Every year, Easter marks the arrival of spring with decorated eggs and family traditions. This holiday, associated with the resurrection of Christ, seems to have clearly defined origins. Yet, on closer inspection, several of its symbols and customs recall much older celebrations. Behind the bells and chocolate rabbits lies a broader history in which renewal is celebrated.
If this type of subject interests you, you can read our articles on the pagan origins of Candlemas and the pagan origins of Epiphany.
1. Ostara’s equinox, or when night gives way to day
In Germanic and Anglo-Saxon traditions, the spring equinox symbolizes a moment of balance when light regains the advantage over darkness. This transitional period is associated with a deity named Eostre, sometimes spelled Ostara. Known through medieval sources, she is described as a goddess of renewal, fertility, and nature’s awakening. Her name is thought to have given rise to the English word Easter, used to refer to the Easter holiday.
The Venerable Bede (an English monk and scholar who notably contributed to calculating liturgical hours), in his eighth-century writings, mentions that the Anglo-Saxons celebrated a festival in Eostre’s honor during the month dedicated to her, Eosturmonath. As you will have understood, this period could vary from one year to the next, since ancient Germanic and Anglo-Saxon calendars were lunar or lunisolar, rather than Gregorian like today’s.
This period corresponded to the arrival of spring, when the earth warmed and vegetation revived after winter. Although information about this deity remains limited, her connection with fertility and renewal has endured through the ages.
The arrival of spring
The hare was originally associated with Eostre. A lunar animal and symbol of fertility, it represents the cycle of life and spring renewal. Its association with the goddess and the equinox festival could explain its presence in modern Easter traditions. The egg, another recurring element, embodies gestation and the promise of a prosperous new season. Some rituals involved painting eggs and offering them as offerings to encourage the fertility of the land and families.
2. Greco-Roman festivals: from Cybele to the resurrection of Attis
Mediterranean peoples also attached great importance to natural cycles and spring’s rebirth. In Rome, the cult of Cybele, great goddess of nature and fertility, was accompanied by celebrations marked by purification rites and processions. Her companion Attis, whose myth tells of death and a return to life, was at the center of these festivities. Every year, at the equinox, ceremonies evoked his resurrection, thus heralding the victory of life over winter’s darkness.
According to legend, Cybele falls in love with Attis, a mortal of exceptional beauty. However, Attis is unfaithful to her and falls in love with a nymph or a mortal woman, depending on the version. Furious and consumed by jealousy, Cybele drives him mad. In his delirium, Attis mutilates himself and bleeds to death at the foot of a pine tree. Overcome with remorse, Cybele regrets her act and, as reparation, obtains from Zeus that her beloved return to life every spring, symbolizing the return of fertility after winter.
Depiction of Attis. Source: Honor the Gods
The festivities dedicated to Cybele and Attis took place over several days during the Hilaria. They began with periods of mourning and lamentation, followed by rituals symbolizing rebirth. Initiates took part in purification rites, using water and blood to signify spiritual and physical renewal.
An interesting parallel exists between these myths and that of Persephone, whose stay in the Underworld and return to the world of the living illustrate the transition from winter to spring. Every year, her ascent from the realm of the dead announced the awakening of vegetation, marking the long-awaited renewal.
3. Gradual assimilation by Christianity
When Christianity became established in Europe, it absorbed and transformed the pagan celebrations that marked the seasons. The Church sought to give existing festivals a new meaning rather than abolish them entirely, thereby facilitating the transition to the new religion. Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Christ, incorporated several elements from older rites associated with the return of light and spring fertility.
But since Ostara never took place on a fixed date, Easter also follows a movable calendar. The Council of Nicaea, in 325, one of whose missions was to establish the very first liturgical calendar, determined that Easter should be celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon following the spring equinox. This choice was based on a compromise between different traditions and aimed to distinguish Easter from Jewish festivals while respecting the symbolism of spring renewal.
This method of calculation echoes ancient pagan practices, in which celebrations were linked to lunar and solar cycles. In many cultures, the return of spring was marked by rites dependent on the position of the stars rather than on a fixed date. Choosing a full moon to determine the date of Easter recalls these traditional systems, in which the growing light of the nighttime celestial body announced the end of winter and the return of abundance.
4. Death and resurrection in ancient religions
The idea of a dying and resurrecting god is not unique to Christianity. Many civilizations developed myths in which a deity undergoes a symbolic death before returning to life, illustrating the perpetual cycle of nature.
We saw this earlier with Attis. This pattern also appears in the myth of Osiris in Egypt and that of Dionysus in Greece, two figures associated with the renewal of vegetation.
Resurrection of Christ
The story of Christ’s resurrection fits into this continuity. It symbolizes the victory of life over death, a message that echoes ancient beliefs in which spring renewal was perceived as a cyclical “miracle.” This is what made Easter one of the most important Christian celebrations of Holy Week (Palm Sunday, which commemorates Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, Holy Thursday, which recalls the Last Supper, Good Friday, which evokes Christ’s crucifixion, the Easter Vigil, which celebrates the resurrection, Easter Sunday, and ;Easter Monday).
5. (Almost) intact symbols
What is interesting is that Easter reproduces almost word for word the pagan symbols of Ostara and, more generally, of spring. The egg was particularly sanctified, notably by banning its consumption during Lent (the strict 40-day fast before Easter).
Symbols of Lent
Families would therefore keep the eggs they collected and, to prevent them from spoiling, boil them or decorate their shells. At the end of Lent, these eggs were shared and given as gifts during Easter celebrations.
One addition concerns the Paschal lamb. In Judaism, it is associated with Passover (Pessa’h), which commemorates the Hebrews’ liberation from Egypt. In Christianity, Jesus is compared to a sacrificial lamb. He is called “the Lamb of God” (Agnus Dei), referring to his sacrifice to atone for the sins of humanity.
6. And what about chocolate?
Chocolate is a relatively recent addition to Easter traditions and does not originate in pagan spring celebrations. Its introduction into this holiday mainly resulted from changes in eating habits and religious practices.
Cocoa was introduced to Europe from the 16th century onward by Spanish explorers who brought it back from the Americas. At that time, chocolate was first consumed as a hot beverage, reserved for European elites because of its high cost. Over the centuries, its use became more widespread, and its transformation into confectionery became increasingly common.
It was between the 18th and 19th centuries that chocolate began to be associated with Easter. As a rare and refined product, it was particularly appreciated for important festive occasions. It then became a coveted gift to mark the end of the privations of Lent.
Par Olivier of Aeternum
Passionate about esoteric traditions and the history of the occult from the earliest civilizations to the 18th century, I share some articles on these topics. I am also co-creator of the online esoteric shop Aeternum.
