Origins of Easter

by Donna Hatch

Since I'm a total history nerd and I get all geeked out on questions like "how did X begin?" I decided to delve into the origins of Easter. As you may have already guessed, Easter, like most Christian holidays, has roots in Pagan celebrations and rituals.  Most of our modern-day customs and symbols in Easter are as ancient as the holiday itself.
The ancient Saxons celebrated spring's return with a wild festival commemorating their goddess of fertility and springtime, Eastre (or Eostre) during the spring equinox.  I'll leave the exact nature of their revelry honoring the goddess of fertility to your imagination :-)

The goddess Eastre’s earthly symbol was the rabbit, also viewed as a symbol of fertility, which is understandable considering rabbits are some of the most prolific breeders in the animal kingdom.  A reader suggested that the rabbit associated with Easter is an American custom because America has rabbits and other countries have hares.  In my research, I found no evidence of that and it's probably semantics--maybe it was a hare originally but was changed to rabbit in America.  *shrug*  I didn't stop to research in what countries hares are found as opposed to rabbits but I understand they are fairly different, just as there's a world of difference between a lop-eared bunny and a jack rabbit.
Anyway, the exchange of eggs in the springtime is a centuries-old custom. The egg is a symbol of birth in most cultures. Eggs were often wrapped in gold leaf or boiled with the leaves or petals of certain flowers to color them and given to friends.

Horrified by the sexual nature of the rituals of this holiday, Christian missionaries, in their attempt to teach Christianity to the pagans in the second century, morphed the pagan holiday into a Christian holiday, and subsequently toned down the customs into a more family-friendly festival. 

Coincidentally, the pagan festival Eastre occurred about at the same time of year that Christians observed of the Resurrection of Christ.  Therefore, evolving the festival to a celebration they approved o,f while slowly indoctrinating the Christian beliefs, was a relatively smooth transition. At least it didn't reportedly involve bloodshed.

Some people believe the church later changed the name  from Eastre, to today's spelling of Easter. However, the name given by the Frankish church to Jesus' resurrection festival included the Latin word "alba" which means "white" refering to the white robes that were worn during the festival. "Alba" also has a second meaning: "sunrise." When the name of the festival was translated into German, the "sunrise" meaning was selected in error. This became "ostern" in German.  So another theory is that Ostern is the origin of the word "Easter".  So, who knows? *shrug*


The Germans are credited for bringing the symbol of the Easter Rabbit to America, as well as introducing the custom of coloring eggs. Apparently non-German Christians mostly ignored Easter as a holiday until after the Civil War when it appears to have caught on widely in America.

Easter was originally celebrated on different days of the week, including Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. In  A.D. 325, Emperor Constantine called the Council of Nicaea. The council produced the Easter Rule which states that Easter shall be celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the vernal equinox. The "full moon" in the rule is the ecclesiastical full moon, which is defined as the fourteenth day of a tabular lunation, where day 1 corresponds to the ecclesiastical New Moon.  In other words, it does not always occur on the same date as the astronomical full moon.  I'm sure that means something to people smarter than I am :-)
The ecclesiastical "vernal equinox" is always on March 21. As a result, Easter is now celebrated on a Sunday between the dates of March 22 and April 25.  Personally, I wish they'd just pick the 2nd Sunday in April or something since our modern celebrations have little to do with fertility and the moon cycle, but that's just me.

The Sunday prior to Easter is called Palm Sunday. This commemorates the palm-strewn path Jesus took as he rode the colt or  young donkey in his Triumphant Entrance into Jerusalem prior to his last supper and later, his crucifixion and resurrection.

*Easter Symbols:

