Happy Easter

Easter is observed in March or April each year to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead after his death by crucifixion (see Good Friday). It is derived from Pesach, the Hebrew name of Passover, a Jewish holiday for which the Christian Easter depends on Passover not only for much of its symbolic meaning but also for its position in the calendar; the Last Supper shared by Jesus and his disciples before his crucifixion is generally thought of as a Passover seder.

The English and German names, Easter and Ostern, seem clearly unrelated to Pesach etymologically and could be derived either from Eostremonat, an old Germanic month name, or Eostre, an alleged Germanic goddess, who is honored with a festival during Eostremonat. Many of modern Easter's symbols, such as colored eggs and the Easter Bunny, are cultural remnants of Eostre's springtime festival and probably that Eostre merged with the Christian Pesach celebrations after the Germanic heathens became Christians.

It is alleged that Eostre was sometimes depicted with a hare's head and thus the origin of the Easter Bunny. Her associations with the hare seem to be related to its high fecundity (ability to reproduce quickly) and eggs being a worldwide symbol of fertility. A story is told that the goddess turned her pet bird into a rabbit to entertain some children. The rabbit immediately laid some brightly colored eggs, which the goddess gave to the children. The idea that rabbits layed eggs was widely held, since before theories of evolution, and especially before an awareness that an animal's biology is not so different from mankind, most people thought that life could be created from non life by simple formulae, such as sawdust left overnight turning into mice, and it was not at all odd that one creature should lay eggs, and another not.

Whatever the tradition or reason, enjoy the Easter season!