why is easter called easter?

Answer 1

After some pagan Goddess called Eostre.

Answer 2

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
Astarté from ancient Greece
Demeter from Mycenae
Hathor from ancient Egypt
Ishtar from Assyria
Kali, from India
Ostara a Norse Goddess of fertility.

Answer 3

The word Easter is derived from Eostre, which is the name of the Anglo-Saxon goddess of Spring; there is a further derivation beyond that, because Eostre is only another form of Ishtar, Ashtaroth of Astarte, the Queen of Heaven, and even that in turn, if we go far enough back, comes from the Sanskrit Ush, which means light; the word from which springs the title Ushas, the dawn maidens of the Vedas. So fundamentally Easter is the great festival of light - of the rising again of the Light

Answer 4

The origin of the English name "Easter" is not certain, but many think that it derived from the Teutonic or Anglo-Saxon goddess of Spring, Eostre or Ostara.

Christianity adopted Easter, previously a fertility festival, into its practices to aid the conversion of the 'heathens' from their folk traditions to Christianity.

Answer 5

It is named after the Germanic Goddess Eostre, who is the a Goddess of fertility and the Spring. She has a pet rabbit that she would have lay eggs for children around the beginning of Spring, the legend of Her is from the fact that a type of chicken would build a nest in the shape of a rabbit and horde eggs from other birds so you would find a "rabbit" with different types of eggs in it. Her holiday is associated with the pagan holiday Ostara.

Now what this has to do with Christianity is any ones guess, but then needed to change a old Pagan holiday into a Christian holiday so they could convert the Pagans to Christianity.

Answer 6

*How Did Easter Get it's Name?*

Easter originated from the Hebrew word "Pesach" which means Passover.
However, other historians believe that the name comes from ancient
Norsemen's word "Eostur" or "Eastar" or "Ostar" which means "season of
the growing sun" and "season of new birth." While other scholars
believe that the Teutonic goddess of dawn and springtime, whose name is
"Eostre" or "Eastre" and whose symbol is the hare, is the source. She
was worshiped by the Anglo-Saxons during pre-Christian times. No matter
which source you feel is the origin for the word Easter, scholars all
unite in accepting that Easter definitely refers to the East and the
rising sun.
doodad

Answer 7

Easter is a translation of Ishtar, one of the names of the "Queen of Heaven" according to Pegan tradition. You may read of this Pegan godess when you see anything about the "high places" that righteous men tore down in the Old Testament of the Bible. It was said that she came to Earth from the Heavens in a colored egg and they sacraficed rabbits to her. Sound familiar?

According to Pegan history, Ishtar (Isis or Deborah the Queen of Heaven) married her son Baal (god of the sun), who you can also see worshiped by Pegan cultures in the Old Testament. Baal was killed and re-incarnated overnight. The next morning, Ishtar saw him (her son / husband) as an evergreen tree adorned with gold and silver ornnaments.

How did Christian Holidays get wrapped up in Pegan tradition? When Emperor Constantine declared Christianity as the religion of ancient Rome, many Pegans were upset. These Pegan traditions were incoorperated with Christian Celebrations to appease the masses.

I preffer to call Easter Reserection Day instead of continuing this Pegan name. I choose to keep the Christmas tree as a symbol of the Holy Trintity (triangle) and everlasting life (evergreen) instead of acknowledging it's true history.

Answer 8

"O.E. Eastre (Northumbrian Eostre), from P.Gmc. *Austron, a goddess of fertility and sunrise whose feast was celebrated at the spring equinox, from *austra-, from PIE *aus- "to shine" (especially of the dawn). Bede says Anglo-Saxon Christians adopted her name and many of the celebratory practices for their Mass of Christ's resurrection. Ultimately related to east. Almost all neighboring languages use a variant of L. Pasche to name this holiday. Easter Island so called because it was discovered by Europeans on Easter Sunday, 1722."

Answer 9

Christians have been celebrating Easter for hundreds of years before all of them started calling it "Easter." How did that ensue, precisely? And "Eoster" wasn't a holiday, it became a goddess. Now, for you historic previous buffs, the Celts referred to as "first easy" "eastern," by way of fact the sunlight rose contained in the east. Centuries later, they noted the Christian paschal provider as a "break of day" provider, or "Easter." It had no longer something to do with paganism. Rule #a million of historic learn: by no ability confuse causation with correlation.

Answer 10

It is from the old pagan festival of Estrus. Estrus was the Goddess of Fertility, who was in the shape of a bunny (go figure). The early Christian church tried to dissuade new converts from attending the pagan festivals (can you guess what was done at a fertility celebration?). Thus, they decided to celebrate the resurrection of Christ at the same time. The name of the festival, as well as some of the symbols stuck.