Saturday, 30 March 2024 10:20 pm
Easter Etymology
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deckardcanineMost languages call Easter by an unrelated name
From Greek and Latin pascha. Why is English not the same?
Perhaps the Anglo-Saxons wanted distance from the Jews
And Pesach, so they settled on a pagan term to use.
That strikes me as ironic, but it hardly is unique:
Consider where we get the names of days within the week.
In any case, the Venerable Bede’s the only source
From olden days to tell us how the English took this course:
Eosturmonath, month to praise Eostre, based upon
A Proto-Indo-European goddess of the dawn.
It isn’t mere coincidence that “Easter” starts with “east.”
The dawn is also fitting for a resurrection feast.
The month’s renamed to April; that’s a mystery as well.
Some honored Aphrodite on its first day, so they tell,
But others cite a Latin word for “open” in allusion
To blooming plants or spring itself, a cause for some confusion.
From Greek and Latin pascha. Why is English not the same?
Perhaps the Anglo-Saxons wanted distance from the Jews
And Pesach, so they settled on a pagan term to use.
That strikes me as ironic, but it hardly is unique:
Consider where we get the names of days within the week.
In any case, the Venerable Bede’s the only source
From olden days to tell us how the English took this course:
Eosturmonath, month to praise Eostre, based upon
A Proto-Indo-European goddess of the dawn.
It isn’t mere coincidence that “Easter” starts with “east.”
The dawn is also fitting for a resurrection feast.
The month’s renamed to April; that’s a mystery as well.
Some honored Aphrodite on its first day, so they tell,
But others cite a Latin word for “open” in allusion
To blooming plants or spring itself, a cause for some confusion.