Easter Bells are rung in France and Italy throughout the year but they are not rung on the Thursday before good Friday. They are silent as way to remember the death of Jesus. They are then rung on Easter Sunday as way of telling people Jesus is alive again.
The Cross is the symbol for the Christian religion as Jesus was nailed to a cross but then came back to life.
The Easter Lily was a reminder to the Christians of how Jesus came back to life. The white Easter Lily is used in many Easter services. It is supposed to be a symbol of the purity of the Virgin Mary.
Easter Flowers such as daffodil, narcissus and the tulip are symbols spring and rebirth because they bloom in the spring.
Pussy Willows are picked at Easter in England and Russia. People tap each other on the shoulders with a branch of the pussy willow for good luck.
Lambs are a symbol because people thought of Jesus as the Good Shepherd who would watch over them as if they were His lambs. Lambs are born in spring. The Israelites also used lamb's blood to save their firstborn in ancient Egypt.  Perhaps more significantly is that Christ is also referred to as the "Lamb of God" because He was perfect and pure and sacrificed Himself for us.
Rabbits are reminder of spring and new life and. They were reportedly the favorite animal of the spring goddess Eastre because they represented fertility.
Eggs are a symbol of spring as well as Easter. They are a sign of new life.
Chicks are born from eggs and are a reminder of spring and Easter.
Candles give light in darkness. Jesus is seen as "the eternal light" showing Christians the way from death to eternal life.
Palm Branches are used as a symbol of peace.
Bread or hot cross buns, or even unleavened flat bread is eaten to remember Jesus's sacrifice.
Wine is drunk to remember Jesus shedding His blood for all of us.
Fireworks are believed to frighten away evil spirits. They also show that out of darkness comes light.

What is your favorite Easter tradition?



Notes:
*symbols were taken from here

Sources:
The Historical Royal Palace Blog
Lesley-Anne McLeod, Regency author blog, an article written by Regina Scott
Nancy Mayer, Regency Researcher
Gaelen Foley

Regency Coinage

In one of my books, Proper Conduct, the heroine spends a good deal of time worrying about money, particular after her father spends nearly 1,000 pounds on a horse. That was not an excessive sum to someone such as the Prince Regent, whose racing stud farm cost him 30,000 pounds a year. But in an era when we talk of millions, billions and trillions and when a new car can cost that 30,000 pounds, all these numbers seemed to need to be put into perspective.

 The value of a pound sterling (£) had changed considerably--the purchasing power of a pound was about 50 to 60 times more than in our current era. So you can basically multiply by 50 to get an idea of the value of having a single guinea in hand or twenty-one shillings.

During the Regency...

• Four farthing made a penny--otherwise known as a pence (or marked by d for denarius)
• Twelve pennies (or twelvepence) made a shilling
• Five shillings made a crown
• Twenty shillings made a pound
• Twenty-one shillings made a guinea

Copper farthings and haypence, silver pennies, shillings and crows, and the tiny gold guineas.

The term farthing comes from 'fourth' of a penny. Two-penny coins were called tuppence. The three penny coin was known as a thruppence, or thripp'nce, thrupp'nce, threpp'nce, thripp'ny bit depending on your accent and area. And there were all sorts of slang names for other coins including: a quid (pound), a bob (shilling), a goldfinch (guinea).

 Coinage in use in the Regency included:

• gold for one, two, five and half-guinea coins
• silver for one, two, three, four, six penny (or pence), shilling and crown coins
• copper for half-pence and farthing coins

Gold Guinea

Due to a shortage of copper and silver coins in the late 1700's, firms began to use tokens to pay wages. There was also a growth in payments by foreign coins.

The sovereign--a gold coin worth 20 shillings or 1 pound--and half sovereign coins came back into production in 1816/1817 (they had been around from the 1400 to 1600s).

The five guinea coin was at first valued as five pounds, but became five guineas in 1717 when the guinea's value was standardized at one pound and one shilling. 

Due to the silver shortage, in 1804 the Bank of England issued light-weight token silver coins for one shilling, three shilling and six pence coins. But special silver coins were also struck to celebrate Maundy, the celebration of the Last Supper when Christ gave the command or mandatum to love one another.

1800 Maundy Silver Penny

 The 1802 Royal Maundy notes recipients were given 4 pounds of beef and four threepenny loaves. Sets of 1d (one penny) to 4d silver coins were struck for Maundy gift from 1731 and on. To avoid statutory prohibitions on the striking of silver coin during the war (due to silver shortages), all Maundy coins from 1800 to 1815 bear the date 1800. Maundy coins and gifts were gradually phased out by King William and Queen Victoria. In 1820, 1,100 years after the first English silver pennies were minted, the last British silver pennies were minted.

It should be noted that the florin had been around in the 1300's, made of gold and worth 6 shillings, and was reissued in 1849 as a 2 shilling coin (or 'two bob bit'), but did not exist in the Regency.

