Ishtar. Relating the Germanic word "Easter" to the
Semitic word "Ishtar" is as fallacious as relating the English word "Baby" to the Semitic word "Babylon or computer mouse to Moses. Old
English Estre continues into modern English as Easter and derives from Proto-Germanic *austrn meaning 'dawn', itself a descendent of the Proto-Indo-
European root aus-, meaning 'to shine' (modern English east also derives from this root).
Germanic origin: Anglo-Saxon itself is a Germanic language, and this is the genuine origin of the term Easter. Germans likewise used the
word Oster or Ostern for both Passover and our Easter. J. R. Clarke Halls A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary provides the following list of related words
showing that Easter was used for both: eastI. adj. east, easterly. II. adv. eastwards, in an easterly direction, in or from the east 1) EasteraefenEaster-
eve 2) EasterdaegEaster-day, Easter Sunday 3) EasterfaestanEaster-fast, Lent 4) Easterfeormfeast of Easter 5) Easterfreolsdaegthe feast day of
Passover 6) EastergewunaEaster custom (appears only in the 9th century sermons of Aelfric where he is referring to Christian Easter practices) 7)
Easterlicbelonging to Easter, Paschal 8) EastermonathEaster-month, April 9)Easterneeast, eastern, oriental 10) EasternihtEaster-night 11)
EastersunnandaegEaster Sunday 12) EastersymblePassover (lit. Easter gathering) 13) EastertidEastertide, Paschal season 14) Easterthenung
Passover 15) EasterwucuEaster Week. Another example of the word meaning the Jewish Passover comes from a 1563 homily: Easter, a great, and
solemne feast among the Jewes. Before Tyndale, Easter was the chief word used for the Jewish Passover by Christians. This is because Easter and
Passover are the same season, Jews celebrating the shadow, and Christians celebrating the fulfilment. The English word Easter is of German/Saxon origin
and not Babylonian as Alexander Hislop falsely claimed. The German equivalent is Oster. Oster (Ostern being the modern day correspondent) is related to
Ost which means the rising of the sun, or simply in English, east. Oster comes from the old Teutonic form of auferstehen/auferstehung, which means
resurrection which in the older Teutonic form comes from two words, ester meaning first, and stehen meaning to stand.
 N) Easter used by godly man before KJV translators
When the Reformer Martin Luther (14831546) first translated the Bible into German (1545), he used a number of German words relating to this, such
as Osterfest (Passover/Easter), Osterlamm (Passover lamb).
E.g. compare Luke 22:1,7; Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was approaching. 7. Then came the first day of
Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.
Luther Bible 1545: Es war aber nahe das Fest der sen Brote, das da Ostern heit.7. Es kam nun der Tag der sen Brote, an welchem man mute
opfern das Osterlamm.
Describing a Passover at the beginning of Jesus ministry, compare: John 2:13, 23: NKJV: Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus
went up to Jerusalem. 23. Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which
He did.
Luther: Und der Juden Ostern war nahe, und Jesus zog hinauf gen Jerusalem. Als er aber zu Jerusalem war am Osterfest, glaubten viele an seinen
Namen, da sie die Zeichen sahen, die er tat.
Compare also 1 Corinthians 15:7, identifying the true Passover Lamb, of which the lambs were types: (NIV) For Christ, our Passover lamb, has
been sacrificed.
Luther: Denn wir haben auch ein Osterlamm, das ist Christus, fr uns geopfert. Even in modern German, the das jdische Osterfest means the
Jewish Passover. In turn, this word comes from Ost, or the sunrising, i.e. East. In turn, this is likely to come from the old German word auferstehen /
auferstanden / Auferstehung meaning rising from the dead/resurrection. Luther used these words as well, e.g. throughout 1 Corinthians 15. So the pagan
derivation of Easter is conspiratorial fantasy. The word is Anglo-Saxon, and derived from the Germanic Oster meaning Passover, and is related to the
words for Resurrection. In the late-14th century, when Wycliffe translated the first English New Testament, the English word "Passover" did not even
exist yet! In the 29 places "pascha" occurs in the New Testament, Wycliffe used "pask" or "paske" - a modified version of "pascha" (following the Latin
Vulgate word "pascha" which is essentially identical to the Greek word).
