Easter will soon be busily celebrated across the world with a multitude of church services and even more chocolate gobbling. But, where does the word “Easter” actually come from?

1.) According to some sources, the word Easter has its origin in an Anglo-Saxon goddess called Eostre (also Estre, Estara, Eastre & Ostara). It is believed that she was the goddess of the dawn who was worshipped in spring by pagans in Northern Europe and the British Isles.

2.) In The Two Babylons, Alexander Hislop suggests that Eostre is actually a name derived from the Babylonian goddess Astarte.

3.) Others, however, suggest that Easter finds its root in the German word for resurrection: auferstehung.

4.) In Hebrew, Passover is Pesach and becomes Pascha when transliterated in Greek. Virtually all languages refer to Easter as either use this transliterated or use resurrection in the name e.g. French (Pâques) and Spanish (Pascua). English and German are the only ones to use Easter (Ostern) when referring to the celebration.

But, regardless of its true origins, I just wanted to say…

Happy Easter!