The Easter Bunny and other secular/pagan Easter practices

I wrote the following article for presentation to the “Worship Committee” of ** Church in Adelaide, South Australia, some years ago. My understanding has not changed.

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ELIMINATION OF THE PAGAN TERM 'EASTER' FROM OUR OFFICIAL VOCABULARY.

"You shall have no other gods before me."
Exodus 20:3
"Do not invoke the names of other gods; do not let them be heard on your lips."
Exodus23:13b

The name 'Easter', for the 'Christianized' Passover, and more particularly for the Day of Resurrection of our Lord, is a usage, which, according to Bede, is derived from the name of the Teutonic goddess of spring and fertility, Eostre or Ostara, whose festival was the spring equinox(1), March 21 in our calendar. This name for the Passover is restricted to Germanic languages, having originated in England, and was probably taken to Germany by Anglo-Saxon missionaries proclaiming (the Imperially supported official Roman version of) Christianity in the seventh century. Other European languages use derivatives of Hebrew pesach, or other words which are the same as those used for the Passover.

In letters of instruction from Gregory, bishop of Rome, to the missionaries to the English, which Bede quotes at length, it is apparent that old usages were not to be entirely suppressed, but 'transformed', or given new meanings(2). It is also apparent that the message of these missionaries was far more than 'nothing except Jesus Christ and him crucified' (1 Cor 2:2). This adaptation of pagan usages to 'Christianity' was nothing new to Romanism, and still continues in modern times.(3)

In our own society and culture, the name 'Easter' is generally associated with non-Christian (anti-Christian?) things such as the Easter Bunny(4), Easter Eggs(5) and the like. Myths and fables are frequently told to small children, without any reference to the great event supposedly celebrated on the day. Children eagerly expect the visit of the Easter Bunny, and gifts of Easter Eggs from parents, friends and relatives. These expectations are also promoted through the media, with no reference to Jesus' death and resurrection and the salvation he offers and has achieved.

Given that the origin of the term 'Easter' and its associations in our own society are clearly non-Christian, I believe that we ought eliminate the term from our official vocabulary. We could instead use, for the festival, the generic 'Passover', and refer to that first day of the week as 'the Day of Resurrection', or the biblical 'First-fruits'. This refusal to use a pagan reference, and the use of more appropriate terms, will send a clear message about Jesus, crucified and risen from the dead. It is not a valid argument against such a change that others will continue with the old usages.

David Southern
July 2002

Notes.
(1). Oxford English Dictionary, and other authorities.
(2). Bede, “The Ecclesiastical History of the English People”, Book 1, ch30ff
(3). Dave Hunt, “A Woman Rides the Beast: The Roman Catholic Church and the Last Days”, (Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, Oregon, U.S.A., 1994), p419ff.
(4). Some commercial and environmental promoters [in Australia] are trying to replace the Easter Bunny with the Easter Bilby. This is almost farcical, and apart from having nothing to do with Christianity, is also poor paganism. The rabbit, noted for its fecundity, is a potent and appropriate symbol for a fertility goddess. The bilby, an endangered species, is exactly the opposite.
(6). A roasted egg of a clean bird is included in the Jewish seder meal at Passover. The use of an egg arose in Babylon, where it was a symbol of the fertility goddess Ishtar, (“The Miracle of Passover”, Zola Levitt, (videotape), Dallas, Texas, U.S.A., undated). That the Easter Egg usage has been given a supposedly Christian meaning does not alter its essentially non-Christian character.

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An error 1300 years old is still an error, and should be fixed.

Together in Jesus,

David Southern