Easter

What is the origin of the word Easter?
Just as there are many traditions surrounding the celebration of Easter, there are many stories and legends surrounding the origin of the word Easter. To some, it is the history and celebration of spring; for others it is a day to remember deliverance; for many it is the celebration of new life in Christ. Let's look at a few explanations:

Eostre - a pagan Anglo-Saxon Goddess
This mythical figure is said to have been the goddess of the sunrise and the spring. She is the Teutonic goddess of the dawn. The direction of the sunrise, East, is named for her. In Norse mythology, the name is spelled Eostare. Another considered the Norse/Saxon goddess of spring is Ostara. Eastre is believed to be an ancient word for spring

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What is meant by the word EASTER in Acts 12:4? Is this Easter the Jewish Passover or a pagan festival? A. First, let us take a look at the verse in question in its context: "Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.) And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after EASTER to bring him forth to the people. " (Acts 12:1-4, KJV) The second part of your question needs a bit of clarification and explanation. Biblically speaking, the Passover was not a "Jewish" festival although Jews (members of the tribe of Judah or citizens of the Kingdom of Judah) certainly celebrated this Feast day. The Passover is one of God's annual Holy Days he commanded ancient Israel to keep. The Passover was NEVER called Easter by the first century church. The word Easter is a derivative of Ishtar, or Astarte, the name of a pagan goddess of fertility who was celebrated during the Spring solstice. The King James Version Bible was written by scholars whose orientation was toward the Roman Catholic and Anglican church doctrines. This bias caused some errors in translating the original Bible text into English. One such error was translating the Greek word pascha (Greek: πάσχα, Strong's Concordance #G3957), which means "passover," as the English word Easter. The New International Version Bible correctly translates the Greek word pascha as PASSOVER: "After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover." (Acts 12:4, NIV)

The New King James Version Bible Translation also correctly translates verse 4 of Acts 12: "So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover." (Acts 12:4, NKJV) Pascha is correctly translated as Passover elsewhere in the King James Version Bible and in almost all other reliable translations.

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USING PAGANISM TO WORSHIP GOD
God had something to say about using pagan practices to worship Him....
Deut: 12:29 When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land;
Deut: 12:30 Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.
Deut: 12:31 Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.
Jer: 10:2 Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them
God clearly commands us not to adopt the practices of pagan nations. God does not accept such forms of worship even though they are intended to honor Him. God is not honored through disobedience.
WORSHIPPING JESUS IN VAIN

Jesus Christ said it was possible to worship Him in vain....
Matt: 15:9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching [for] doctrines the commandments of men.
Jesus spoke to the Pharisees about using human traditions on how to worship God....
Mark: 7:7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching [for] doctrines the commandments of men.
Mark: 7:8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, [as] the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.
Mark: 7:9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.
God does not want people to honor Christ by following the traditions and customs of men.

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Origins of the name "Easter":

The name "Easter" originated with the names of an ancient Goddess and God. The Venerable Bede, (672-735 CE.) a Christian scholar, first asserted in his book De Ratione Temporum that Easter was named after Eostre (a.k.a. Eastre). She was the Great Mother Goddess of the Saxon people in Northern Europe. Similarly, the "Teutonic dawn goddess of fertility [was] known variously as Ostare, Ostara, Ostern, Eostra, Eostre, Eostur, Eastra, Eastur, Austron and Ausos." ₁ Her name was derived from the ancient word for spring: "eastre." Similar Goddesses were known by other names in ancient cultures around the Mediterranean, and were celebrated in the springtime. Some were:

	Aphrodite from ancient Cyprus
	Ashtoreth from ancient Israel
	Astarte from ancient Greece
	Demeter from Mycenae
	Hathor from ancient Egypt
	Ishtar from Assyria
	Kali, from India
	Ostara a Norse Goddess of fertility.

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The exact arrival of spring is marked by the Spring Equinox, the date when day and night are equal lengths. Depending on the year and time zones, this equinox falls between March 20 and 23.

German pagans named the Spring Equinox after Ostara, their goddess of spring, fertility, and rebirth. In England, among the Anglo-Saxon tribes, Ostara was known as Eostre. The modern holiday of Easter is derived from the name "Eostre" and the associated myths.

