14 Easter Traditions That Are More Pagan than Christian

Easter is arguably the most important Christian holiday of the year. But some of the traditions are rooted in paganism and other ancient traditions.

By Jennifer Billock
Updated: April 8, 2020
Easter
Easter is a time of joy for many people. Children go on egg hunts, colorful baskets overflow with candy, hard-boiled eggs and other treats, and some families make a big dinner feast with ham or lamb. It’s also a time for deep religious introspection for many Christians, marking the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the end of a 40-day Lenten period. But what you may not know is that Easter has deep roots in other ancient religions, and many of the traditions derive directly from pagan spring celebrations.Getty ImagesIn the celebration of Eostre, Pagans were said to eat eggs as well as bury them in the ground to encourage fertility, Carole Levin, director of the Medieval and Renaissance Studies Program at the University of Nebraska, told TIME. Because eggs were such a big deal in celebrations of the spring and to honor Eostre, pagans often went hunting for them in the surrounding landscape to bring back home. (Although German folklore says that the custom of hunting for Easter eggs arose from a poor German woman who hid eggs in her garden for kids to find.)

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