William Tyndale, Easter and his New English Bible: The brilliant and godly scholar William Tyndale (14961536) was
the first to translate the Bible into English directly from Hebrew and Greek rather than via Latin, which was also the first
English Bible to be printed mechanically. He was fluent in many languagesas well as his native English; he could speak
French, Greek, Hebrew, German, Italian, Latin and Spanish. But he was determined to produce a Bible in English, as he
said, to cause the boy that drives the plow in England to know more of the Scriptures than the Pope himself! However,
because of persecution, Tyndale had to flee to Lutheran parts of Germany. Here, he completed his translation, which
introduced many popular words and phrases into English: Atonement, Jehovah, scapegoat, let there be light, my brother's keeper, filthy lucre, it came to
pass, gave up the ghost. Much of his work is better known as providing the basis for the KJV (1611) and the Geneva Bible (1560). Tyndale was also
responsible for introducing the word Ester into the English Bible. John Wycliffe, who produced the first English Bible in 1382, had translated from
the Latin, and left the word pascha basically untranslated and called it pask or paske. Luther occasionally did likewise, using the transliterated
form passah in the OT. For example, in Lev. 23:5, he rendered the LORDs Passover as des HERRN Passah, and in Ex. 12:27, It is the Passover
sacrifice to the LORD was Es ist das Passahopfer des HERRN. But when Tyndale prepared the New Testament, he followed Luthers more common
practice and used the most common word in his native language. That is, while Luther most often used Oster and its cognates, Tyndale used Ester and
its cognates. For example:
Luke 22:15 And he said unto them: I have inwardly desired to eat this ester lamb with you before that I suffer.
John 2:13 And the Jews ester was even at hand; And Iesus went up to Ierusalem,
John 6:4 (And ester a feast of the Jews, was nigh.)
John 11:55 The Jews ester was nigh at hand
John 19:14 (It was the Sabbath even which falleth in the ester feast, and about the sixth hour)
1 Cor. 5:7: For Christ our ester lamb is offered up for us.
O) Comparison between Wycliffe, Luther, Tyndale and Modern versions
Luke 2:41This passage refers to a Passover festival before the Resurrection, using pascha ( ).
WycliffeAnd his fadir and modir wenten ech yeer in to Jerusalem, in the solempne dai of pask (Old English).
LutherUnd seine Eltern gingen alle Jahre gen Jerusalem auf das Osterfest (German).
TyndaleAnd his father and mother went to Hierusalem every yeare at the feeste of ester (English)
KJV His Parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of Passover.
Acts 12:4This passage refers to a Passover festival after the Resurrection, using pascha ( ).
WycliffeAnd whanne he hadde cauyte Petre, he sente hym in to prisoun; and bitook to foure quaternyouns of knyytis, to kepe hym, and wolde aftir pask
bringe hym forth to the puple (Old English).
LutherDa er ihn nun griff, legte er ihn ins Gefngnis und berantwortete ihn vier Rotten, je von vier Kriegsknechten, ihn zu bewahren, und gedachte, ihn
nach Oster dem Volk vorzustellen.
TyndaleAnd when he had caught him he put him in preson and delyvered him to quaternios of soudiers to be kepte entendynge after ESTER to brynge
him forth to the people.
KJVAnd when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to
bring him forth to the people
1 Corinthians 5:7This passage refers to Christ as the sacrificial Passover lamb, using pascha ( ).
Wycliffe For Crist offrid is oure Pask.
Luther . . . Denn wir haben auch ein Osterlamm, das ist Christus, fr uns geopfert.
Tyndale . . . For Christ oure Esterlambe is offered up for us.
KJV . . ... .For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.
