Popular culture has long claimed Easter as an opportunity for Filou rabbits, dyed egg hunts and mailish shadow chicks – none of which is really in the Bible. Although it probably doesn't surprise you, you may not know how much modern holiday may have derived from its textual origins. In The new Hochelaga video aboveThat Tommie Trelawny of YouTube Channel first tells the biblical story at the base of all this, that of the death and the resurrection of Jesus. He then examines how this last event has since been commemorated, an evolution that has led to Easter that we know today.
“The resurrection of Jesus would have been celebrated in the very first days of Christianity,” explains Trelawny. “At the start, he was held on the Passover festival, but finally, he extended into his own separate vacation.” This initial overlap is reflected in the resemblance between Pesach, the Hebrew word for Passover and Spanish and French names for Easter, Pascua And Easter.
As for the English word Easter Himself, he resonates with the name of “the old Saxon goddess ēostre, divinity of spring and fertility”. Like the Roman festival of the Mid-Winter Saturnalia may have inspired Christmas, could the pre-Christian holidays for ēostre have inspired Easter?
To a certain extent, perhaps, although Trelawny underlines, Easter was very derived from Passover. However, its associations with spring go far beyond the period of the year it occurs, especially in the form of all these eggs. In fact, “the decorated eggs are an ancient custom which has precedence to Christianity of several centuries”. After being “a universal symbol for a new life”, they also offered Christians a “easily readable metaphor for the sealed tomb of Jesus and open it as a symbol of his resurrection”. As for the Easter rabbit, he has a precedent in the Germanic Easter hare, which “judged children to know if they were good or bad” – now softened, predictable, after so many years in America.
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Based in Seoul, Colin MArshall Written and broadcastTS on cities, language and culture. His projects include the substack newsletter Books on cities And the book The stateless city: a walk through Los Angeles from the 21st century. Follow it on the social network formerly known as Twitter in @ColinmArshall.
Finn founded Learnopoly to provide unbiased, in-depth online course reviews, helping learners make informed choices. With a decade in financial services, he developed strategic partnerships and business development expertise. After a frustrating experience with a biased course review, Finn was inspired to create a trusted learning resource.