Pagan Easter meme refers to the online memes that playfully highlight the historical pagan origins of Easter, which is a Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. These memes often juxtapose the Christian traditions of Easter with pagan symbols and practices, such as eggs, bunnies, and spring celebrations. Easter, as celebrated by Christians, has its roots in the Jewish festival of Passover, which commemorates the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, according to Christian belief, coincide with the time of Passover. However, the specific customs associated with Easter, such as egg hunting and the Easter bunny, have much earlier pagan origins. In ancient pagan cultures, eggs were seen as a symbol of fertility and rebirth, much like the resurrection theme in Christianity.
No, Easter is not Pagan!
Since Easter is practically here, you will likely see various memes on social media from either online atheists or fundamentalists asserting that Christian Holy Day was derived from ancient pre-Christian festivals revolving around certain goddesses of sex and fertility.
Here are a couple of examples:
- The Ishtar Meme
- The Eostre Meme
There are loads of assertions here, notably the apparent sound-alike etymology. If “Easter” has a similar sounding pronunciation to the Pagan Ishtar and Eostre, it must therefore be a pagan holiday, right?
The Ishtar Meme
In both Atheist and Fundamentalist circles, Emperor Constantine is a favorite punching bag. The DaVinci Code charges that he invented the Deity of Christ and chose the canonical gospels at the expense of the gnostic writings during the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. Along with their unlikely fundamentalist bedfellows, they assert that he was responsible for the paganization of the Christian Church. The Ishtar meme above is just one more in a long line of such assertions. It claims that Easter was changed from a Pagan holiday when Emperor Constantine decided to Christianize the Roman empire.
Eusebius of Caesarea records a controversy over the timing of the celebration of the resurrection. Eastern Christians celebrated it on the 14th day of Nisan while the western Church celebrated it on the Sunday after Passover. Pope Victor I (189 to 199 A.D.) considered excommunicating the eastern church. St. Irenaeus of Lyons sent letters affirming the day of the resurrection while simultaneously admonishing the Pope “that he should not cut off whole churches of God which observed the tradition of an ancient custom.” In the end, an agreement was reached and the Controversy ended. (Church History 5: 22,25)
The chronological aspect is notable here: Though the meme claims that Constantine transformed the celebration of Ishtar to represent Jesus, the record shows that the Easter Controversy occurred during the last few years of the second century while Constantine hadn’t even been born yet. So unless Constantine was a Gallifreyan Time Lord, what the meme claims is a complete historical impossibility.
Perhaps the source of the misunderstanding comes from the fact that a decision was affirmed about the Easter holiday at the Council of Nicaea. The Synodal letter of the Council says:
We further proclaim to you the good news of the agreement concerning the holy Easter, that this particular also has through your prayers been rightly settled; so that all our brethren in the East who formerly followed the custom of the Jews are henceforth to celebrate the said most sacred feast of Easter at the same time with the Romans and yourselves and all those who have observed Easter from the beginning.
It appears to me that since Constantine is associated with the First Ecumenical Council, and since the holiday is mentioned in the synod letter, that the skeptic and fundamentalist simply assume Constantine called all the shots. However, the letter itself clears up any such misunderstanding as it makes reference to “ all those who have observed Easter from the beginning, “ — In other words, before Constantine.
It is true that Ishtar was a goddess of sexuality, but the logical leap made is that therefore Easter itself is therefore a celebration of sexuality. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is not about sexuality by any means. She was also a goddess of war, but unless you are talking about the conflict between God and the devil, good and evil, sin and righteousness, this hardly can apply. Ishtar’s warlike nature had more to do with political context.
