Many pagan cultures celebrated at this time of year to welcome the return of spring and the new plant life that grew and the animals that were born. The pagans worshipped gods of fertility and new life, such as the Druidic Ishtar, Egyptian Osiris, Babylonian Astarte (who sprung from an egg which fell from heaven), and the Saxon goddess of dawn called Eostre (often seen accompanied by a hare, or with a hare's head), from which we get the name "Easter".

The Cross

The cross, or crucifix, is a Christian symbol of Easter time. Though the name from the earlier pre-Christian spring festival stuck, Easter Sunday is celebrated by Christians as the anniversary of the resurrection (coming back to life) of Jesus Christ, who three days earlier had been crucified (put to death on a cross). The cross is a symbol of Jesus Christ, his conquering of sin and death, and his love for us. Read more about Jesus

Easter Eggs

The Babylonian spring goddess Astarte is said to have fallen from heaven in an egg. It was thought that all life came from an egg, and so they were a symbol of the re-birth of spring. Read more about Easter Eggs. As Britain was converted to Christianity, Easter eggs were given a mental Christian make-over, to change them from representing fertility to representing the stone that was rolled away from the tomb where the body of Jesus was laid or the empty tomb if it was a hollow egg!

Easter Bunny and Easter Egg Hunts

From the goddess with the hare's head, or hare companion, Eostre, hares and rabbits were associated with enviable prolific procreation as part of the worship of all things spring-time and fertile. The Easter Bunny is a hare/rabbit spirit that lays eggs in the grass, leading to the tradition of Easter egg hunts!! This concept has not had a Christian make-over!

Easter Chicks 

These emerge from the eggs the hare/rabbit brings! A pagan symbol of re-birth, Christianised as re-birth in Jesus or the chick breaking through the egg shell as a picture of Jesus emerging from the tomb.

Egg Rolling

In come countries, eg Germany and America, children roll eggs down hills on Easter morning, a game which has been connected to the rolling away of the rock from Jesus Christ's tomb when he was resurrected. British settlers brought this custom to the New World.

Easter Parades and Easter Bonnets

Easter bonnets have been around since the Middle Ages when it was the custom to take a long walk after church on Easter Sunday, while wearing new clothes to symbolize the start of spring. The tradition grew to include a straw Easter bonnet adorned with ribbons and flowers. This led to the American custom of Easter parades all over the country, including the famous parade along Fifth Avenue in New York City (like in the 1948 Judy Garland movie "Easter Parade"!).

Hot Cross Buns

The origin of hot cross buns date back to the fertility festivals when an ox was sacrificed. The ox's horns became a symbol for the feast and they were carved into the freshly leavened ritual bread. The word "buns" is derived from the Saxon word "boun" which means "sacred ox".The cross on hot cross buns became the cross of Jesus.

Mardi Gras / Carnival Season

 Mardi Gras, French for "Fat Tuesday", is what we know as Shrove Tueday, or "Pancake Day" -for more on the different days of the Easter season see Traditional Church's Easter Calendar. Historically the fast during Lent, which starts the day after Shrove Tuesday, meant eating no "luxury" foods such as meat or dairy products -"Carnival" from the Latin "carnivale", loosely translates as "farewell to flesh"- so the day before this restrictive diet started people would feast and eat up all the eggs and meat. In New Orleans, the feast of the Epiphany (6th January) until midnight on Mardi Gras is a season of merriment, culminating in the biggest carnival. see . In South America, canival season is for four days ending in Mardi Gras.

Passion Plays

In the Middle Ages "Passion Plays" were put on to re-enact the story of Easter, in the same way as we have nativity plays to re-enact the Christmas story. Passion Plays are still enacted today in Spain and Latin America, but are not common in Britain, except for the tradition of Good Friday processions, which used to be part of the plays. Having said that, two noticeable modern examples are the controversial 2004 Mel Gibson movie "The Passion of the Christ" and the Manchester Passion, televised in 2006.

Spring Flowers 

A pagan sign of re-birth and new life, spring flowers were said to be a reminder of the new life we have with Jesus.

[A full list of sources used to compile this article can be found under Links - Acknowledgements for Easter information]