By Tim Lambert
Nobody is sure where the name Easter came from. The Anglo-Saxon name for April was Eostermunath. But we don’t know why April was called that. According to a Saxon scholar called Bede the month was named after a goddess called Eostre. But no other writer ever mentioned such a goddess and there is no other evidence that the Anglo-Saxons worshipped her. So, Bede’s claim that a month was named after her is doubtful. It has been suggested that the word Easter came from an old Germanic word meaning East, but that is uncertain.
At any rate, in the early years of Christianity, there was a dispute over the date of Easter. In 325 the Nicean Council decided it should be on the first Sunday after the full moon after the Spring Equinox. That is why the date of Easter changes each year.
In the early 18th century German Christians called Moravians began the tradition of a sunrise service to remember the women who went to the tomb of Jesus and found it empty. In the late 18th century the sunrise service was introduced into America.
Friday is the day of the week when Jesus was crucified. It is called Good Friday because good used to mean holy. On that day we eat hot cross buns. The origins of hot cross buns are obscure but in the 18th century, people sold hot cross buns in the street from stalls.
The Easter bunny was originally a hare. He was first mentioned by a German, Georg Franck von Franckenau in 1682. In Germany, a hare brought multi-colored eggs to children. Why was he a hare? Nobody is sure. German immigrants took the tradition of a hare who brings colored eggs to children at Easter to the USA. Because people in the USA were unfamiliar with hares the Easter hare became a rabbit.
In the Middle Ages Christians were forbidden to eat eggs during Lent (the forty days before Easter). Not surprisingly people were keen to eat eggs when Easter arrived! In the Middle Ages, ordinary people painted Easter eggs. If you were rich you might cover them in goldleaf! In 1307 the accounts of King Edward I recorded ’18 pence for 450 eggs to be boiled and dyed or covered with gold leaf and distributed to the Royal household’.
By the 18th century, people bought artificial eggs made of various materials to give as gifts at Easter. (Sometimes the artificial eggs contained gifts). Chocolate Easter eggs were first made in the 19th century.
Last revised 2025