The etymology of the word Easter is uncertain.
Some say it has its origin is the German word oster meaning east which some say has its roots in the Latin word aurora meaning dawn per the reference entitled Etymology of the Words Easter and Passover. The east and dawn rationale are reasonable separate and together. The reason is that the sun rises in the east at dawn; the resurrection account speaks of dawn (Matthew 28:1). The resurrection of Christ was discovered in the early sunrise dawn of the third day. Hence, the association of Easter with the resurrection.
Some say The English word Easter, which parallels the German word Ostern, is derived from Eostre, or Eostrae, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring and fertility per the Britannica reference.
Some say the word Easter derives from the Christian designation of Easter week as in albis, a Latin phrase that was understood as the plural of alba (“dawn”) and became eostarum in Old High German per the Britannica reference.
Some others claim it has its roots in a pagan goddess such as Astarte based on 1 Kings 16:33 where it speaks of Ahab making a grove. The word grove is the Hebrew word Asherah, H842. Asherah is said to refer to the use of groves (of trees) for idol worship. The word Asherah is said to be related to or synonymous with the Babylonian Canaanite goddess Astarte (of fortune and happiness), the supposed consort of Baal.
First of all the word Easter does not appear anywhere in the Old Testament. There is no translation of the word Asherah into Easter in the KJV or any translation I know of.
Secondly, it does not appear anywhere in any description of Asherah in Strong’s Concordance or any authentic biblical concordance of which I am aware. So there is no proven nexus of Easter to Astarte or Asherah.
Thirdly, the word Asherah, H842, is used in both a good and evil sense in scripture. This is illustrated in the following scriptures having to do with an angel of the Lord speaking with Gideon:
Judges 6:25-26
(25) And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Take thy father’s young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it:
(26) And build an altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down.
Notice how in Judges 6:25 the word is used in an evil sense of idol worship. Yet, in Judges 6:26 the angel tells Gideon to take the wood used to make the idol and repurpose it as a burnt offering sacrifice. Therefore, even if one could show that the word Easter is historically authentically associated with the word Asherah, a repurposing of the word usage in commemorating Christ resurrection would be holy. But of course, there is no authentic evidence there has ever been any real association. For such association is speculative at best.
No matter the etymology, the origin of the word is insignificant; what we mean by it today is what is important. . We use the word Easter in honor of the discovery of Christ resurrection in the early sunrise dawn the third day. Hence, the association of Easter with the resurrection.
The word Easter appears once in the King James Version of the Bible (Acts 12:4). In Acts 12:4 the Greek word is the word elsewhere translated Passover. Acts 12:3 says “Then were the days of unleavened bread”. Hence, biblically the Greek word translated Easter in Acts 12:4 should have been translated Passover as it was in every other instance in the KJV. For the event there was clearly the Jewish Mosaic Passover rather than Christ as our Passover (1 Corinthians 5:7).
The word Easter when not qualified has a variety of meanings. It could refer to a single day, seven-day period, or any number of other days period. For me it either refers to a single day (Easter Sunday) or a three-day period (Good Friday to Easter Sunday).
Words have meaning only to the extent we commonly agree they mean. Moreover, their meaning is dependent on the context in which they are used. Furthermore, words change in common meaning over time. So no matter what the word Easter meant in ancient times and no matter from where it is derived, the key is what we mean by it now. For example, it is said that the word Jupiter comes from the chief of the Roman gods whose name was Jupiter or Jove. Now the word Jupiter is commonly understood to refer to the planet Jupiter and not to the Roman god named Jupiter. In Dallas Texas there is a street named Jupiter. Does this mean the people that live on that street or the business that reside on that street worship the Roman god Jupiter? Of course, one could not rightly conclude such a thing just because such people/businesses reside on that street. So it is for the word Easter. It means what we mean by it now.
See “Easter” Is Not A Mistranslation or Isn’t “Easter” in Acts 12:4 a mistranslation? for justification for use of the word Easter in Acts 12:4.
The above documents note that the Jewish Passover is a single night meal that precedes the days of unleavened bread mentioned in Acts 12:4. So then the period of time referred to in Acts 12:4 as Easter
occurs after the Jewish Passover and is therefore not the same as the Jewish Passover.
See my article entitled Celebration of Easter for more information on the validity and meaning of the Christian Holiday Easter.
Reference:
Etymology of the Words Easter and Passover
Is Passover Pagan? – an interesting talk that says Passover incorporates practices and concepts that exisited prior to formation of Israel as a nation. The idea is that God used pagan practices to demonstrate he is the true God. So Passover is not Pagan because its focus is on the one true God but some of its elements has pagan roots.
