Q&A Forum - April 2011 (best of Elise)

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Easter is another Christian holiday that was originally based on Goddess女神 — a woman treated as divine worship崇拜侍奉 — adoring service. Easter was named after Eostre (a.k.a. Eastre). She was the Great Mother Goddess女神 — a woman treated as divine of the Saxon people in Northern Europe. Easter falls in the Spring, right around the Vernal Equinox. Spring has been, and is, the season for much merrymaking and fun, much of the time with an emphasis on sexual fertility. Easter falls on the first Sunday subsequent to the first full moon after the vernal equinox (March 21). Thus, it can occur as early as March 22nd and as late as April 25th.

Christians celebrate Easter as the Resurrection of Christ. Obviously, since this was an actual date in history, it should be the same date each year. Originally, Easter was celebrated on the same day as the Jewish Passover. Since the Jewish calendar is lunar, Passover can fall on any day of the week, and some Church fathers were distressed that the Lenten fast should end on any day other than a Sunday. They argued about it until the 8th century, when the church officially adopted the pagan date of Easter for the celebration of the resurrection of Christ.