Written by Every spring, millions of people hide decorated eggs, give baskets of chocolate, watch children chase a mythical rabbit, and celebrate the resurrection of a god. Half of these people would describe themselves as Christian. Most of them have no idea that the symbols they are using are thousands of years older than Christianity.
This is not a conspiracy. It is how religious traditions have always worked. They absorb, adapt, and carry forward the seasonal wisdom of what came before. Understanding the pagan roots of Easter does not diminish the Christian meaning. It deepens the whole picture.
Ostara ~ The Spring Equinox
The festival that gave Easter most of its symbolic vocabulary is Ostara, the spring equinox celebration observed by Germanic and Norse peoples, falling on or around March 20–23 when day and night are briefly equal and light begins to win.