Issue #8
by Catherine Wylie
The Celebration of Easter
The naming of the celebration as “Easter” seems to go back to the name of a pre-Christian goddess in England, Eostre, who was celebrated at beginning of spring. The only reference to this goddess comes from the writings of the Venerable Bede, a British monk who lived in the late seventh and early eighth century.
Easter actually began as a pagan festival celebrating spring in the Northern Hemisphere, long before the advent of Christianity. ... "In the first couple of centuries after Jesus's life, feast days in the new Christian church were attached to old pagan festivals.
Currently Easter is a Christian holiday that celebrates the belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the New Testament of the Bible, the event is said to have occurred three days after Jesus was crucified by the Romans and died in roughly 30 A.D.
In 325CE the Council of Nicaea established that Easter would be held on the first Sunday after the first Full Moon occurring on or after the vernal equinox. From that point forward, the Easter date depended on the ecclesiastical approximation of March 21 for the vernal equinox.
Enjoy your Easter celebrations. I hope the Easter Bunny brings you your favorite healthy dark chocolate!
