Easter: Pagan or Christian?

[posthuman]

The simple truth is that “Easter” does *not* derive from “Ishtar” – this association represents a complete false etymology, and a completely fabricated origin.

...

Easter takes its name from the Anglo-Saxon month name in which it occurs; namely, Ēosturmônað which, in turn, is named for the West Germanic goddess of dawn (and possibly Spring, but *not* fertility), Ēostra/Ēostre.

there's the etymologic link, tho.

eostar, eostare, astarte, eoshar, ashereh, ishtar.

all dawn/fertility goddesses, all names of wife of Baal.

... and zero etymologic link to Pascha, which is the actual word in actual scripture.

 

[SonJudgment]

there's the etymologic link, tho.

eostar, eostare, astarte, eoshar, ashereh, ishtar.

all dawn/fertility goddesses, all names of wife of Baal.

... and zero etymologic link to Pascha, which is the actual word in actual scripture.

There's not an etymological link, it's a hooked on phonix link. They just sound similar, but its not from the same tongue, culture, race, or geographic location (and they're separated by a lot of geographic location too), in addition to time period as well (the Babylon area at this time era's pagan cults were like Zoroastrianism and the very start of Islam, whereas the Ishtar cult was like way back in time around the time of the Bible Esther (whose original name was Hadassah hence her slave name bears the name of their gods).

That said there is a possibility Eostre is a minor pagan goddess of the dawn in Anglo-Saxon's ancient pagan religion, but the only credible mention is by Bede, and even then its not like a big mention and you have to remember Bede lived after Western Europe became Christian both the germanic homelands and the British Isles. As noted actually really well by this guy in his post that i'll also reply-include here, its probably closer to Ostara or Ost in germanic type language, perhaps referencing the East as in where the Sun rises, the dawn. It is quite possible there isn't even the pagan goddess, but simply maybe the word is a reference to the dawn itself, as in the Spring dawning, hence the title of the month.

Some of this may have been covered by other posters, but....

Many people, typically Christians of more fundamentalist oriented denominations, have been trying to connect Easter with Ishtar and Easter’s traditions with those of ancient Babylon and other pagan traditions for well over 100 years; since about the late 1800’s.

The simple truth is that “Easter” does *not* derive from “Ishtar” – this association represents a complete false etymology, and a completely fabricated origin.

To put it in the simplest terms possible, there is just absolutely no way historically, culturally, and particularly linguistically, to connect Ishtar with Easter….but that certainly has not prevented people from making some rather valiant and, in some cases, even impressive attempts.

Easter takes its name from the Anglo-Saxon month name in which it occurs; namely, Ēosturmônað which, in turn, is named for the West Germanic goddess of dawn (and possibly Spring, but *not* fertility), Ēostra/Ēostre.

It is crucial to realize that she has lent only her name to the holiday (and in a very indirect way at that) in exactly the same way that other Germanic deities have lent their names to our weekdays in English. There is nothing more “pagan” to it than that.

The etymology of her name comes from the Indo-European root word *hewsôs, meaning “to shine, glow red” - a reference to dawn. In Proto-Germanic, the name has been reconstructed as *Austrô-. To the early Germans, she was ‘Ostara’, from which modern German gets “Ostern” for Easter.

It is only amongst certain Germanic people where the Greek ‘pascha’ was not adopted as the name of the holiday. A shortened form of the month name in which the holiday occurs was used.

Ēostre’s association as a goddess of fertility is a relatively recent addition (and is not at all correct). Freja was the Germanic goddess of fertility/sexual love (amongst other things).

In addition, eggs and hares were never associated with Ēostra – that too is a considerably more modern addition to her mythos.

Though eggs and bunnies/rabbits (but _not_ hares!) are all associated with fertility, their inclusion in Easter traditions has nothing to do with any pagan antecedent.

Eggs at Easter were forbidden food during the Lenten fast. Eggs are the product of a warm-blooded animal, all of which were forbidden food during Lent. As an aside, the fish being cold-blooded was allowed as food; hence the association of Lent with eating fish.

Because eggs were forbidden during Lent, on Easter Sunday, eating eggs was regarded as a ‘treat’ of sorts. This was especially true for poorer people who did not keep animals for slaughter and could not afford to buy meat. In anticipation of Easter, in many traditions, the eggs were colored during the last days of Lent to mark the end of penance and fasting. In many countries, the colors used are highly symbolic – the traditional red of the Eastern Orthodox tradition, for example, symbolizes the blood Christ shed for mankind.

