this post was submitted on 05 Jun 2026
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There were already traditional seasonal holidays. Christians conformed the Jesus holiday dates to fit the seasonal holidays, which over thousands of years they have eventually replaced. That's why Christmas is only 2 days off from the winter solstice, and that's why evergreen trees are part of it. Easter comes days after the start of Spring, which is where the rabbits and eggs are coming from.
It's true for Christmas, but less so for Easter, as the crucifixion probably occurred around the Jewish holiday of Pessah, which is celebrated in Spring.
Easter is the name of a Germanic pagan goddess of fertility
Yes. But the date of Easter was decided far before Christianity reached Germanic territory, so it's not a sign that they borrowed the date, it's the other way around. Because Easter was on the month of Ēostre, they gave it this name.