Note, if the Hislop pagan derivation theory were correct, it would imply that the godly Tyndale and Luther before him were really calling Jesus the Astarte
Lamb or Ishtar Lamb. Before 1611 the term Easter was well attached as the Jewish and Christian festival. It must be noted that most cults such as
the Jehovahs Witnesses and the Seventh Day Adventists gravitate warmly to Hislops false ideas. While he does offer some sound information about pagan
traditions becoming Roman Catholic practice in his book, he fails to recognise that biblical Christian traditions that were formed from the Word of God
were initiated by Jehovah God Himself and have no roots in paganism whatever
William Tyndale coined Passover: In Tyndale's 1535 translation, most instances appear as ester - the three exceptions are Matt 26:17 (which has
"paschall" lamb but is called the "ester" lamb just two verses later), Mark 14:12 ("pascall" lamb and "ester" lamb in the same verse), and John 18:28
("paschall" lamb). Tyndale translated the NT before translating the OT, and although the church in general at that time (and prior) thought of the Jewish
"Passover" and the Christian "Easter" as basically synonyms, Tyndale invented a new English word Passover when translating the OT, since Easter was
somewhat of an anachronism since Christ's crucifixion and resurrection hadn't occurred until the NT. After Tyndale's translation, English translations began
using Passover more and Easter less although it was still common to think of them as referring to the same time. Those who say Easter is pagan should
also avoid the term Passover which was invented by the same guy who used Easter in Acts 12:4.
P) Early English Examples
Before the 1530s, England always used the word Easter for both the Jewish Passover and the Resurrection celebration. Sometimes clergy used the Latin
Pask or Paske, but predominantly Easter. Here are two non-biblical examples of Easter and Passover being synonyms. In the Peterborough Chronicle of
1122 we read: On this geare waes se king Heanri on Christes maessen on Norhtwic, and on Paxhes he waes on Norhthamtune (This year King Henry was
in Norwich for Christmas and in Northampton for Easter).
A 1563 homilist spoke of Easter, a great, and solemne feast among the Jewes.
Q) Early Biblical Examples
In the 1537 Matthews Bible which incorporated Tyndales work on the Pentateuch, the word used was Passover, but there were references to Ester in the
chapter summaries in Leviticus 23, Numbers 9 and Deuteronomy 16. In the 1539 Great Bible they used Passeover 14 times, while Ester appears 15 times
all in the New Testament. The Great Bible translates Acts 12:4 this way: And when he had caught hym, he put him in preson also, and delyvered him to.
iiii. quaternions of soudiers to be kepte, entendynge after Ester to bringe him forth to the people. In the 1557 version of the Geneva Bible, every place had
Passeover except Acts 12:4, where it had Easter, which was identical to how the King James Version translated it. In the 1560 version of the Geneva Bible,
which became the most popular of the Geneva Bibles, the word Easter was completely substituted with Passeouer on all occasions. In the 1568 Bishops
Bible, Easter appears twice, in John 11:55 and Acts 12:4. The Bishops Bible of 1568 translates Acts 12:4: And when he had caught him, he put him in
prison also, and delivered him to foure quaternions of souldiers to be kept, intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people. In the 1611 Authorised
Version, Easter appears once in Acts 12:4. So the notion that Easter is pagan is completely ridiculous when we read all the versions before KJV 1611.
R) Determining the Dates for Easter and Passover
Jewish calendar: The Jewish calendar is based on the lunar month, which is a bit longer than 29 days. As such, the Jewish lunar months are 29 or 30
days long. Twelve lunar months usually amount to 354 days, 11 days short of a solar year. In order for the festivals to stay in the correct season in relation
to the solar year, an extra month is added every few years. The Jewish calendar is dated from what is supposed to have been the Creation: 3,760 years and
three months before the Christian era. For that reason, to find the current year in the Jewish calendar, one must add 3,759 to the date in the Gregorian
calendar. The system, however, will not work to the exact month, since the Jewish year (running on the civil calendar) begins in autumn rather than in
midwinter. A Hebrew month began in the middle of a month on our calendar today. Crops were planted in November and December and harvested in
March and April. Since the Jewish month invariably began with the new moon, at intervals of approximately 29 days, the Jewish year ran 354 days. Late
in Israels history an extra month was inserted between Adar and Nisan. That month, sometimes called Veader (second Adar), was added seven times
within a 19-year cycle (at which time Adar received an extra half day) so that their calendar stayed intact. The names for the Jewish months as now known
came from the period following the return from Babylonia to Palestine. Before the Babylonian exile at least four other names were in use:
Abib (Exodus 13:4), Ziv (1 Kings 6:1, 37), Ethanim ( 1 Kings 8:2), and Bul (1 Kings 6:38). Their month Abib was changed to Nisan (Aramaic) in Esther,
Ezra, Nehemiah.
