Eostre

Why do we call the day Christianity celebrates the resurrection of Christ Easter? No one can give a definitive answer to this, but a best guess was made by the famous 7th century Christian monk and  scholar, The Venerable Bede, who recognized that a central figure to the springtime festivals of the other Anglo Saxon religions of the time was a mythical goddess named Eostre who found her roots in the pantheon of ancient Egypt. She was depicted in a variety of ways throughout her long history, sometimes surrounded with rabbits or hares, the ubiquitous symbols of fertility. At other times, Eostre was seen having the head of a rabbit herself. The spring harvest festivals became known as Eostre time, translated throughout the years as Easter Time in our vernacular. The old goddess' connection to the Easter Bunny should also be obvious, but that tradition likely developed in our culture without anyone ever hearing of the older myth. (Image from The Story and Legends of Easter, A PowerPoint presentation)