According to these myths, Eostre was a playful goddess whose reign over the earth began in the spring when the Sun King journeyed across the sky in his chariot, bringing the end of winter. Ostara came down to earth then, appearing as a beautiful maiden with a basket of bright colorful eggs.

Ostara's magical companion was a rabbit who accompanied her as she brought new life to dying plants and flowers by hiding the eggs in the fields.

Many of the traditions associated with Easter have direct links with Paganism. Even the word Easter is named after the Teutonic Goddess Eostre, the Goddess of Spring who gives fertility to the earth. (Note that Easter coincides with Spring in the Northern Hemisphere)

Eggs are another Pagan symbol of Easter. From the earliest of times, the egg has represented immortality. The egg is the World Egg, laid by the Goddess and opened by the heat of the Sun God. The hatching of this World Egg was celebrated each year at the Spring festival of the Sun.

As Spring is the season of nature's rebirth, the symbol of the egg was of course particularly significant at this time. The Druids dyed eggs scarlet to honour the Sun, and Pagan Anglo-Saxons made offerings of their coloured eggs to the Goddess Eostre. They also (like many Pagan cultures before them) placed patterned eggs in tombs or on fresh graves, to ensure the rebirth of the deceased.

The Easter Bunny is another symbol that has obvious links to the fertility, rebirth, and the abundance of life that is evident in Spring. Easton's Bible Dictionary defines Easter this way: originally a Saxon word (Eostre), denoting a goddess of the Saxons, in honour of whom sacrifices were offered about the time of the Passover.

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Strong's Exhaustive Concordance: Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary:
"6252. Ashtarowth ... or Ashtaroth ... the name of a Sidonian diety ... : —Ashtaroth."
"6253. Ashtoreth ... the Phoenician goddess of love (and increase): —Ashtoreth."

Webster's New World College Dictionary:
"Astarte ... a Semitic goddess of fertility and sexual love, worshiped by the Phoenicians and others: see also ASHTORETH, ISHTAR."
"Ashtoreth ... the ancient Phoenician and Syrian goddess of love and fertility: identified with ASTARTE."
"Ishtar ... see ASHTORETH ... the goddess of love, fertility, and war."
Encyclopedia Britannica:
"Astarte/Ashtoreth is the Queen of Heaven to whom the Canaanites had burned incense and poured libations."
Soul Vision website:
"Known by many names, across time and space, Lilith or Eve, Anath and Asherah, Astarte, the Queen of Heaven, the Shekhinah and the Matronit.... No matter Her name, she was loved."
Encyclopedia Britannica:
"Ishtar is the Akkadian counterpart of the West Semitic goddess Astarte."
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·        They abandoned the LORD to serve Baal and the images of Ashtoreth. - Judges 2:13

·        Again the Israelites did evil in the LORD's sight. They worshiped images of Baal and Ashtoreth, and the gods of Aram, Sidon, Moab, Ammon, and Philistia. Not only this, but they abandoned the LORD and no longer served him at all. - Judges 10:6

·        Then Samuel said to all the people of Israel, "If you are really serious about wanting to return to the LORD, get rid of your foreign gods and your images of Ashtoreth. Determine to obey only the LORD; then he will rescue you from the Philistines." - 1 Samuel 7:3

·        So the Israelites destroyed their images of Baal and Ashtoreth and worshiped only the LORD. - 1 Samuel 7:4

·        "Then they cried to the LORD again and confessed, `We have sinned by turning away from the LORD and worshiping the images of Baal and Ashtoreth. But we will worship you and you alone if you will rescue us from our enemies.' - 1 Samuel 12:10

·        They placed his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths, and they fastened his body to the wall of the city of Beth-shan. - 1 Samuel 31:10

·        Solomon worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech,* the detestable god of the Ammonites.1 - 1 Kings 11:5

·        For Solomon has abandoned me and worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians; Chemosh, the god of Moab; and Molech, the god of the Ammonites. He has not followed my ways and done what is pleasing in my sight. He has not obeyed my laws and regulations as his father, David, did. - 1 Kings 11:33

·        The king also desecrated the pagan shrines east of Jerusalem and south of the Mount of Corruption, where King Solomon of Israel had built shrines for Ashtoreth, the detestable goddess of the Sidonians; and for Chemosh, the detestable god of the Moabites; and for Molech,* the detestable god of the Ammonites.2 - 2 Kings 23:13