How to determine the date for Passover: In the Jewish calendar, their years begin in late September or early October with the celebration of Rosh
Hashana. Unlike our calendar which is based on the solar year, the Jewish calendar uses twelve lunar months of 29 to 30 days in length. The new moon
marks the beginning of each month with the full moon occurring halfway through the month. The seventh month in a normal Jewish calendar year is the
month of Nisan (also called Abib in the Old Testament). Passover is celebrated on the 14th day of Nisan at the time of the full moon.
Determining the date for Easter (*Western Church): Easter is observed on the first Sunday following the full moon that comes on or after the vernal
equinox (March 21). Thus, Easter can take place as early as March 22 but not later than April 25. This full moon is normally the full moon which takes
place on the 14th day of Nisan. Thus, in most years Easter is celebrated on the Sunday following Passover.
Why dont Easter and Passover always fall together on the calendar? Every two or three years the Jewish calendar requires the adjustment of a leap
year. During a Jewish leap year, an additional month of 29 days is inserted before the month of Nisan. The additional month is needed because the Jewish
calendar year has fewer days (11 days) than the solar year and begins to slip out of gear with the seasons. The extra month thus realigns the Jewish calendar
year with the seasons of the solar year. This is important because the Jewish holidays are closely related to the seasons. For example, the Torah commands
that Passover be celebrated in the spring. Every so often the Jewish leap year will push Passover so far into April that a second full moon following the
vernal equinox would appear before the Sunday following Passover. This happens anytime the Sunday following Passover falls later than April 25th on our
calendar. On those rare occasions, Easter is celebrated the month before Passover rather than the Sunday following Passover.
How did this system for determining the date for Easter originate? The early church was faced with the following conflict in dates: Jesus rose on
Sunday, but Passover can fall on various days of the week. So the early church saw two options:
1. Celebrate Easter in strict relation to the 14th of Nisan without regard for the day of the week, or
2. Determine a system whereby Easter could always be celebrated on Sunday.
3. For Jews, Nisan 14 can fall on any day of the week Mon, TuesSunday. Although the issue was hotly debated and variously practiced during the first
centuries of the church, the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. eventually adopted the current system of celebrating Easter on the Sunday following the full
moon after the vernal equinox. This is because Christ resurrection was on the first Sunday following the Full moon(Passover). Since the Second Vatican
Council in 1963, there had been new discussion about fixing the date of Easter on a set Sunday such as the first or second Sunday in April. However, no
progress had been made so far towards such a change. The reason being God already foretold all their seasons, new moons and feast shall be ended when
the true substance comes. Therefore, Easter celebration of todays world is truly Christ centred rather than seasonal centered Jewish Law. The Jewish
calendar used for determine weekly Sabbath today is based on our Easter calculation. In short their Sabbath depend on Easter nothing else. If Sabbath
keepers accused us they are to be blame if they follow our calendar.
Summary: The trend in earlier English versions was to move away from Tyndale's frequent use of Easter, the Bishops Bible preceding the KJV retaining
it in only two verses, so the Acts 12 Easter is likely a case of providential intervention in text history accompanied by outstanding scholarship. KJV
translators examined Tyndales work, and they would retain Easter in Acts 12:4 due to the support of it by context and history. They were very skilled at
evaluating such matters, and the reasoning that they might follow is reiterated in the outline below.
1. Pascha usually means Passover, as KJV translators usually rendered it, but its use in Acts 12:4 is denied by context/history and the likelihood that Herod
wouldn't need to wait until after Hebrew Passover to execute Peter since the Jews that Herod sought to please would want Peter executed without delay.