As for the claim that Easter was named for Ishtar, the Encyclopaedia Britannica on it’s Twitter feed had this to say:
The Eostre Meme
All we know about the goddess Eostre comes from St. Bede the Venerable:
Eosturmonath has a name which is now translated “Paschal month”, and which was once called after a goddess of theirs named Eostre, in whose honour feasts were celebrated in that month. Now they designate that Paschal season by her name, calling the joys of the new rite by the time-honoured name of the old observance (De ratione temporum 15)
And that’s it. Since this is all we know about her, the above meme goes far beyond what little information we do have, which alone should raise a red flag. The only apparent connections are the English name for the holiday in relationship to the name of the goddess and the coinciding time of the year that her festival apparently falls upon. However, although the linguistic connection has been made via what St. Bede has left behind, the Encyclopaedia Britannica points out that the term “is of uncertain origin.” It then continues:
This view presumes—as does the view associating the origin of Christmas on December 25 with pagan celebrations of the winter solstice—that Christians appropriated pagan names and holidays for their highest festivals. Given the determination with which Christians combated all forms of paganism (the belief in multiple deities), this appears a rather dubious presumption.
Ronald Hutton criticizes the citations of the passage from St. Bede as being “without any inspection or criticism.” He adds that it is equally valid to hold that Eostre was a “Germanic dawn-deity” worshipped during the spring, or that St. Bede simply misunderstood the term Eosturmonath which could probably be translated as “month of the beginning,” opening up the possibility that there was, in fact, no such pagan goddess. (Hutton, page 180)
It is also relevant that St. Bede lived from 672 to 735 A.D. He completed his De Ratione Temporum in 725, meaning that the only historical evidence for Eostre comes from nearly seven centuries after the resurrection.
English doesn’t work
As a point that applies to both memes above, the arguments are heavily dependent on the apparent similarities in pronunciation between Ishtar, Eostre and the Easter holiday. However, Easter is an English word, a language not spoken by the first Christians. It may appear in modern translations of various texts, however it wouldn’t have been the literal transliteration. Jesus and the Apostles would have spoken Aramaic, and the Greek Πάσχα (or Pascha) comes from the Aramaic word for Passover. Consequently, even the King James Version of the Bible translates it as Easter in Acts 12: 4.
An apparent similarity based on English cannot be used as an explanation for the origin of a Christian holiday, especially because English isn’t even a Pre-Christian language. Yes, Germanic languages did indeed exist, but the geographic distance from Jerusalem, where Christianity began, must also be considered.
What about the Rabbit and the Eggs?
Ishtar is associated with various symbols such as two reeds lashed together, a lion, a griffon vulture, palms, willow trees, and stars of six, eight or even sixteen rays. (Littleton, pg. 760) And yet I can’t find any evidence that she was associated with either rabbits or eggs. — In the case of Eostre, given that everything we know of her comes from St. Bede, there is no such evidence.
The Easter bunny itself appears to have its origin in 16th century Germany. The tradition of decorating eggs likewise originated in Germany. Eggs, however, do have a long cultural history world wide. (Davis and DeMello, pg 140; Dues, page 28)
With this in mind, while it is true that eggs and rabbits have been used by various cultures as symbols of fertiliy, it is oversimplistic to argue that therefore one group borrowed from the other. — According to Stephen Winick:
Rather than explain their association with fertility and their connection to Easter with conjectures about fertility goddesses, it would be simpler and more accurate to say that these connections arise from common observations about eggs, rabbits and hares.
In a footnote, he adds:
Even if both pagans and Christians use rabbits as a sign of spring, this does not imply that the pagan religion had any influence on the Christians’ use of the sign.
What about the Timing?
So what about the timing of certain pre-Christian celebrations in relation to the Paschal season? The Gospels themselves give us the time of the year when the Passion and Resurrection occurred:
Luke 22: 1, 2: Now the feast of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was drawing near , and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking a way to put him to death, for they were afraid of the people.
John 18:28: Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the praetorium. It was morning. And they themselves did not enter the praetorium, in order not to be defiled so that they could eat the Passover .
Passover week was in the spring, during the Jewish month of Nisan. It was the commemoration of the Israelite Exodus from Egypt nearly 1,300 years prior. The Bible itself clearly and intentionally makes the correlation between the Passover feast, the Passion and the Resurrection within its own context. There absolutely is no need to appeal to some pagan festivities hundreds to thousands of miles away from the Gospel narrative’s own setting when we have a completely non-pagan explanation for the timing much closer to home which fits the evidence perfectly.
