Easter

Although Easter is well known as the Christian feast of the Resurrection of Christ, the origin of the word is surprisingly pagan. The Venerable Bede (672-735 AD) in his book De Ratione Temporum derived the name Easter from the name of the pagan goddess Eastre or spring, whose feast was celebrated at the vernal equinox. It is not known how the name stuck but perhaps it was Bede’s way of fusing ancient Celtic myths with Christian doctrine.