Where does the word Easter come from?
The word Easter is not in the New Testament. Nor does it feature in most translations of the Bible into vernacular languages. Isn't Easter linked to Passover? There is no direct linguistic link in English between the words Easter and Passover as there is in romance languages like French where Pâques , in French, covers both Easter and Passover . In Spanish, Semana Santa (Holy Week) is the most common phrase used to describe the festival and Domingo de Resurrección the day itself. Domingo de Pascua is more formal and used less frequently So where does the word Easter come from? Scholars agree that Easter has pre-Christian roots. Beyond that there is little consensus. According to the great Anglo-Saxon scholar the Venerable Bede , the Old English word eastre came from Eostre, "a goddess associated with spring." April was called Eosturmonath ("Easter-month") because in pagan times the month was dedicated to Eostre, an Anglo-
