Weekend Economists Easter Weekend April 2-4, 2010

[Demeter]

Well, it's that time of year, again. The rabbits are out laying colored eggs...and the March hare gives way to the Easter bunny. Pagan that I am, despite years of indoctrination, I thought it might be helpful to remember where Easter comes from:

Origins of the name "Easter":

The name "Easter" originated with the names of an ancient Goddess and God. The Venerable Bede, (672-735 CE.) a Christian scholar, first asserted in his book De Ratione Temporum that Easter was named after Eostre (a.k.a. Eastre). She was the Great Mother Goddess of the Saxon people in Northern Europe. Similarly, the "Teutonic dawn goddess of fertility was known variously as Ostare, Ostara, Ostern, Eostra, Eostre, Eostur, Eastra, Eastur, Austron and Ausos." Her name was derived from the ancient word for spring: "eastre." Similar Goddesses were known by other names in ancient cultures around the Mediterranean, and were celebrated in the springtime. Some were:

Aphrodite from ancient Cyprus
Ashtoreth from ancient Israel
Astarte from ancient Greece
Demeter from Mycenae
Hathor from ancient Egypt
Ishtar from Assyria
Kali, from India
Ostara a Norse Goddess of fertility.

An alternative explanation has been suggested. The name given by the Frankish church to Jesus' resurrection festival included the Latin word "alba" which means "white." (This was a reference to the white robes that were worn during the festival.) "Alba" also has a second meaning: "sunrise." When the name of the festival was translated into German, the "sunrise" meaning was selected in error. This became "ostern" in German. Ostern has been proposed as the origin of the word "Easter". 2
There are two popular beliefs about the origin of the English word "Sunday."
bullet It is derived from the name of the Scandinavian sun Goddess Sunna (a.k.a. Sunne, Frau Sonne). 5,6
bullet It is derived from "Sol," the Roman God of the Sun." Their phrase "Dies Solis" means "day of the Sun." The Christian saint Jerome (d. 420) commented "If it is called the day of the sun by the pagans, we willingly accept this name, for on this day the Light of the world arose, on this day the Sun of Justice shone forth.

http://www.religioustolerance.org/easter1.htm

(Don't tell the Catholics--or the Baptists, or the....)

Whereas Easter celebrates a resurrection of one form or another, our totally dysfunctional political system is hell-bent on celebrating a phony resurrection of our economy this weekend. It's worse than too many jelly beans before breakfast. (Is there such a thing as too many jelly beans?)

So gird up your loins and let's dig for the truth.

By the way, the forsythia bloomed today, and several crocus and daffodils. And it Hit 80F. It is very odd to wear shorts when there isn't a leaf on a tree.