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From: Jim Egge <egge@midway.uchicago.edu>
Subject: Re: Easter and Passover
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Date: Tue, 18 Apr 1995 16:19:38 GMT
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cormierf@nbnet.nb.ca wrote:
>
> 
>  Does the English name Easter has something
> > to do with the fact, that Jews left to east from Egypt?
> > 
> No. As far as I know, it comes from the name of an old English goddess, Eostre 
> (Spelling?), whose festival was at roughly the same time as the 
> Christian Easter.

That's correct.

It's interesting that in English we have a pre-Christian/Germanic 
name for Easter and a Christian/imported name for Christmas, while the 
opposite is true of the Scandinavian languages.

Jim Egge
egge@midway.uchicago.edu