You'll note that most of this discussion is about coins--paper money was rather uncommon and not trusted by many. A coin carried its value in the metal of the coin--if the worst happened, the coin could be melted and the value retains. This was not true with paper.

1821 banknote --partially printed and handwritten

Bank notes had been around for centuries, many of them private notes issued for gold deposits, and the Bank of England started to issue notes for such deposits in 1694. These were all hand written notes. By 1745 notes were being part printed in denominations ranging from £20 to £1,000. The £5 note came out in 1793, and the £1 and £2 notes in 1797. The first fully printed notes do not appeared until 1853--until then, cashiers had to fill in the name of the payee and sign each note. You can see why coins proved to be so much easier to use in transactions.

What this meant is that those with money did not carry money--coins are bulky and carrying a lot of them can also be heavy. Aristocrats would buy goods on credit and expect tradesmen to present bills. Someone who was traveling might have some coins with him--but a few coins went a very long way as well.

From 1811 to 1812, an estimated 250,000 people lived comfortably on more than seven hundred pounds a year each. A half million shopkeepers made a hundred and fifty pounds a year each, two million artisans lived on the edge of poverty at 55 pounds per annum, and one and one half million laborers earned only 30 pounds a year each.

With an income of four hundred pounds a year, one could employ two maids, one groom and keep one horse in London. 

On seven hundred a year, one could have one manservant, three maids and two horses.

For a thousand a year, one could have three female servants, a coachman, a footman, two carriages and a pair of horses in London.

And then the expenses went up--a great house could cost between 5,000 and 6,000 pounds a year in maintenance, including housekeeping, repairs, stables, parklands, gardens, home farm costs, servants, and taxes.   

Land still meant riches. There were three to four hundred families whose income was over 10,000 pounds a year, due to vast land holdings. The Earl of Egremont saw a rise in income due to land rentals that increased from 12,976 pounds in 1791 to 34,000 pounds in 1824. But it cost money to make money--the capital to secure an estate was approximately thirty times the desired income. In Somerset (where Proper Conduct is set) 30 acres for let went for 35 pounds per annum, with the tenant paying all taxes except land tax.

The down side in all of this is that anyone with a debt of twenty pounds or more could be sent to debtor's prison. Only a member of Parliament could not be imprisoned while Parliament was sitting. This was a threat to anyone facing debts--but that is another article.

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ABOUT SHANNON DONNELLY

Shannon Donnelly’s writing has won numerous awards, including a nomination for Romance Writer’s of America’s RITA award, the Grand Prize in the "Minute Maid Sensational Romance Writer" contest, judged by Nora Roberts, and others. Her writing has repeatedly earned 4½ Star Top Pick reviews from Romantic Times magazine, as well as praise from Booklist and other reviewers, who note: "simply superb"..."wonderfully uplifting"....and "beautifully written."

Her latest Regency romance, Lady Chance, the follow up to Lady Scandal, is out on Amazon.com. In addition to her Regency romances, she is the author of the Mackenzie Solomon, Demon/Warders Urban Fantasy series, Burn Baby Burn and Riding in on a Burning Tire, and the SF/Paranormal, Edge Walkers. Her work has been on the top seller list of Amazon.com and includes the Historical romances, The Cardros Ruby and Paths of Desire. 

She is the author of several young adult horror stories, and has also written computer games and offers editing and writing workshops. She lives in New Mexico with two horses, two donkeys, two dogs, and the one love of her life. Shannon can be found online at shannondonnelly.com, facebook.com/sdwriter, and twitter/sdwriter.

   

Mistress Mine

My newest book, Only A Mistress Will Do, released yesterday! So today I thought I’d give you a little information about what a mistress was in the

18th century, when my novel is set. For the moment, we will assume the word “mistress” means a woman who takes money in exchange for favors, sexual or otherwise. And there was actually a lot of “otherwise” into the bargain. Becoming a man’s mistress could be a lucrative profession for a woman. The aim of the mistress was to gain the favor of a gentleman of means, become indispensable to him, and become all but a wife in name. This happened frequently in Georgian England, where men and women married for wealth, power, or social connections rather than for love. Love, for men and women, was expected to come from outside the home. Once a woman bore her husband an heir and a “spare” she could dally with men of her choice as long as they were discrete. Men, as long as they got legitimate heirs on their wives, would keep a series, or perhaps one, mistress for that emotional connection that could not usually be found in his home.

