Lots of different mythologies celebrate Spring in many ways.
The Germanic goddess, Ostara, was supposedly a goddess revered in many Germanic societies throughout Late Antiquity and into the Early Medieval Period.
Her name is derived from a Proto-Germanic word for "dawn," and she was celebrated as being the goddess of spring, the harbinger of new life and fertility.
Whilst there is an ongoing historical debate about her existence - there is some historical debate ongoing – the only contemporary written record we have of her is from a 7th century CE Anglo-Saxon chronicler (and later Christain saint) Bede – this is not the case for her equivalent in the Old Norse religion, Idunn.
The Norse goddess Idunn was associated with delicious apples and everlasting youth but may have stemmed from an earlier Proto-Indo-European worship of fertility cults. Alongside Idunn was the goddess Freyja, famous for her beauty but also revered as the goddess of sex, love, and fertility.
It was the goddess Ostara, not unknown to many peoples in Viking societies, that would ultimately leave the biggest imprint on the modern celebration of Easter.
The Jewish festival of Passover, celebrated for millennia, has left its legacy on the lexicon of Easter in many European countries.
The term Påske (Norwegian), Pasqua (Italian), and Paques (French) are all derived from the term for Passover. In the Anglophone world, however, the term for the solemn festival celebrating the crucifixion, and miraculous resurrection, of Jesus Christ is Easter.
This is derived from the name of the Germanic goddess, Ostara, a nod to the many Germanic invasions of the British Isles that are bookended with the Viking invasions from the mid-9th century CE onwards.
Yet this is not all ancient history. In the German language today, the term for Easter (Ostern) shows how an ancient pagan goddess is still very much a part of our modern world.
As Christianity crept into the Germanic world, there is no doubt that the celebration of the death of Jesus Christ was conveniently celebrated to coincide with many of the pagan spring festivals.
In fact, the actual celebration of Easter, at the vernal equinox, was only officially decided at the Council of Nicaea, in 321 CE, with Christianity just the latest in a long line of religions and belief systems that have been influenced by earlier traditions.
This synthesis was one of the reasons why Christianity was taken up by so many pagans throughout the early medieval period – including in the Viking societies of Northern Europe.
Regardless of your faith or persuasion, the Christian festival of Easter is more than just an excuse to eat your body weight in chocolate. It is a time to reflect on how religions and belief systems, both ancient and modern, are the process of the synthesis of religious, cultural, and societal traditions.
https://thevikingherald.com/article/the-surprising-pagan-origins-of-easter/481