The Easter Hare ( *not* a bunny or a rabbit – both are considerably more modern ‘additions’) comes from the Lutherans of Germany (yep, the Easter Bunny is a _Protestant_ thing, deal with it) and fist appears in writing in 1572.

The Easter Hare, however, does not symbolize a thing. None of the egg-bringing animals of folklore are in any way ‘symbolic’ of any one thing, any more than the Tooth Fairy is symbolic of anything. Simply put, the hare is not symbolic of ‘fertility’ nor of anything else. These are supposed attributes which have been repeated so often, they have become accepted as truth. Indeed, the hare is not known to be as “prolific” (to put it politely) as the bunny or rabbit.

Hares are also known for constructing nest-like structures in fields and meadows in the spring – not a huge stretch for parents to tell their kids that that’s where all those colorful eggs they were going to hunt came from. There are a lot of folktales regarding the Easter Hare, some of which are still told today.

It is important to note that _historical similarity does not equate to historical sameness._ Some people just can’t seem to wrap their heads around that concept. Neither the hare/bunny/rabbit nor eggs at Easter have anything whatsoever to do with paganism, but that hasn't stopped a lot of wishful thinking.

 

[Magenta]

Resurrection

 

[Kavik]

there's the etymologic link, tho.

eostar, eostare, astarte, eoshar, ashereh, ishtar.

all dawn/fertility goddesses, all names of wife of Baal.

... and zero etymologic link to Pascha, which is the actual word in actual scripture.

There is no link whatsoever -

You're trying to link a somewhat similar sounding word to two completely different language families - Ishtar is Semitic; Ēostra/Ēostre is Indo-European.

The etymology of Ēostra/Ēostre comes from the Indo-European root word *hewsôs, meaning “to shine, glow red” - a reference to dawn. In Proto-Germanic, the name has been reconstructed as *Austrô. To the early Germans, she was ‘Ostara’, from which modern German gets “Ostern” for Easter. Zero to do with Ba'al.

Ishtar, on the other hand is simply the Akkadian variation of the West Semitic goddess Astoreth (Hellenized to Astarte). These forms are all essentially variations of the same root word. The -eth, -ot, and -t endings one sees on this name, by the way, simply indicate the noun is feminine.

Ishtar, or to use the Hebrew variation, Asherah, comes from the Akkadian (parent language of Babylonian and Assyrian) 𒀭𒅖𒋻 (diš-tar), which is reconstructed to have come from the Proto-Semitic root *ʕaṯtar-.

What is curious however, is that *ʕaṯtar- may actually be a loan word into Semitic languages from an Indo-European language, likely via Old Persian 𐎠𐎿𐎫𐎼 (setahreh), coming from Proto-Indo-Iranian *Hstā́, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr meaning "star" (the association to Venus).

The Easter = Ishtar nonsense comes primarily from the writings of Alexander Hislop (1807-1865), a minister for the Free Church of Scotland, specifically from his a pamphlet published in 1853 titled The Two Babylons. Hislop’s tendency was to think "if it sounds the same, it must be connected". It's absolute nonsense.

 

[Kavik]

There's not an etymological link, it's a hooked on phonix link. They just sound similar, but its not from the same tongue, culture, race, or geographic location (and they're separated by a lot of geographic location too), in addition to time period as well (the Babylon area at this time era's pagan cults were like Zoroastrianism and the very start of Islam, whereas the Ishtar cult was like way back in time around the time of the Bible Esther (whose original name was Hadassah hence her slave name bears the name of their gods).

That said there is a possibility Eostre is a minor pagan goddess of the dawn in Anglo-Saxon's ancient pagan religion, but the only credible mention is by Bede, and even then its not like a big mention and you have to remember Bede lived after Western Europe became Christian both the germanic homelands and the British Isles. As noted actually really well by this guy in his post that i'll also reply-include here, its probably closer to Ostara or Ost in germanic type language, perhaps referencing the East as in where the Sun rises, the dawn. It is quite possible there isn't even the pagan goddess, but simply maybe the word is a reference to the dawn itself, as in the Spring dawning, hence the title of the month.

With respect to Bede's mention.....

Many people will assert, that since Ēostra is only attested in a written text from the works of Bede, that he invented her, and this Germanic deity never existed – the place and personal names based on her name however, certainly seem to contradict this.