Mistresses, therefore, were an emotional support for the nobility. They could come from different walks of life, but the thing that distinguishes them from mere prostitutes or courtesans, is the emotional attachment they had for their “protector” and he for her. Mistresses were usually considered “kept” women, who have some or all of their personal expenses paid for by the gentleman in order for her to be at his disposal for sex, for companionship, even for outings in society sometimes. In Only A Mistress Will Do, Violet is offered the position of mistress to Lord Trevor, ostensibly to replace the mistress who had left him to return to her home. Lord Trevor is about to embark on an arranged marriage and is struggling with the question of whether he should continue to keep a mistress or be faithful to his wife. Complications arise when his emotional attachment to both women grows. As a rule, mistresses were young, attractive women with wit and charm. If possible these women married their protectors or other men of good family before they reached an age at which they were no longer attractive enough to entice rich patrons. Some, if circumstances did not go in their favor, resorted to becoming common prostitutes and many died alone and penniless. But there were also those rare mistresses who managed a Cinderella story, married their prince charming, and did live a satisfying life happily ever after.

The Children of George III

© Cheryl Bolen

Unlike his hedonistic eldest son, England's King George III (1738-1820) did not philander. He settled down with his German-born wife, Charlotte (1744-1818), at age 23, and she proceeded to bear him 15 children over the next 20 years. He did not take mistresses. He lived frugally. And he derived great pleasure from his large brood--until the boys became men, that is.

Eleven of the children would reach old age. Two boys would die before the age of 5, and his youngest daughter died while in her twenties. Of the 15, eight were boys and seven were girls. Two of the sons would rule England and another who would rule Hanover.

The younger brothers are less famous and tend to blur, even though they each led distinctly different lives. The girls, too, all seem to run together. Perhaps that is because their lives were all rather the same--as bland as their parents.

The living conditions of King George's daughters came to be known as The Nunnery. That is because none of them was allowed to marry at the age when most young ladies take husbands. Three of the daughters would eventually marry--but not until they were past the age of child bearing.

Princess Sophia

Starved for the male companionship that was so lacking in their lives, one of the sisters, Sophia (1777-1848), got pregnant by her father's 56-year-old equerry and secretly gave birth without any member of her household being any the wiser. (The little boy was placed in a foster home.)

Augusta (1768-1840) married the Duke of Saxe-Coburg, and Elizabeth married the Prince of Hesse-Homburg when she was 48 years of age. The only other sister to marry was Mary, who married the Duke of Gloucester, whose husband's father was her father's brother. 

Frederick, Duke of York

The boys were raised in pairs, sharing domiciles and tutors. For example, the Prince of Wales and his brother Freddie (later Duke of York) were exactly a year apart, and they were never separated from one another. Freddie was the king's favorite son, and when it became clear his elder brother was a bad influence on him, the king sent Freddie to Germany.

The third son, William, later the Duke of Clarence and later still, King William IV, was sent to sea at an early age and, unlike his regent brother, was somewhat coarse. He lived as man and wife for more than 20 years with the actress Mrs. Jordan, who bore him 10 children. Their children took the FitzClarence surname.

The next son, Edward (1767-1820), later known as the Duke of Kent, lived for many years with a French widow. He was a stern military man. After the regent's daughter, Princess Charlotte, died in childbirth in 1817, he would be one of the brothers scurrying to take a legitimate wife in order to father a child who would inherit the English throne. He married a young Saxe-Coburg widow who had already borne two children. She bore a daughter, Victoria, who would succeed her Uncle William as ruler of England in 1837.

Duke of Kent (Victoria's father)

Ernest (1771-1851), the fifth son, became King of Hanover. He was the only brother to never have a weight problem.

Another of the brothers to undergo an illegal marriage (as the Prince of Wales had done with Mrs. Fitzherbert in 1785) was Augustus (1773-1843). When he was 20 he secretly married Lady Augusta, who bore him two children, but the marriage was invalidated in 1801 because it violated the Royal Marriage Act.