2). At the historical time of events in Acts 12:4, Hebrew Passover would coincide with Christian Passover in part, the two starting on the same day, but the
Christian one would end on the 3rd day (Resurrection Day), and the Hebrew one on the 7th day. 3). Herod was well-informed on matters of religion, and
would temporarily focus on a potential for a Christian uproar and loss of his throne if he killed James, then killed famous Peter and also insulted Christ by
killing Peter at the time of Resurrection Day. The cause of concern was his problem with the ruling Romans who despised him. 4). Herod would focus on
Christian Passover, especially the third day, the one he had to get past in order to execute Peter and continue to satisfy the Jews, without unduly aggravating
Christians 5). Herod was an Edomite, who pleased the Jews to keep his throne, and to continue to keep it, he would now think of Passover in the Christian
sense, and would wait until after the last day of Christian Passover, or after Resurrection Day, to execute Peter. 6). The text must recognize that Herod's
action would be governed by the timing of Christian Passover and by its superseding of Hebrew Passover in Acts to give pascha a new meaning, which
brings Easter into the picture. 7). KJV use of Easter would be proper since Resurrection Day became Easter in the 8th century, and would be better
understood than Christian Passover by all readers.
Note: Herod might know that if he killed Peter on Resurrection day or Easter he would come back to life he heard the story of many death people coming
back to life which Matt 27:52-53: The tombs broke open, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised. 53.
After Jesus resurrection, when they had come out of the tombs, they entered the holy city and appeared to many people.
 S) Christians reclaim the true meaning of Easter:
The bible clearly mentioned the importance of Resurrection. By observing resurrection, we remind ourselves the core of salvation. There is nothing
paganism with this. Paul writes 1 Cor 14:40 everything should be done in fitting and orderly manner. If we only observe his Death without resurrection,
we are denying our sole foundation. If His Death can be observed why not the resurrection which is better than death! Let us read carefully 1 Cor 14:21 In
the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, says the Lord. The
use of Easter word for Resurrection is not understood by the Jews, not even by the Adventist because the message of Good news is spoken in different
language other than Hebrew which is already fulfilled today. There is no commandment that we are to apply the terms and names only in Hebrew and
Greek, if there is, then our translation of bible from Hebrew or Greek can also be questioned, because we have added many words not found in the original
bible. However, Paul says every language is acceptable to God. 1Cor 14:10: There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of
them is without signification. As for the Jews after their exile they set up Synagogues around their locality so that they could go and gather together,
however the bible gives no such restriction, as it was for their growth toward God so also Feast of Purim in Esther and Hanukkah; Jesus is seen celebrating
this Feast in John10:22.We can see God gives no restriction to his people about any day for speciality if our intention is for His Glory. If Easter can be
connected with Ishtar what is left for us? There are many words and terms pagan and bible share together should we avoid using them? Why should Pagan
be given authority to control words and terms? By this method, the LORD himself would be pagan: The woman called Mystery Babylon had a cup in her
hand; the Lord has a cup in his hand (Psa. 75:8). Pagan kings sat on thrones and wore crowns; the Lord sits on a throne and wears a crown (Rev. 1:4;
14:14). Pagans worshipped the sun; the Lord is the Sun of righteousness (Mal. 4:2). Pagan gods were likened to stars; the Lord is called the bright and
morning star (Rev. 22:16). Pagan gods had temples dedicated to them; the Lord has a temple (Rev. 7:15). Pagan gods were pictured with wings; the Lord
is pictured with wings (Psa. 91:4). Here is a list of some of the unsubstantiated claims that are made about the religion of ancient Babylon by Hislop: The
Babylonians went to confess sins to priests who wore black clergy garments. Their king, Nimrod, was born on December 25. Round decorations on
Christmas trees and round communion wafers honored him as the Sun-god. Sun-worshippers went to their temples weekly, on Sunday, to worship the Sun-
