Easter & Passover - Different Holidays, Common Roots
This weekend, Jews are celebrating Passover and Christians are celebrating Easter. For Jews, Passover celebrates their ancestors' liberation from slavery in Egypt approximately 3,500 years ago. For Christians, Easter celebrates Jesus' resurrection after his crucifixion by the Romans, approximately 2,000 years ago.according to historians, both holidays grew out of ancient festivals that celebrated the start of spring - festivals that date back before both Judaism and Christianity. In fact, one of the Hebrew names for Passover is "Hahg ha Ahveev," which translates as "Holiday of Spring." And according to historians, the name "Easter" probably comes from the name of the Scandinavian and Teutonic (Germanic) fertility goddesses ("Ostra" or "Eastre") that were worshipped in Europe before Christianity - goddesses associated with the start of spring. In English, the words "Passover" and "Easter" obviously don't sound anything alike. But in some languages, the words for the holidays are very similar. The Hebrew word for Passover is "Pesach." In Spanish, the word for Easter is "Pascua." In Italian, it's "Pasqua." in French, it's "Paques." and in Dutch its "Pasen".
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