No I didn’t spell that wrong. It is pronounced Easter and is the name of a guess what… Pagan Goddess. Now I thought valentines day was bad with the strange origins but Ishtar is the goddess of love and war in some cultures and just love or just war in others. I always thought love and war were the same thing which is why I probably never married.
So we have the goddess of love and war whose symbols are rabbits and eggs – fertility yeah. Let me just jump up and celebrate fertility. Sorry not quite my thing. Sex yes whelping no…
Can't Sleep Clowns Will Eat Me 
Well, that will turn the stomach of many Bible toting people.
Hey I am one of those bible toting people. Catholic actually I just have questions about the whole holiday thing…
So am I, a Bible toting Catholic but that does not stop me from laughing at myself – unlike some who take it so ever seriously. I just had a great Easter weekend 😉
P/s I meant no offense.
Absolutely none taken. If you cannot question and cannot laugh at the inconsistencies of history and religion then you do not need to read or study either. Don’t worry not much offends me.
Actually, Easter comes from Oestre, Germanic goddess the Angles brought to England. The German word is similar, but other European words come eventually from Pesach, Passover. But, so what? It is Spring, when the ground brings forth after winter barrenness. and Resurrection links to rebirth.
Ishtar was Mesopotamian, I think.
I believe the Ishtar reference is quite a bit older than the Germanic and the formation of Europe. Mesopotamia came long before Prussia which predates anything Germanic. Again it could be the rising of Christ or a Pagan fertility day. It is just strange that nine months pass between April and December and conception and resurrection coincide. I have heard Oestre before but it is taken from the Sumerian and Mesopotamian as well as by Neil Gaiman a popular author of a book called American Gods that Oestre is the reference for Easter.
Wenn Sie sprechen und Deutsch lesen, als Sie vielleicht wollen einige der Tat Überprüfung auf germanischen heidnischen Geschichte zu tun. Leider war ich im Schwarzwald geboren und aufgezogen germanischen Mythologie. Abgesehen davon haben Sie einige sehr gute Punkte Ich mag mehr von Ihrem Blog sehen würde.
Well, I can count up to five-
It is fascinating, whether the roots of belief in that Goddess come from Ishtar, or were independent, or from some other source. Unfortunately Wikipedia is as far as I go on research on that. However, the English word Easter comes from Bede’s rendering of the Germanic goddess’s name. But- why should the Christian spring festival not incorporate themes from other Spring festivals? Baptise it, just as churches are built on older holy sites. These things speak to the human condition.
Very true. And similar to my valentines post it just makes you wonder about all of the myths, legends, and religions out there. I have long since stopped trying to figure out who was right and went with what I felt. Just a quick fyi wikipedia is not fact checked at all many of its references and answers are wrong on purpose. Just about anyone can edit them. This gives it the ability to be the sounding board for just about anyone’s beliefs. As you probably well know many people love their religious, psychological, and personal beliefs to be taken as fact to condemn others. BTW loved the Goya – not many people have the strength or conviction to use that representation.
On the Goya, you mean this one, I presume: http://clareflourish.wordpress.com/autogynephilia/ Do say so there.
I edit Wikipedia. There are lots of people looking out for vandalising edits. Perhaps in less well known or speculative subjects, too much could be one editor’s bias.