god. Nimrods wife was Semiramis, who claimed to be the Virgin Queen of Heaven, and was the mother of Tammuz. Tammuz was killed by a wild boar
when he was age 40; so 40 days of Lent were set aside to honor his death. The Babylonians wept for him on Good Friday. They worshipped a cross-the
initial letter of his name and so on. Hislop, for example, taught that mythological persons like Adonis, Apollo, Bacchus, Cupid, Dagon, Hercules, Janus,
Mars, Mithra, Moloch, Orion, Osiris, Pluto, Saturn, Vulcan, Zoraster, and many more, were all Nimrod! He then formed his own history of Nimrod! He
did the same thing with Nimrods wife. So, according to his theory, Nimrod was a big, ugly, deformed black man. His wife, Semiramisalso known as
Easter, he sayswas a most beautiful white woman with blond hair and blue eyes. He claimed that round objects, such as round communion wafers, are
symbols of the Sun-god. But He fails to mention that the very manna given by God was round! (Exod. 16:14). He condemned all pillars and historical
monuments as pagan. But He fail to take into account that the Lord himself appeared as a pillar of fire; and, in front of his temple, there were two large
pillars (Exod. 13:21,22; 2 Chron. 3:17). He also said Babylon had a tower (Gen. 11:4) which is a symbol of paganism, but he fails to see that David
described God as my high tower (2 Sam. 22:3; and Prov. 18:10). By his method we can connect every single practice in the OT to pagan. Side note:
Examples of negative parallels are often found for the flood in Genesis. For instance, the Flood narrative (Gen. 6-9) has parallels to pagan flood stories, but
is written so that it refutes ideas in them. Thus Genesis attributes the flood to human sin (6:5-7), not overpopulation, as Atrahasis Epic and the Greek
poem Cypria did (I. Kikawada &A. Quinn). Now should we say Genesis was written from pagan influenced? The presence of flood stories in cultures
around the world does not undermine the validity of the biblical narrative, but lends it more credence. Hislop in his book assumed that Nimrod was killed
by wild boar and then incarnated as a virgin birth to connect Virgin birth of Jesus. Let us assume Hislop theory in todays world and compare: Pagans had
a priest so was the OT Israelites, pagans burnt offering to their gods so was the Jews, pagans had incense so did the priests in the OT, pagans celebrated
festivals like harvests so did the Jews; festival of light so is the Israelites with their feast of tabernacles and Hannukah. Pagans remove their shoes in temple
so the Jews and some denominations, pagans had a temple so Solomon had temple. If Hislop theory is applied then God himself is Pagan and the bible is a
collection of Pagans practices. Should we take Hislop as our final authority or God? People who reject Easter celebration are those who plainly reject
Christs bodily resurrection. Jehovah Witnesses reject Easter because they believe Michael the archangel incarnated as Jesus of Nazareth; after his
crucifixion God dissolve his body and created him as spirit angel without a body. Seventh Adventist also believed this; in fact they were the first to
propagate Jesus is Michael the archangel. Their false prophetess Ellen G White taught that once. So, all cults who reject Easter celebration often line up
with their founder Ellen G White. Satan hates Easter, He hates defeats he hate the empty tomb, he hates Christian being redeemed to share the glorified
body of Christ at the second coming.
Ralph Woodrow who repented of writing many Hislop-style books pointed out that Hislop theorised that Nimrod, Adonis, Apollo, Attes, Ball-zebub,
Bacchus, Cupid, Dagon, Hercules, Januis, Linus, Lucifer, Mars, Merodach, Thithra, Molock, Narcissus, Oannes, Oden, Orion, Osiris, Pluto, Saturn, Teitan,
Typhon, Vulcan, Wodan, and Zoraster were all one and the same god! By mixing myths, Hislop supposed that Semiramis was the wife of Nimrod and was
the same as Aphrodite, Artemis, Astarte, Aurora, Bellona, Ceres, Diana, Easter, Irene, Iris, Juno, Mylitta, Proserpine, Rhea, Venus, and Vesta. With these
types of generalisations one must seriously consider whether Hislops book has any redeeming qualities at all (The Babylon Connection? Ralph Woodrow
 The bible warns us of people who are striving for words and term:
I Timothy 6:4 He is proud, knowing nothing but obsessed with disputes and argument over words from which came envy, strife, evil suspicion. Just
because some words sound similar in tone has nothing to do with the object. This verse fits exactly what cults are practicing today by connecting many
irrelevant words.
