Naughty Nicole: The Real History of Easter

And on Today’s episode of The World In My Eyes, we’re looking to the holiday for inspiration and talking about the real history of Easter, and I promise you, the story is one you’ve probably never heard before and has nothing to do with Church or Christian beliefs. Now I know you all already know that Easter Sunday is a festival and holiday celebrated by millions of people around the world who honor the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred three days after his crucifixion at Calvary. It is also the day that children and Naughty Nicole, excitedly wait for the Easter bunny to arrive and deliver treats of chocolate eggs.

But Easter was and still is the ‘movable feast’ which is chosen to correspond with the first Sunday following the full moon after the March equinox, and occurs on different dates around the world since western churches use the Gregorian calendar, while eastern churches use the Julian calendar. So where did this ‘movable feast’ begin, and what are the origins of the traditions and customs celebrated on this important day around the world?

Most historians, including Biblical scholars, agree that Easter was originally a pagan festival. The word Easter is of Saxon origin, Eastra, the goddess of spring, in whose honor sacrifices were offered about Passover time each year. By the eighth century Anglo–Saxons had adopted the name to designate the celebration of Christ’s resurrection. However, even among those who maintain that Easter has pagan roots, there is some disagreement over which pagan tradition the festival emerged from. And today, well we’re going to explore some of those little known stories. And we’re going to start with how the holiday’s name came to be.