Bede was born during the early stages of the Christianization of England, when the names of the Anglo-Saxon gods and goddesses would have been common knowledge, and still worshiped in many places. The highly respected father of English history would have been unlikely to invent a goddess of that name. To put it in modern terms, he would have been "called out" on it had he done so. Furthermore, a number of English place names of Saxon origin, such as Eastry in Kent, Eastrea in Cambridgeshire and Eastrington in East Yorkshire, are derived from Ēostra.

Further, Ostara (in another form, ‘Austra’) was verified in 1958 with the discovery of more than 150 Roman-Germanic votive inscriptions to the matronae (female deities) Austria-hena near Bonn, Germany which were dated to the 2nd century AD, well before the Christian era in that part of Europe. The evidence of her existence appears to be rather strong. In addition, the mere fact that in the very places she was most prevalent (Anglo-Saxon England and northwest Germany), the name for the pre-Christian spring celebration is still called by her name (Easter and Oster) and was not overtaken by English and German forms of what in Dutch is “paask”, (Easter – derived for Hebrew “pesach” – Passover) strongly speaks to her existence.

Clearly, this was not someone merely 'invented' by Bede as some would suggest. It would seem that such a deity did exist in the Anglo-Saxon and northern German pantheon. It should also be noted that, unlike the Norse pantheon, we know painfully little about the Anglo-Saxon pantheon.

 

[Lovette]

A great explanation why the word "Easter" was used in the King James Bible.

It's an originally biblical holiday with a pagan name, a strange mix.

 

[Kavik]

The term Easter is of pagan origin -

"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" (p. 103).

The connection between the word Easter and Tammuz is thus -

The wife of Tammuz was Ishtar (Astarte), who is called Mother Nature, who being refreshed by spring rains brings life. When Tammuz died she followed him into the underworld or realm of Eresh-Kigal, queen of the dead. In her deep grief Astarte persuaded Eresh-Kigal to allow her messenger to sprinkle Astarte and Tammuz with the water of life. By this sprinkling they had power to return into the light of the sun for six months. After which the same cycle must be repeated.

Thus, the goddess of spring or the dawn goddess is responsible for the resurrection of Tammuz. Easter is a joint worship of the two. This Satanic myth is interwoven with the sun's cycle of vernal equinox (dawn) and autumn equinox (sunset). (From "The Flaming Torch" Jan. Feb. Mar. 1987).

It should be noted that the quoted text above is from Hislop's drivel The Two Babylons - it is patently false. There is no way historically, culturally and linguistically to connect Easter to Ishtar. See some of the discussions in this thread.

 

[HealthAndHappiness]

There is no link whatsoever -

You're trying to link a somewhat similar sounding word to two completely different language families - Ishtar is Semitic; Ēostra/Ēostre is Indo-European.

The etymology of Ēostra/Ēostre comes from the Indo-European root word *hewsôs, meaning “to shine, glow red” - a reference to dawn. In Proto-Germanic, the name has been reconstructed as *Austrô. To the early Germans, she was ‘Ostara’, from which modern German gets “Ostern” for Easter. Zero to do with Ba'al.

Ishtar, on the other hand is simply the Akkadian variation of the West Semitic goddess Astoreth (Hellenized to Astarte). These forms are all essentially variations of the same root word. The -eth, -ot, and -t endings one sees on this name, by the way, simply indicate the noun is feminine.

Ishtar, or to use the Hebrew variation, Asherah, comes from the Akkadian (parent language of Babylonian and Assyrian) 𒀭𒅖𒋻 (diš-tar), which is reconstructed to have come from the Proto-Semitic root *ʕaṯtar-.

What is curious however, is that *ʕaṯtar- may actually be a loan word into Semitic languages from an Indo-European language, likely via Old Persian 𐎠𐎿𐎫𐎼 (setahreh), coming from Proto-Indo-Iranian *Hstā́, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr meaning "star" (the association to Venus).

The Easter = Ishtar nonsense comes primarily from the writings of Alexander Hislop (1807-1865), a minister for the Free Church of Scotland, specifically from his a pamphlet published in 1853 titled The Two Babylons. Hislop’s tendency was to think "if it sounds the same, it must be connected". It's absolute nonsense.

 

[SonJudgment]

With respect to Bede's mention.....

