Are you enjoying Ostara week?

A Surviving Facts Blog

Everywhere I went this past weekend, people wished me Happy Easter. I politely smiled and thanked them. But that’s not what I wanted to say. What I wanted to say is- what if I’m not Christian? What if I don’t celebrate Easter?

I’ve shared with you before that I am a Greek Orthodox Christian. My Easter is usually on a different timeline from the Western Christian Easter, sometimes by over a month. The equation for Eastern Orthodox Easter is that it must fall both after the first full moon after the vernal equinox and after the start of Passover. This year, however, Western and Eastern Easter fell on the same day- so no chance at discount candy! That meant I celebrated at the same time as most Christian Americans did.

I was bothered by being wished Happy Easter everywhere I went. It’s kind and gracious- I get that. It’s polite- I get that too. But the automatic assumption of Western Christianity that everyone celebrates Easter is concerning. It’s this embedded belief that has become so inbred that many Americans believe America is a Christian nation.

A quick history lesson should remind people otherwise. America was founded on religious freedom- that is, the ability to choose a religion and what to worship. Of course, this freedom has not always been upheld. The Salem witch trials are an example. As with today, women then were most harmed by Western Christian zealotry.

The word “Easter” is pre-Christianity. An Anglo-Saxon goddess called Eostre- notice the similarity of this name with Easter- represents rebirth, renewal, and new beginnings. She and other goddesses, such as the Germanic Ostara, were celebrated around the spring equinox. These goddess celebrations represented rising out of the “death” of winter into the earth’s renewal. It was a time of starting over, beginning again, rising from the dead. Sound familiar?

Christians have always been good at cultural appropriation, co-opting other traditions to claim as their own. I am not here to debate whether Jesus existed or not and what timeline he was born or died on. My point is that the origins of Easter are decidedly non-Christian. As Christianity spread across continents, early Christians looked to already existing customs as a way of making Christianity more accessible and familiar. Eostre and Ostara are pagan holidays. Let’s then celebrate a Biblical event at the same time, the early Christians thought.

Today, the original events are called pagan holidays. I dislike the term “pagan” because of the negative connotations Christianity has placed on it. Paganism is associated with hedonism or devil worship- and nothing could be more untrue. The definition of celebrating a different set of gods or goddesses as non-Christian positions Christianity as the norm rather than the clever appropriater. Rather than honoring holiday origins as creatorship beliefs in their own right, we deem them non-religious or even evil. In the US, Christian holidays are often national holidays- again blurring the lines between our country’s most basic tenets (separation of church and state) and nationhood.

I also want to remind everyone that Easter and Passover coincided this year. Passover also has been around much longer than Easter. My town’s sign wishes everyone “Happy Easter!” but not “Happy Passover!” My town has an ultra-conservative Jewish community and synagogue, by the way. Why didn’t they get good wishes as well?

The belief that Christian holidays are true to history in both timing and story is factually incorrect. We don’t know the actual date of Jesus’s birth. December 25 was chosen for liturgical reasons. Jesus was crucified in the spring, probably on April 3, based on various historical documents. But Good Friday, Easter Sunday- these cannot be confirmed. The Bible itself is a completely male-manufactured book knitting together stories preferred and approved by early church patriarchs (patriarch NOT matriarch) in the fourth century- hundreds of years after Jesus died. The Bible also continued to evolve. Ever heard of the St. James version? That was put together in 1611.

Christianity is based on co-opting the Old Testament and adding some historical events passed down through oral traditions and captured centuries after the fact. Guess what? It’s not all accurate. While all religion requires faith and suspension of disbelief at some level, the historical incidents upon which religions are based should be able to withstand historical inquiry and analysis- and Christianity is no exception.

Yet, we have come to a time when Christianity is being embedded in education, laws and policies. These decisions are being made based upon a factually incorrect document and cultural appropriation of other customs and holidays. Even Christian Biblical scholars will tell you this is true. Check out Dan McClellan, a Christian and academic who is currently being attacked by those who don’t want to hear facts. Again, if Christianity is so hegemonic, it should withstand such inquiry.

When people wished me happy Easter, I wanted to reply, Happy Ostara! I didn’t because in these inflammatory times, I choose not to incite. But remember: not everyone is Christian, not all Christians are the same and our country is founded upon the right to believe and worship as we like.

I would love to hear from you, even if, especially if, you disagree. Perhaps we can bring back the American tradition of debate.

Please like and share this blog with others. Subscribe to receive it by email and go directly to the Walk the Moon website to peruse the full collection of articles and updates. You can email me from the Walk the Moon website as well.