As it is natural with religious celebrations, Easter is full of symbolism. And while you can argue that folks who celebrate it have an either or approach to it just like they do with Christmas and X-Mas—meaning there’s the religious and the secular way of celebrating it—there’s more to Easter than just Christianity and family tradition.
Originally, Easter was a pagan festival named Eostre, which paid tribute to the goddess of spring of the same name. But then Christianity happened and the holiday was picked up by the new faith and adapted to celebrate the resurrection of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Also very appropriate that spring is considered a rebirth of nature.
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And so a lot of today’s symbolism found in Easter can be traced back to either paganism, Christianity or Judaism.
Easter eggs, for instance, were originally a pagan symbol of fertility and rebirth. As such, it was adapted to symbolize the resurrection of Jesus Christ in Christianity. It just so happened that Lent, a period of fasting in the Christian faith, also involved not eating eggs. So, the excessive consumption of them during Easter was par for the course.
Another huge symbol is the Easter bunny. Quite a disconnect from eggs as bunnies definitely aren’t known for their calcium carbonate crystal-based reproduction. If anything, it goes without saying how infamous their reproduction traditions are, but we’ll stop there. So, what’s up?
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One theory is the pagan roots of the celebration. The goddess Eostre was typically represented as a bunny (another symbol for fertility. Need I say more?). Another is grounded in German folklore, where the Easter hare would lay the eggs. And then it spread.
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The other, lesser known symbolism includes Easter lilies, chocolate Easter candy, and baby chicks.
The lilies come from a legend surrounding the crucifixion. Apparently, white lilies sprung where Jesus was crucified—his perspiration was what made it happen. They have, as a result, become a symbol of purity as well as Jesus' resurrection.
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