Many people will assert, that since Ēostra is only attested in a written text from the works of Bede, that he invented her, and this Germanic deity never existed – the place and personal names based on her name however, certainly seem to contradict this.

Bede was born during the early stages of the Christianization of England, when the names of the Anglo-Saxon gods and goddesses would have been common knowledge, and still worshiped in many places. The highly respected father of English history would have been unlikely to invent a goddess of that name. To put it in modern terms, he would have been "called out" on it had he done so. Furthermore, a number of English place names of Saxon origin, such as Eastry in Kent, Eastrea in Cambridgeshire and Eastrington in East Yorkshire, are derived from Ēostra.

Further, Ostara (in another form, ‘Austra’) was verified in 1958 with the discovery of more than 150 Roman-Germanic votive inscriptions to the matronae (female deities) Austria-hena near Bonn, Germany which were dated to the 2nd century AD, well before the Christian era in that part of Europe. The evidence of her existence appears to be rather strong. In addition, the mere fact that in the very places she was most prevalent (Anglo-Saxon England and northwest Germany), the name for the pre-Christian spring celebration is still called by her name (Easter and Oster) and was not overtaken by English and German forms of what in Dutch is “paask”, (Easter – derived for Hebrew “pesach” – Passover) strongly speaks to her existence.

Clearly, this was not someone merely 'invented' by Bede as some would suggest. It would seem that such a deity did exist in the Anglo-Saxon and northern German pantheon. It should also be noted that, unlike the Norse pantheon, we know painfully little about the Anglo-Saxon pantheon.

Heh no one could "call out" Bede because he was one of the few literate people around lol. Though I do agree I don' think he just made it up liek some critics say as you summarize very well. My meaning was moreso perhaps Bede was just mistaken, there's actually weak archaeological evidence and cultural evidence for Eostre being a goddess mainly because as you correctly say the Anglo-Saxon and ancient Celtic religions aren't very well understood because there's not much writing about their religion or pre-Christian history. There is a few artifacts that may corroborate this, the best being the matronae inscription list which you mention. My meaning here is not to put down the Venerable Bede, but rather to posit a theory. We accept Bede could just be correct and Eostre is a pagan goddess, but she'd be a very minor compared to much more welll known germanic pagan gods. My alternative theory is perhaps it's just a word for the dawn or a word for Spring that has dawn connections and perhaps it was just conflated into a godddess as it's not uncommon for the European pagan religions to personify natural phenomenon or believe in female spirits that typically personify or govern nature, ie: nymphs, fairies, elves, etc..)

Either way though, just my personal opinion from my research, your research is well done though, I can confirm. You do a good job summarizing it too. Praise Jesus.

 

[Kavik]

Heh no one could "call out" Bede because he was one of the few literate people around lol. Though I do agree I don' think he just made it up liek some critics say as you summarize very well. My meaning was moreso perhaps Bede was just mistaken, there's actually weak archaeological evidence and cultural evidence for Eostre being a goddess mainly because as you correctly say the Anglo-Saxon and ancient Celtic religions aren't very well understood because there's not much writing about their religion or pre-Christian history. There is a few artifacts that may corroborate this, the best being the matronae inscription list which you mention. My meaning here is not to put down the Venerable Bede, but rather to posit a theory. We accept Bede could just be correct and Eostre is a pagan goddess, but she'd be a very minor compared to much more welll known germanic pagan gods. My alternative theory is perhaps it's just a word for the dawn or a word for Spring that has dawn connections and perhaps it was just conflated into a godddess as it's not uncommon for the European pagan religions to personify natural phenomenon or believe in female spirits that typically personify or govern nature, ie: nymphs, fairies, elves, etc..)

Either way though, just my personal opinion from my research, your research is well done though, I can confirm. You do a good job summarizing it too. Praise Jesus.

Yeah, another similar issue is with the month of March - Anglo-Saxon "Hređmōnaþ" named after another A/S goddess, Hređa (Mod. English "Rhetha") of whom, like Eostre, virtually nothing is known. These appear to be the only two month names in the A/S calendar named after deities.

Rhetha is actually not even her real name - it just means "the famous/victorious one" - could be referring to any number of goddesses in the A/S pantheon.

 

[JayWalker]

He went to the cross on Pascha, on a wednesday, that we call good friday now.