I’d also add that if such correlation in timing between Easter and some pagan festivity therefore proves that the Paschal season is really a celebration to a fertility goddess, then we would run into logical absurdities like this:
- Adolf Hitler was born on April 20, 1889
- George Takei was born on April 20, 1937
- Therefore, George Takei celebrates Hitler’s birthday.
Or as another example:
- Julius Caesar was assassinated by the Roman senate on March 15, 44 B.C.
- Ruth Bader Ginsberg was born on March 15, 1933.
- Therefore, Ginsberg celebrates Caesar’s assassination.
While writing this, I found that Emma Watson was born on April 15, 1990, the anniversary of the death of Abraham Lincoln in 1865 and the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. Correlation does not prove causation. There are only twelve months in our calendar and only 365 days -or 366, depending on leap year. It is not surprising, given world history, that many events will correlate with no relationship.
Conclusion:
So, is Easter pagan? The arguments and memes that you see on social media from both atheists and fundamentalists are highly problematic, indulging in the Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc (“After this, therefore because of this”) fallacy, as well as English sounding etymology without taking into account the formal name of the Holiday, Pascha. Because it is absolutely unnecessary to imitate non-Christian festivals in order to celebrate the resurrection of Christ, the answer is an unqualified no.
References:
- Church History, by Eusebius of Caesarea (265 to 340 A.D.)
- First Council of Nicaea (325 A.D.), from NewAdvent.org
- De ratione temporum 15, by St. Bede the Venerable
- “Easter,” from the Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Inana/Ištar (goddess), from Ancient Mesopotamian Gods and Goddesses
- The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain, by Ronald Hutton
- Gods, Goddesses, and Mytholo (Volume 6), by C. Scott Littleton
- Stories Rabbits Tell: A Natural and Cultural History of a Misunderstood Creature, by Susan E. Davis, Margo DeMello
- Lent and Easter, by Greg Dues
- “On the Bunny Trail: In Search of the Easter Bunny,” by Stephen Winick
Other Resources:
- “Is Easter a pagan holiday?,” from Caltholic Answers
- “Easter, Ishtar, Eostre and Eggs,” by Tim O’Neill of History for Atheists.
- “Eostre and Easter Customs,” by A. Æ. Hunt-Anschutz of the Association of Polytheist Traditions
Pagan easter meme
For over a decade there has been a false claim floating around about the origins of Easter. It goes something like this:
Premise 1) Ishtar is an ancient Babylonian goddess of sex, war, and fertility.
Premise 2) Romans would regularly adopt foreign deities into their pantheon to make the shift to Roman rule smoother amongst the conquered people.
Premise 3) When Constantine converted to Christianity, he forced the empire into Christianity.
Premise 4) Upon conversion, Constantine ushered some old deities into Christianity
Premise 5) Ishtar becomes part of the object of worship of the recently Christianized empire
Premise 6) Ishtar evolves into Easter
Please note that the “facts” in this summary are based upon countless Meme-historiographies found on google images under “Ishtar,” not the actual academic works on the subject.
Depending on whatever meme you’re looking at will determine which premise is present, but usually premise 1 and premise 6 are always included. And you can see why! Ishtar seems really similar to Easter, right? Based on this, I'd say so. And then other questions arise like, “Why do we have bunnies as part of the Easter celebrations?” find their answer in this meme-history.
The thought goes something like this:
Premise 1) Ishtar is an ancient Babylonian goddess of sex, war, and fertility.
Premise 2) Bunnies are fertile and represent her.
Premise 3) When Ishtar became Easter, her fertile representatives became part of the Christian celebration.
All of this sounds solid, right? Well, no.
The eggs and the bunnies seem to have a number of conflicting stories explaining their origins. Some say they come from a medieval debate about the fertility of bunnies and their relation to the cross. I’ve also read connections to Lutherans in the 16 th century connecting bunnies to judges and Protestants in New England in the 18 th century painting eggs. The Easter bunny and the eggs, while possibly pagan in origin, have nothing to do with Ishtar or Babylonian deities.
