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The celebration of Jesus’ crucifixion and subsequent resurrection is the most important date in the Christian calendar. The date of Easter itself has been disputed throughout the centuries.
Pagan religions in the Mediterranean based their celebrations on a story very similar to that of Jesus and his resurrection.
Despite efforts by the First Council of Nicaea, held in 325, to establish a fixed date for the celebrations, the date of Easter alters each year according to the lunisolar calendar. Christian churches now use 21st March as the starting point for determining the date of Easter; it is then calculated as the Sunday following the next full moon.
The word Easter itself comes from the Old English word Eostre or Eastre which was the name of an Anglo-Saxon goddess. She was celebrated during the Spring Equinox, the time we now associate with the Easter period. To this day many Wiccans and Neopagans celebrate this time as one of their eight holy days of celebration, also known as Sabbats. Within these religions the Spring Equinox is generally a celebration of fertility, bound up in the growing of crops and the growing balance between night and day.
Pagan religions in the Mediterranean based their celebrations on a story very similar to that of Jesus and his resurrection. Attis, a figure of a mystery cult that appeared in Rome about 200 BC, was reported to have been born of a virgin impregnated by the fruits of an almond tree. He was believed to be reborn annually, and the celebrations began with a day of blood on what they called ‘Black Friday’ and continued over three days in which they rejoiced over his resurrection. The colour black has also been adopted in Christian celebrations as the symbol of Good Friday.
The similarity between the stories of Jesus and Attis has led to many suggestions throughout the ages. ome historians claim that Jesus’ life story was simply applied to other figures, while ancient Christians argued that these stories were examples of the false deities created by Satan to predate Christ. Generally the link is now disregarded, which could explain why Jesus is more widely recognised and associated with spring celebrations.
The traditional Easter egg and Easter bunny can be traced back to antiquity as symbols of fertility. Rabbits and hares, or more specifically Lagomorphs, were symbolic particularly for their prolific breeding. The phrase ‘at it like rabbits’ serves to explain these ancient attitudes towards these animals.
Lagomorphs become sexually mature at a relatively young age and can give birth to several large litters per year. Females are even able to conceive whilst already pregnant making them exemplary fertility symbols in Easter folklore.
The phrase ‘mad as a march hare’ also explains the significance of fertility during the springtime. The saying refers to the mating rituals of hares during spring. Rejected males would often perform what appeared to be a ‘mad’ dance to finally win over the females. This notable behaviour meant that hares were noticed much more at this time of year.
The goddess Eostre was also associated with hares, and the egg represented the rebirth of the land during spring. Dyed eggs therefore became part of pagan rituals.
These rituals have also been assimilated into Christian celebrations of Easter. The egg is recognised by Christians as a symbol of the grave, signifying renewed and resurrected life.
Traditionally eggs are decorated red to show the blood of Christ but some Eastern denominations follow the legend that Mary Magdalene brought cooked eggs to the tomb of Jesus to share with the other mourners which miraculously turned red when Jesus emerged from his tomb.
More simply the egg symbolises the end of Lent, a period in which eggs are traditionally forbidden. The consumption of the remaining eggs on Shrove Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, the eve of Lent, is the origin of the now largely secular ‘Pancake Day’.
The connection between rabbits and eggs seems to be the result of confusion about how hares raised their young. It is thought that the hare itself was the main origin of many of these traditions and the rabbit has only been substituted recently due to its more widespread presence around the world.
It was known that hares built shelters known as forms in which to keep their young. These were often confused with the nests of lapwings, groups of wading birds who built nests which resembled the hollowed out nature of the hare’s form.
The act of painting chickens’ eggs has evolved to include the modern chocolate or plastic alternatives which now line the shops every Easter. The traditional visit of the Easter bunny and the resultant Easter egg hunt have come to function outside religious celebrations and have become practices and symbols in their own right - the J.B. Morrell Library on campus even conducted its own version last week.
With this increasingly secular recognition of once highly religious symbols the origins of Easter and its celebrations become all the more interesting.
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