He rose on Firstfruits, a sunday, not passover.

why isn't anyone claiming easter is a legitimate translation for Firstfruits? we're already claiming Luke was wrong to write Pascha, so why not go ahead and claim he had the wrong feast altogether?

passover isn't the day of resurrection, Firstfruits is. passover is the day of blood, of the cross.

What we celebrate on passover is the resurrection of Jesus and relax it doesn't matter if we are celebrating on the actual day or not.

The point is we are celebrating Jesus being raised from the dead which has nothing to do with the pagan celebrations of easter

"Pascha" says the Law.

passover.

The passover under the OT law was a type of the resurrection of Jesus Who was the Lamb of God slain for our sins.

It's sad that some get so caught up in their own blah blah and aren't walking with Jesus in resurrection life!

 

[SonJudgment]

Yeah, another similar issue is with the month of March - Anglo-Saxon "Hređmōnaþ" named after another A/S goddess, Hređa (Mod. English "Rhetha") of whom, like Eostre, virtually nothing is known. These appear to be the only two month names in the A/S calendar named after deities.

Rhetha is actually not even her real name - it just means "the famous/victorious one" - could be referring to any number of goddesses in the A/S pantheon.

Indeed, or even as my little pet theory, perhaps not even referring to a goddess but the time of war or victory, March is typically warfighting season in many cultures and usually associated with their pagan deities in the Age of Ignorance before the siants brought them the truth of Christianity. Indeed March itself the monthname in our modern calendar is naamed after the Greco-Roman pagan god of war since it was the month usually the Spring campaign might begin in ancient warfare, and still to a degree today too though technology equalizes the seasons a little more these days.

Heh I guess we could get a pass and be reprieved from being tricked into being pagans for April though since its just a generic name meaning "to open" in context of flowers beginning to bloom, a generic idea of Springtime. It is perhaps possible with the ancient germanic races and such being close in race, geography, historical time period, and having confirmed cultural crossover and exchange with the Romans that perhaps similar to Eostre's true meaning and understanding by the ancient pagans, perhaps just a generic term or word for a phenomenon that later writers might have conflated or confused with being a pagan deity even, for Springtime connected to natural phenomenona (ie: blossoms opening or the Sun dawning more after the vernal equinox, etc.)

Interesting stuff to think about and been a while since I dusted up on this realm of history (British and Germanic). It's a fun topic I suppose,. Indeed also I strongly share your view of old Hislop and would add it's clear that Hislop basically read some of the ancient greco-roman sources about Assyria and Babylon, the problem with Hislop as compared to the Venerable Bede truecel saintmonk of historical excellence is that whereas Bede may have just made a reasonable mistake conflating an obscure language and culture with a pagan deity (or he may even be just 100% correct) based on the evidence he had of his time, Hislop basically read parts of the Bible and parts of Herodotus Histories and put them into an incoherent sloppy blender. Bede is actually cool though so I'll include his wiki link for context and depth to the topic. Bede is not just a primary source here for the topic of the name of Easter, but a true Christian saint to boot key and pivotal for why those pagans ain't pagan no more, praise Jesus.

Bede - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[posthuman]

There is no link whatsoever -

You're trying to link a somewhat similar sounding word to two completely different language families - Ishtar is Semitic; Ēostra/Ēostre is Indo-European.

The etymology of Ēostra/Ēostre comes from the Indo-European root word *hewsôs, meaning “to shine, glow red” - a reference to dawn. In Proto-Germanic, the name has been reconstructed as *Austrô. To the early Germans, she was ‘Ostara’, from which modern German gets “Ostern” for Easter. Zero to do with Ba'al.

Ishtar, on the other hand is simply the Akkadian variation of the West Semitic goddess Astoreth (Hellenized to Astarte). These forms are all essentially variations of the same root word. The -eth, -ot, and -t endings one sees on this name, by the way, simply indicate the noun is feminine.

Ishtar, or to use the Hebrew variation, Asherah, comes from the Akkadian (parent language of Babylonian and Assyrian) 𒀭𒅖𒋻 (diš-tar), which is reconstructed to have come from the Proto-Semitic root *ʕaṯtar-.

What is curious however, is that *ʕaṯtar- may actually be a loan word into Semitic languages from an Indo-European language, likely via Old Persian 𐎠𐎿𐎫𐎼 (setahreh), coming from Proto-Indo-Iranian *Hstā́, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr meaning "star" (the association to Venus).