All Encyclopedias agree that Easter has nothing to do with goddess or fertility goddess
1) The origin of Easter: The English word Easter and the German Ostern come from a common origin (Eostur, Eastur, Ostara, Ostar), which to the
Norsemen meant the season of the rising (growing) sun, the season of new birth. The word was used by our ancestors to designate the Feast of New Life in
the spring. The same root is found in the name for the place where the sun rises (East, Ost). The word Easter, then, originally meant the celebration of the
spring sun, which had its birth in the East and brought new life upon earth. This symbolism was transferred to the supernatural meaning of our Easter, to the
new life of the Risen Christ, the eternal and uncreated Light. Based on a passage in the writings of Saint Bede the Venerable (735), the term Easter has
often been explained as the name of an Anglo-Saxon goddess (Eostre), though no such goddess is known in the mythologies of any Germanic tribe. Modern
research has made it quite clear that Saint Bede erroneously interpreted the name of the season as that of a goddess. (Source: Francis X. Weiser, Handbook
of Christian Feasts and Customs (New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1958), p. 211
2) Ancient history encyclopedia: There are two possibilities for the source of the term Easter. One is that the name comes from the Saxon fertility
goddess Eostre (sometimes spelled Eastre or Ostara). The legend goes that Eostre owned an egg-laying rabbit or hare and the story symbolized fertility and
life. In the 8th century CE work De temporum ratione, written by an English monk named Bede, the author claims that, during the month of April, the
pagan Anglo-Saxon community used to have feasts to honour Eostre, but that custom had died out by the time of his writing, replaced by the Christian
celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. Another accepted origin of the term Easter is that it comes from the German Ostern, which comes from the Norse
word Eostrus, meaning Spring.
3) New world encyclopedia: The English name, "Easter" is thought to derive from the name of a Anglo-Saxon goddess of the dawn called Eostre or astre
in various dialects of Old English and Ostara in German. In England, the annual festive time in her honor was in the "Month of Easter," equivalent to
April/Aprilis. In his De temporum ratione the The Venerable Bede, an eighth-Century English Christian monk wrote: "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." However, in recent years, all
scholars have suggested that a lack of supporting documentation for this goddess might indicate that Bede assumed her existence based on the name of the
month.
4) Jewish encyclopedia: En Easter ame given by Anglo-Saxons to the Christian Passover as the Feast of Resurrection, and rather incorrectly used for the
Jewish Passover (Acts xii. 4, A. V.). Originally "Pascha," or "Passover," was the name given by the Christians to the fourteenth day of Nisan as the day of
the Crucifixion, corresponding to the eve of the Jewish Passover, the season of the sacrifice of the paschal lamb; this was followed by the memorial of the
Resurrection on the succeeding Sunday; the former was regarded as a day of fasting and penitence, the latter as a festival of jo
5) Encyclopedia Britannica: The English word Easter, which parallels the German word Ostern, is of uncertain origin. One view, expounded by the
Venerable Bede in the 8th century, was that it derived from Eostre, or Eostrae, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring and fertility. This view presumesas
does the view associating the origin of Christmas on December 25 with pagan celebrations of the winter equinoxthat Christians appropriated pagan names
and holidays for their highest festivals. Given the determination with which Christians combated all forms of paganism, this appears a rather dubious
presumption. There is now widespread consensus that the word derives from the Christian designation of Easter week as in albis, a Latin phrase that was
understood as the plural of alba (dawn) and became eostarum in Old High German, the precursor of the modern German and English term. The Latin and
Greek Pascha (Passover) provides the root for Pacques, the French word for Easter.