I’m going to focus on the last part of the argument at this point. The idea that Ishtar becomes the word Easter is laughable. Here are all of the languages where the word “Easter” appears.
English: Easter
German: Ostern
To my knowledge, no other languages refer to the celebration as “Easter.” Let me list the word in some other languages:
Italian: Pasqua
French: Pâques
Latin: Paschae
Greek: Πάσχα(Which transliterated says, “Paska”)
Spanish: Pascua de Resurrección
Portuguese: Páscoa
Dutch: Pasen
Hebrew: פֶּסַח (Which transliterated says, “Pesach”)
Do you see a theme?
German and English are the two languages that use something different. Look at these other languages and note that they take their word for Easter from the Hebrew word for Passover. That’s because of the connection between Passover and Jesus’ resurrection.
So historically, there’s no ancient conspiratorial connection between Easter and Ishtar, so why do we call it Easter instead of some variation of Pesach?
There are a few popular theories about this. An 8 th century English monk asserts that the words were connected according to the German pagan deity Eostre, which etymologically, looks similar. Eostre was also the basis for the month April at one point in English, transliterated as Eastermonath, or Easter month. Eostre looks like a likely culprit for the connection between the word “Easter” and the adoption into the modern English vernacular referencing the resurrection.
So what can we learn from this little excursion?
First, don’t rely on memes as a good source of information. Leaning on memes as sources leaves you in quite a bind. Even if the meme has correct information on it, when you make the claim and someone replies, “Oh, what’s your source on that,” you will either have to lie and say, “I forgot,” or you’ll be forced to say, “I read it on a meme.” Which, honestly, who would believe anything referenced from a meme? Don’t fall into that trap.
Second, stop, take a breath, and do a tiny bit of research. I remember the first time someone told me Jesus wasn’t actually born on December 25, my world was rocked. Why? Everyone knows he wasn’t actually born on December 25, so why did it rock me so hard? Because I had placed my faith in falsities and had never actually done proper research nor read my Bible carefully.
Don’t fear the edgy memes, whatever your friends are sharing on social media are probably wrong. Stop, take a breath, think, and research.
Is Easter a pagan festival?
Often at this time of year, memes and claims start popping up on social media suggesting Easter is a pagan holiday.
There are different versions, but the main thread is usually, Easter’s name comes from a forgotten pagan goddess, and that the time of year we celebrate it is one Christians stole, with elements from the original celebration eventually evolving to form Christianity’s own festival.
So, is Easter really a pagan festival?
The short answer is no.
The long answer? It’s a medieval festival whose symbolism is somewhat lost on modern audiences. Christians may have taken the name from an ancient goddess, but that is where the similarities end.
One claim that circulates about Easter is that it gets its name from the ancient goddess Eostre, whose festival fell in the same time of the year we now celebrate Easter.
While the claim varies, usually it asserts that Eostre’s symbols included eggs and bunnes, hence where we get these chocolates from.
While Eostre may be where the name originates from, the main problem with this idea is that, outside the name of the goddess, no evidence of Eostre worship exists outside of one mention.
In an attempt to account for when Jesus was crucified, many of our forebears in the ancient church did painstaking historical work.
One of the most cited historians from the time was Bede (or the Venerable Bede). As scripture says Christ was crucified and resurrected near the time of the Jewish Passover, Bede observed that this time of year would have fallen around the same time as Eostre’s festival.
Eosturmonath has a name which is now translated “Paschal month”, and which was once called after a goddess of theirs named Eostre, in whose honour feasts were celebrated in that month. Now they designate that Paschal season by her name, calling the joys of the new rite by the time-honoured name of the old observance.
Outside of this singular mention however, Eostre is mentioned zero times in history, an omission that has led some historians such as Ray Page to suggest Bede made the whole thing up. In 1995’s Anglo-Saxon Paganism: The evidence of Bede, Page calls Eostre, “an etymological fancy on Bede’s part.”
However, many scholars are happy to take Bede at his word that Eostre was the name of a pagan fertility goddess, from whom we get the name for the festival. Given that there is no other evidence for Eostre, however, that is when the connection ends.
