Another possibility is the Norse eostur, eastur, or ostara, which meant “the season of the growing sun” or  “the season of new birth.” The word east comes from the same roots.  In this case, easter would be linked to the changing of the season.

A more recent and complex explanation comes from the Christian background of Easter rather than the pagan.  The early Latin name for the week of Easter was hebdomada alba or “white week,” while the Sunday after Easter day was called dominica in albis from the white robes of those who had been newly baptized.  The word alba is Latin both for white and dawn.  People speaking Old High German made a mistake in their translation and used a plural word for dawn, ostarun, instead of a plural for white.  From ostarun we get the German Ostern and the English Easter.

Easter Bunny

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Easter?  As a Christian, the first image might be the cross or the empty tomb.  For the general public, a blitz of media images and merchandise on store shelves makes it more likely that the Easter Bunny comes to mind.  So how did a rabbit distributing eggs become a part of Easter?

There are several reasons for the rabbit, or hare, to be associated with Easter, all of which come through pagan celebrations or beliefs.  The most obvious is the hare’s fertility.  Easter comes during spring and celebrates new life.  The Christian meaning of new life through Christ and a general emphasis on new life are different, but the two gradually merged.  Any animals – like the hare – that produced many offspring were easy to include.