6) Catholic encyclopedia: The English term, according to the Ven. Bede (De temporum ratione, I, v), relates to Estre, a Teutonic goddess of the rising light
of day and spring, which deity, however, is otherwise unknown, even in the Edda (Simrock, Mythol., 362); Anglo-Saxon, ester, estron; Old
High German, stra, strara, strarn; German, Ostern. April was called easter-monadh. The plural estron is used, because the feast lasts seven days. Like
the French plural Pques, it is a translation from the Latin Festa Paschalia, the entire octave of Easter.
7) As of 2014, the Oxford English Dictionary has described alternatives to this etymology as "less likely", adding that "it seems unlikely that Bede would
invent a fictitious pagan festival in order to account for a Christian one". Of course, given how common false patronymics and false etymologies were in
classical and medieval histories, it is possible that Bede was sincerely repeating an etymology he heard elsewhere without having to implicate Bede in
intentionally inventing a fictitious pagan festival.
8) Easter connect with Baptism: A still more recent theory connects the English and German words not with the dawn but with a word associated with
baptism. Jrgen Udolph published in 1999 his Ostern: Geschichte eines Wortes, in which he argued for an origin from the North Germanic verb ausa, "to
pour". A pre-Christian rite of "baptism" and name-giving was referred to as vatni ausa, "to pour water over". Since baptism was the central event in the
Easter celebration in the first centuries of Christianity, it was argued that this background explains the name given to the feast. In some West Slavic
languages the words for Easter Jastr in Kashubian, jutry in Upper Sorbian, jaty in Lower Sorbian apparently derive from a Germanic word related to
9) Easter origin shows it has nothing to do with female fertility goddess: English Easter and German Ostern. The name for Easter in Old English,
including West Saxon, is usually not the singular feminine noun astre, but instead the plural noun astrun, -on, also -an. The neuter plural noun astru, -
o is also found. This itself shows Easter has nothing connection with female fertility goddess.
Why Easter (Resurrection Sunday) is so important:
1 Corinthians 15:14-17):And if Christ be not raised, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God;
because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ: whom He raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, and then is not
Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. The resurrection of Jesus is important for several reasons. First, it
witnesses to the immense power of God Himself. To believe in the resurrection is to believe in God .God exists and He created the universe by His power,
by his resurrection of Christ from death, He has shown us His power to raise the dead. If He does not have such power, He is not a God worthy of our faith
and worship. Only He who created life can resurrect it after death, only He can reverse the hideousness that is death itself, and only He can remove the sting
that is death and the victory that is the graves. In resurrecting Jesus from the grave, God reminds us of His absolute sovereignty over life and death. Second,
the resurrection of Jesus is a testimony to the resurrection of human beings, which is a basic tenet of the Christian faith. Unlike all other religions,
Christianity alone possesses a founder who transcends death and who promises that His followers will do the same.1 Corinthians 15:55 Where, O death, is
your victory? Where, O death is your sting? How do these concluding verses relate to the importance of the resurrection? Paul answers, you know that your
labour in the Lord is not in vain (v. 58). He reminds us that because we will be resurrected to new life, we can suffer persecution and danger for Christs
sake (vv. 29-31).According to Romans 10:9-10 - We must believe in the resurrection and confess Christ as Lord to be saved. The importance of Resurrection
is the central core of the good news that shows us the hope of bodily resurrection after Second coming
II Timothy 2:8: Remember that Jesus Christ, the seed of David, was raised from death according to the gospel.
Roman 6:5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of his death certainly we also shall be likeness of his resurrection
Roman 6:11 likewise you also reckon yourselves to be a dead indeed to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord
Roman 8:11 But if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the death dwell in you, who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies
through his Spirit who dwell in you
Resurrection Day (Easter is the Day when we are recreated):
1 Peter 1:13: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
Titus 3:5: He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy
Spirit.
2 Cor 5:17: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
Galatians 6:15: For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything. What counts is a new creation.
Rom 6:4: Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father,
so we too might walk in newness of life.
Conclusion: Therefore Easter is not from Pagan but Biblical celebration of Resurrection Day of our savior
Happy Easter Sunday
God bless you!!