EASTER (KJV rendering of τὸ̀ πάσχα, in Acts 12:4; correctly tr. the Passover in the other Eng. VSS. KJV trs. all the other twenty-eight instances of tò páscha as the Passover). See Passover.

The derivation of the name “Easter” is uncertain, but according to Bede (De Ratione Temporum, XV) it is derived from Eastre, a Teutonic spring goddess, to whom sacrifices were offered in April. The pagan festival prob. gave way to the Christian celebration of Christ’s resurrection.

It is held by some that the annual celebration of the Lord’s resurrection was observed in apostolic times. They see an intimation of Easter in 1 Corinthians 5:7, 8, which is very doubtful, however. The earliest written evidence for an Easter festival appears in the “paschal controversy” over the correct date for Easter, which began with the correspondence in a.d. 154 between Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, and Anticetus, bishop of Rome (Euseb. Hist. V. 23-25). By this date, therefore, this festival must have been generally observed throughout the Christian Church.