Easter: The Principal Festival of the Christian Church

Easter is the principal festival of the Christian Church, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his crucifixion. The first recorded celebration of Easter dates back to the second century, although the remembrance of Jesus’ resurrection likely occurred even earlier.

The English word "Easter", which is paralleled by the German word "Ostern", has an uncertain origin. In the 8th century, the Venerable Bede explained that the word derived from "Eostre" or "Eastre," possibly the name of an Anglo-Saxon goddess associated with spring and fertility. (In modern times, there is some debate over the connection between Eostre and spring; she may have been a local protective deity rather than a fertility symbol.)

This view assumes—much like theories that link the origin of Christmas on December 25 to pagan celebrations of the winter solstice—that early Christians appropriated pagan names and holidays for their own highest festivals. However, considering how strongly early Christians opposed all forms of paganism (the belief in multiple gods), this theory is viewed by many scholars as questionable.

There is now widespread consensus that the term "Easter" actually evolved from a Christian phrase used during "Easter Week", such as "albis", a Latin word that could be interpreted as the plural of "alba" (meaning "dawn"). In Old High German, this became "ēostarum", which is the root of the modern German and English terms for Easter.

The Latin and Greek term "Pascha" (derived from the Hebrew "Passover") is the root for the French word "Pâques", which also refers to Easter.