Did you know the word “Easter” is not in the Bible? It's not in the Old Testament or the New Testament. The word “Easter” is not even seen in any of the early Christian writings.
So why do we call Easter “Easter”?
Easter became “Easter” fairly recently. For most of early Christian history the Easter season was known as some variation of the Greek word “Pascha”, which means Passover. In fact, most languages other than English still call this holy season by a form of the word “Pascha.” For example, in Dutch it is “Pasen,” in French it is “Pâques,” in Swedish it is “Påsk,” and in Albanian it is “Pashke.”
German is the only other language that uses a root word that is similar to “Easter”, with the German word for Easter being “Ostren.”
If you are puzzled by the fact that we call this time “Easter,” even though there is no Biblical justification and very few other languages using a similar word, then you are not alone.
Many people have wondered why we call this season “Easter.” Unfortunately, we don’t know the answer for sure, but some have offered solutions.
In the 700’s, St. Bede the Venerable was probably the first to try to explain why we call Easter “Easter.” He assumed there must be a connection between “Easter” and an earlier Anglo-Saxon goddess named Eostre. On the surface this seems logical, the name “Eostre” sounds similar to “Easter” and the time around Easter was known as Eosturmonath, Eostre’s Month, before Christianity.
However, the similar sounds are the only evidence there is connecting these two words. When modern historians began to question this explanation, they found that the original words for “Eostre” and “Easter” were not that similar, even though we spell them similarity today.
Most modern historians now focus on the similarities of the Ancient high German word for Easter, “Eostarum.” However, these phrases are not connected either. “Eostarum” finds its root in the Latin word “albis,” which is the plural form of the word meaning dawn.
Which makes sense. Resurrection Sunday is a time of many new dawns.
It is a dawn of seasons. In the Northern Hemisphere it is the beginning of spring. Plants are gaining leaves, flowers are beginning to bloom, little mammals are born, and bugs begin to buzz around.
For us as Christians, it is a spiritual dawn. It is a resurrection from light to dark. We die with Christ and are born again with him.
Easter being a time of many dawns makes sense.
“Easter” may not be a biblical term but the idea of this time meaning many dawns is biblical. Take this Easter season to bring about a new dawn in your life and find your comfort with Christ.