The Easter = Ishtar nonsense comes primarily from the writings of Alexander Hislop (1807-1865), a minister for the Free Church of Scotland, specifically from his a pamphlet published in 1853 titled The Two Babylons. Hislop’s tendency was to think "if it sounds the same, it must be connected". It's absolute nonsense.

but instead you think Pascha is linked to Eos, the goddess of the dawn, fertility, love and war, called the morning star, associated with the planet Venus ((do you know anything about Astarte?))

((audible laughter))

 

[posthuman]

The passover under the OT law was a type of the resurrection of Jesus Who was the Lamb of God slain for our sins.

passover is a type and prophesy of His death. the blood of the Lamb on the door.

firstfruits is His resurrection, new life springing from the dust.

He died on passover, and rose on firstfruits. this whole thread has been about trying to force a pagan name of a season and goddess onto the wrong Levitical feast - - and we do this every year without learning anything, for 1400 years

It's sad that some get so caught up in their own blah blah and aren't walking with Jesus in resurrection life!

it's sad to me that we are more concerned with justifying our human traditions than with understanding the truth.

to me, the whole reason we have this forum, is to explore and dive into the Truth. we could be much better at it than we are.

 

[WiselyWoven]

It should be noted that the quoted text above is from Hislop's drivel The Two Babylons - it is patently false. There is no way historically, culturally and linguistically to connect Easter to Ishtar. See some of the discussions in this thread.

Easter...is derived from Ishtar, one of the Babylonian titles of an idol goddess, the Queen of Heaven. The Saxon goddess Eastre is the same as the Astarte, the Syrian Venus, called Ashtoreth in the O. T. It was the worship of this woman by Israel that was such an abomination to God. - Dake's Annotated Reference Bible

And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines. (1 Sam. 7:3)

For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. (1 Kings 11:5)

Because that they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father. (1 Kings 11:33)

And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech. (2 Kings 23:13)

The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out. (Jer. 7:18)

But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine. (Jer. 44:18)

Worship of the ancient start goddess ala Easter runs deep.

Do you ever wonder why traditional birth-day cakes (and wedding cakes) are round? Did you ever wonder why the pope wanders about with a large round wafer held high? Easter sunrise service and all the rest of it...

Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one. (Job 14:4)

 

[Kavik]

but instead you think Pascha is linked to Eos, the goddess of the dawn, fertility, love and war, called the morning star, associated with the planet Venus ((do you know anything about Astarte?))

((audible laughter))

No, that's not at all what I'm saying - perhaps reread my original post (and subsequent posts), but to summarize the pertinent section:

Easter takes its name from the Anglo-Saxon month name in which it occurs; namely, Ēosturmônað which, in turn, is named for the West Germanic goddess of dawn (and possibly Spring, but not fertility), Ēostra/Ēostre.

It is crucial to realize that she has lent only her name to the holiday (and in a very indirect way at that) in exactly the same way that other Germanic deities have lent their names to our weekdays in English. There is nothing more “pagan” to it than that.

Rather than adopting a new word which would have sounded strange, The Anglo-Saxons simply used the name of the month in which the holiday typically occurs instead - nothing more complicated or nefarious than that.

As also noted by not only myself, but other posters as well, there is absolutely zero connection between Ēostra and Ishtar (or any one of her name variants including Astarte).

 

[Kavik]

Easter...is derived from Ishtar, one of the Babylonian titles of an idol goddess, the Queen of Heaven.

As stated in my previous posts (including the one you quoted), there is zero connection between Easter and Ishtar - that utter nonsense has been thoroughly debunked for over a century now. It comes primarily form Hislop's drivel, "The Two Babylons".

There is zero way historically, culturally and linguistically to connect the two. But that hasn't stopped a lot of very wishful thinking.

 

[JayWalker]

passover is a type and prophesy of His death. the blood of the Lamb on the door.

firstfruits is His resurrection, new life springing from the dust.

He died on passover, and rose on firstfruits. this whole thread has been about trying to force a pagan name of a season and goddess onto the wrong Levitical feast - - and we do this every year without learning anything, for 1400 years

And in the New Covenant passover is celebrating what Jesus has done especially the part about Jesus being raised from the dead

 

[WiselyWoven]

As stated in my previous posts (including the one you quoted), there is zero connection between Easter and Ishtar - that utter nonsense has been thoroughly debunked for over a century now. It comes primarily form Hislop's drivel, "The Two Babylons".

