Passover and Easter: What’s the difference? Larry Stamm, a Jewish believer in Jesus and local outreach pastor at Grace Fellowship Church in Johnson City, Tenn., shares the historical background of Easter and its connection to Passover.

Passover and Easter: Happy Eostre?

Happy Eostre, the time of celebration honoring the goddess of spring fertility, Eostre (also known as Ostara, Oestera). This ancient pagan festival marks the renewal of the Earth and the rebirth of life after winter.

The Goddess of Fertility

Eostre, the goddess of fertility for humans and crops, is celebrated with traditional colors of green, yellow, and purple. The symbols of hares and eggs represent fertility and new life, as bunnies are known to breed rapidly. Legend has it that Eostre conceived a man/god child with the solar god during the spring equinox, giving birth at Yule/winter solstice (Christmas).

Fertility and New Life

The theme of fertility and new life associated with Eostre is prevalent in various cultures. Colored eggs have been tied to spring celebrations since at least 580 BCE in Persia. In Ukraine, Pysanka eggs once honored the sun god, the father of Eostre’s child, before the influence of Christianity. Eostre’s name even inspired the term estrogen, a female fertility hormone.

Incorporating Eotre’s Rituals

Christianity has incorporated Eostre’s name and rituals into their Easter traditions, utilizing symbols and rituals from pagan fertility rites. While Christians may feel uncomfortable acknowledging the origins of their Easter customs, it is significant to recognize the appropriation of symbols like eggs, bunnies, and the concept of rebirth from Eostre’s legends.

Cultural Appropriation

Cultural appropriation extends beyond religious symbols and includes clothing, language, music, and more. It is inappropriate to adopt elements from another culture without understanding or respecting their significance. Therefore, it is crucial to appreciate the cultural origins of traditions and symbols like those associated with Eostre, rather than appropriating them without acknowledgment.

What are examples of cultural appropriation? Taking anything from one culture and using it for your own. Examples include not just religious symbols, but clothing and or costumes, language or forms of speech, dance, songs/music, food, artifacts and intellectual property/stories/legends.

Just as it is wrong to wear Native American regalia if you are not part of the tribe that crafts that particular ensemble and it is wrong to co-opt cultural hair styles if they are not from your culture, it is wrong to “borrow” the religious or ceremonial symbols of a particular faith or culture and incorporate it into your own. 

If there were no bunnys in the Bible, stop usuing them. There were also no jelly beans on the table at the last supper! You get the point.

Easter

However, in the second century, some Christians began celebrating Easter on the Sunday following Passover, causing a divide among those who wanted to keep the two holidays together and those who wanted to distinguish them. This disagreement led to excommunication by Victor, Bishop of Rome.

Easter: Emperor Constantine

Emperor Constantine later declared that Easter would be officially celebrated on the Sunday after Passover when he stopped the persecution of Christians in the fourth century. Over time, the holiday came to be known as Easter and its date was adjusted to align with the solar calendar.

Passover

Passover, on the other hand, commemorates the Jewish people’s exodus from Egypt thousands of years ago. According to Hebrew Scriptures, the angel of death passed over the Israelite homes protected by the blood of the lamb, sparing them from the plague that killed the firstborn in Egypt.

Pascha

The word “Passover” comes from the Hebrew term “Pesach,” meaning “to pass over.” This holiday is celebrated through a special meal called the seder, where the story of the exodus is retold using a book called the Haggadah. Jesus observed the Last Supper with his disciples during a Passover seder, using elements like unleavened bread and wine to symbolize his impending death. Christians continue this tradition through Communion.

Passover Lamb

In the New Testament, Jesus is depicted as the Passover lamb, with the Apostle Paul referring to him as “our Passover lamb” in Corinthians. For Christians, Passover symbolizes Jesus’ deliverance of those who trust in him from the slavery and consequences of sin. Rabbi Chaim Zaklos of Chabad Solano County sees a similar symbolism, suggesting that Egypt represents a state of mind and captivity to one’s ego. He believes that the seder provides a prescription for liberation, with its 15 steps guiding individuals to free themselves from their selfish desires and cleave to God.

Deliverance From Death in Egypt

While there may be theological differences between Christianity and Judaism, Pastor Greg Davidson of Trinity Baptist Church in Vacaville, who is Jewish himself, recognizes a strong connection between Passover and Easter. Passover represents the Jewish people’s liberation from slavery in Egypt, with God sending Moses as the liberator and using the blood of a lamb to protect the Israelites from the final plague.

Deliverance From Eternal Death

In the New testament, Jesus is referred to as the Passover Lamb, and Passover serves as a foreshadowing of his sacrifice on the cross and the shedding of his blood to cover sins. Davidson explains that when individuals apply the blood of the lamb, Jesus, to their hearts through faith, they are protected from eternal death and will go to heaven when they die.