Easter was celebrated long before the birth of Jesus. It was a springtime riotous party, named after the Saxon fertility goddess, Oestre. Her sacred month was Eastremonath. Oestre was most fertile during the first full moon after the spring equinox, the moon of Oestre. That was the time when new crops were fertilized, and pregnancy occurred. This was spring break time for the pagans of Old England. They had a libertine grand party, with an emphasis on sexuality and fertilization. Wouldn’t you know that eventually other envious people would want a piece of the action? This Easter party slowly became the recipient of several additions to its rituals over the following centuries.
The early Christian church celebrated the passion story and resurrection of Jesus every Sunday. They were convinced that Jesus would return back to life any day. When they finally began to think that maybe Jesus would not be coming back so soon, they began to celebrate these two major pillars of their faith each year. They initially linked that celebration date to the Passover celebration of Judaism, when the Israelites escaped from Egypt after 400 years of slavery. The Nicean Council of 325 AD, which had been commanded by the Emperor Constantine to ritualize all the practices of Christianity, set the date as the first Sunday after the first full moon, after the Spring Equinox. By doing so, they willingly paid homage to this ancient beloved pre-existing fertility rite of Easter. Yet the Christian Passion Story and resurrection story were still celebrated on a separate date from Easter until the 13 th century. Then they got joined at the hip, and have since carried the same name, same date of celebration.
Hathor was the Egyptian mother of all the gods and goddesses, including Isis, Osiris, and Horus. She was not only the progenitor of all deities to follow, but she also laid the golden egg of the sun. She had a sacred Moon Hare that also laid eggs. Medieval Germans found it easy to amalgamate these two traditions. They told their children that the Moon Hare would lay eggs on Easter evening for good boys and girls. Thus we have the Easter Bunny dropping eggs, chocolates and cash on lawns, always magically appearing by Easter Day. This animal behavior is a bit mixed up, but it’s a really cute story which still does homage to the springtime celebration of fertility.
Take heart, Pagans. That which always belonged to you first is finally and gradually becoming mostly yours again. According to Jon Meacham, in a recent Newsweek article, the number of Americans who claim no religious affiliation has risen from 8 to 15 percent since 1990. The number of Americans who designate themselves as Christian has fallen from 86 to 76 percent. The number of self-proclaimed atheists or agnostics has risen from 1 million to 3.6 million. The percent of Americans who think religion can answer all or most all of today’s problems has fallen to an historic low of 48 percent. We will continue to celebrate Easter with great joy; but will come to recognize that it is first and foremost, a Spring celebration of sexuality and fertilization amongst humans, animals and crops – and the fruits thereof.
And here is your ace in the hole. Jesus does not have much time left to reappear, live and in color, when all humans, dead and alive, will be consigned either to Heaven or Hell, and the whole world will lay in ruins. According to the historical Corpernican (earth centered) calendar, the seven millennia between the Creation Day and Judgment Day have about reached their limit. The Byzantine Calendar set the date of creation as September 1, 5509 BC. According to Martin Luther, the Creation occurred in 3960 BC. Joseph Scalinger, a 16 th century scholar, set the date of beginnings as 3690 BC. James Ussher, a 16 th century Irish Anglican Bishop, said the Creation was in 4004 BC. If any of these predictions happen to be correct, it’s a done deal, according to these ancient scholars. All humans, sometime within the next millennium, will either be dead and won’t have to worry about it, or the fertility rites of Easter will be fully recognized as a riotous pagan celebration, not deserving of religious encumbrances.
Pagans of the world, rejoice!