There is zero way historically, culturally and linguistically to connect the two. But that hasn't stopped a lot of very wishful thinking.

That's not the point. IOW, the origin of the word is relevant only to those whose desire is to win some debate.

As per the OP:

Easter: Pagan or Christian?​

The Holy Bible is our final authority in all matters of faith and practice. It's been demonstrated that celebration of "Easter" is indeed a heathen practice - ancient star goddess worship.

 

[WiselyWoven]

To further demonstrate that we don't need the English monk St. Bede the Venerable or Hislop to witness the OP and prove the pagan origin of Easter, we will drill a bit deeper and restate citing other historical facts.

Many Bible preachers and teachers believe that the translators of the AV 1611 made a mistake when the Word Easter was placed in Acts 12:4.

The translators of the Good News for Modern Man, Living New Testament, Catholic Confraternity version, Revised Standard Version, New American Standard Version and the Amplified New Testament, to name a few, have taken the liberty to use the word "Passover" instead of "Easter," because the Greek word "pascha" was rendered Passover in all other places.

The time when Herod proceeded to take Peter and lock him up is fixed in Acts 12:3b:

"Then were the days of unleavened bread." (Acts 12:3)

The days of unleavened bread followed the Passover (Mark 14:12, Luke 22:7, I Corinthians 5:7-8).

"And in the fourteenth day of the first month is the Passover of the Lord. And in the fifteenth day of this month is the feast: seven days shall unleavened bread be eaten." (Numbers 28:16-17)

"Strictly speaking the Passover only applied to the paschal supper and the feast of unleavened bread followed" (Peloubet's Bible Dictionary, page 486).

So Herod put Peter in prison after the Passover and during the days of unleavened bread which followed. Herod did not intend to bring Peter forth to the people after the days of unleavened bread but after "pascha." Since the Jewish Passover was already passed, he must have been looking toward another date - Easter!

"The Latin and Greek word for Easter is pascha, which is simply a form of the Hebrew word for Passover - pesach." (Easter - Its Story and Meaning, A.W. Watts, page 36).

"Acts 12:4 - In the earlier English versions Easter has been frequently used as the translation of pascha (Passover). In the Authorized Version Passover was substituted in all passages but this" (Peloubet's Bible Dictionary, page 158).

From the OP:

Easter: Pagan or Christian?

The "pascha" that Herod was waiting for was evidently the celebration of the death and resurrection of Tammuz the sun god. The sunrise services today are a continuation of that pagan worship. There they commemorate the resurrection of Tammuz.

If you're fussed on ignoring the quotes from Hislop's Two Babylons, then simply skip the three references below.

"...The great annual festival in commemoration of the death and resurrection of Tammuz, which was celebrated by alternate weeping and rejoicing and which, in many countries, was considerably later than the Christian festival, being observed in Palestine and Assyria in June" (The Two Babylons, Alexander Hislop, page 105).

This is the same festival that Rome amalgamated with the observance of Christ's resurrection.

"To conciliate the Pagans to nominal Christianity, Rome, pursuing its usual policy, took measures to get the Christian and Pagan festivals amalgamated, and, by complicated but skillful adjustment of the calendar, it was found no difficult matter, in general, to get Paganism and Christianity - to shake hands" (The Two Babylons, Alexander Hislop, page 105)

The term Easter is of Pagan origin:

"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...." (The Two Babylons, Alexander Hislop, page 103).

He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do. Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the Lord's house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these. (Eze. 8:13-15).

The connection between the word Easter and Tammuz is this. The wife of Tammuz was Ishtar (Astarte), who is called Mother nature, who being refreshed by spring rains brings life. When Tammuz died she followed him into the underworld or realm of Eresh-Kigal, queen of the dead.

In her deep grief, Astarte persuaded Eresh-Kigal to allow her messenger to sprinkle Astarte and Tammuz with the water of life. By this sprinkling they had power to return into the light of the sun for six months. After which the same cycle must be repeated.

Thus the goddess of spring or the dawn goddess is responsible for the resurrection of Tammuz. Easter is a joint worship of the two.

This Satanic myth is interwoven with the sun's cycle of vernal equinox (dawn) and the autumn equinox (sunset).

This is the "pascha" that Herod was waiting for and the same that professing Christianity looks forward to each year, which has nothing to do with the worship of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

"...intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people" (Acts 12:4b).

Easter = ancient star goddess worship.

The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9).