So what about the other elements about Easter, such as rabbits and eggs? The first evidence for these appeared much later than Eostre, and dates back to the medieval period.
Rev. Dr John Squires is the Editor of With Love to the World and a New Testament scholar.
“Let’s not fall for the old chestnut that “Easter was originally a pagan festival”, drawing alleged links between Easter and Eostre, the goddess of fertility,” he said.
“Easter developed from the Jewish festival of Passover. Writing that out of the story is a form of antisemitism; it is already embedded in the earliest Gospel narratives.”
Easter has a well-documented history in Christian tradition. It commemorates Jesus’ resurrection and Christians have celebrated it since at least the second century. The date of Easter is determined by a complex set of calculations based on the lunar calendar and the equinox, and has been celebrated on different dates in different times throughout history.
For more information on Easter, Eostre, and the history of pagan/Christian relations, this video from Religion For Breakfast contains much further context:
In ancient pagan cultures, eggs were seen as a symbol of fertility and rebirth, much like the resurrection theme in Christianity. The egg was a potent symbol of new life, and many ancient civilizations used eggs in their springtime celebrations. In Germanic pagan traditions, for example, eggs were painted and given as gifts during the spring equinox.
Similarly, the association of rabbits or hares with Easter also has pagan origins. These animals were associated with fertility and abundance in various ancient cultures, including the Anglo-Saxons and the ancient Egyptians. The rabbit's prolific breeding habits made it a fitting symbol for the regeneration of life in spring. The convergence of these pagan symbols and practices with Christian beliefs led to the unique customs associated with Easter that we see today. The humorous and lighthearted nature of pagan Easter memes sheds light on this historical connection and highlights the syncretic nature of religious holidays throughout history. Pagan Easter memes often incorporate popular culture references, such as movie or TV scenes, to bring humor to the topic. They playfully highlight the irony of celebrating a religious holiday while unknowingly participating in pagan practices. These memes can be found on various social media platforms and are typically shared and enjoyed by individuals who appreciate the historical context and comedic value. In conclusion, pagan Easter memes serve as a playful reminder of the historical origins of the Christian holiday. By juxtaposing Christian traditions with pagan symbols and practices, these memes create humorous connections that reflect the syncretism of religious celebrations throughout history. In a lighthearted way, they encourage people to reflect on the ancient roots of Easter and appreciate the diverse cultural influences that have shaped the holiday we celebrate today..
Reviews for "Expressing Joy: Pagan Easter Memes That Capture the Spirit of the Holiday"
1. Jessica - 1 star
While I understand that "Pagan Easter Meme" was intended as a satirical take on the religious holiday, I felt that it was incredibly disrespectful. As someone who celebrates Easter for its religious significance, I found this meme to be offensive and distasteful. Instead of promoting inclusivity and understanding, it seemed to mock the beliefs of millions of people. I personally did not find it funny or amusing in any way.
2. Mark - 2 stars
As someone who enjoys humor and satire, I usually have an open mind when it comes to memes. However, "Pagan Easter Meme" missed the mark for me. While I appreciate the effort to create something unique and thought-provoking, the execution fell flat. The jokes felt forced, and it seemed more like an attempt to shock the audience rather than provide genuine entertainment. Overall, I was disappointed and felt that the meme was lacking in substance.
3. Sarah - 2 stars
I can appreciate a good meme that challenges societal norms, but "Pagan Easter Meme" missed the mark for me. The creators seemed to prioritize shock value over clever humor. The jokes were predictable and lacked subtlety. Additionally, I felt that the use of religious imagery was unnecessary and disrespectful. As someone who cherishes the Easter holiday for its spiritual meaning, this meme left a sour taste in my mouth.
4. Ryan - 1 star
"Pagan Easter Meme" was a complete letdown for me. The jokes were tasteless and offensive, crossing the line of what is acceptable in satire. While I understand that memes are meant to push boundaries, this one went too far. It seemed to belittle the beliefs of others and lacked any genuine wit or cleverness. I would not recommend this meme to anyone who appreciates humor with substance and respect.