The last brother to live past childhood, Adolphus (1774-1850) was known as the Duke of Cambridge.

Son Alfred, who was born in 1780, died at age 2. At his death, the king said, "I am very sorry for Alfred, but if it had been Octavius, I should have died too." Months later, Octavius, who was born in 1779, became ill after being vaccinated for smallpox, and he never recovered. His father was almost inconsolable over the loss of his next-to-youngest son.

How curious that a monarch who fathered eight legitimate sons had not a single grandson to serve as king. More odd still was that when George III’s only legitimate grandchild, Princess Charlotte, died when he was 78, there was not a single legitimate grandchild of George III.— Cheryl Bolen’s 37^th book, Ex-Spinster by Christmas, is her latest release. Watch for Miss Hasting’s Excellent London Adventure in May. 

Happy Spring, Time of Rebirth and Renewal

by Barbara Bettis

It’s Spring!

The Vernal (March) Equinox has come (Monday, March 20, this year).

Most of us usually want to dance and celebrate the end of winter and the promise of sun, warmth, birth and renewal. It feels like a new year. In fact, March 25 was once considered the beginning of the year. But it wasn’t just the earth’s renewal.

In Christian tradition March 25 is Annunciation Day, when the angel Gabriel told the Virgin Mary that she was to bear a son,(to which she gave birth nine months later, to the day.) March 25 came to be known as Lady Day.

Christians were not the first to observe this beginning of new life. The celebration stretches back so far, it’s mythical. Before Christ’s birth, the renewal of the earth after a long, hard winter was a joyous time. Plants now would grow, animals give birth, and the period of hunger and discomfort would come to an end for another seven or eight months.

The coming of spring, then, was vigorously celebrated. People rejoiced, worshipping the gods and/or goddesses associated with fertility and life. One such was Eostre (Ostara). Eostre was a Saxon/Germanic goddess of fertility. Her symbols were said to have been the egg and the rabbit.

If that goddess sounds vaguely familiar, she should. Easter comes from her name (or as one source says, the Old Norse word “Eostur, meaning the time when the sun began to grow warmer”). (http://rosaliegibert.com/holidays.html) 

Now about that date, March 25. Under the old Julian calendar, the beginning of spring, AKA the Vernal Equinox, fell on March 25. In medieval Britain, that day also marked the beginning of the calendar year (although sources say the Romans brought with them their tradition of celebrating the new year in January that continued in the Middle Ages.) Not only did the calendar year start on March 25, Lady Day is one of the four quarter days of the medieval year when taxes were collected. (Yep, the medieval April 15 J )

But Pope Gregory XIII, in 1582, revised the calendar, dropping ten days. The Gregorian Calendar became common in most European Catholic countries, but Protestant England didn’t adopt it until 1752. Oh, and that English Calendar Act in 1752 also moved the beginning of the year from March 25 to Jan. 1. That’s why some dates seem ‘flexible’ when reported in historical documents. 

The Gregorian calendar was an attempt to make sure church holiday fell at the right times of the year. The determination of Easter continued to fluctuate, however,  because “Easter falls on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox. If the first full moon occurs on the equinox, Easter is the following Sunday.”  That was established in 325 by the Council of Nicaea. (https://www.catholic.com/index.php/qa/how-is-the-date-for-easter-determined)

The exact date of the equinox can be a bit nebulous. In fact, it can occur March 19, 20, or 21.

What are equinoxes? They occur twice a year (spring and autumn) when days and nights are exactly the same number of hours all over the world. “[A]t the precise moment…(that it occurs) exactly one-half of the earth is illuminated by the sun’s rays while the other half is in darkness, producing a day and night that are both twelve hours long.” (www.encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com)

In the old belief, according to www.heartoscotland.com, they “were considered a time of balance, not only between dark and light, but between worlds as well and, therefore, a time of high magical potential. More mundanely, the festival signified the time for spring planting and fertility rituals.” 

Balance, yes. But magic? Contradictory? Not for Spring, with its rebirth and regeneration and its promise for a new, bright season. I don’t know about you, but when I see trees budding and daffodils and tulips winking brightly around the lawn, I feel a bit of magic in the air.

Happy Vernal Equinox. Happy Lady Day. Happy Spring.

Sources:

https://www.britannica.com/topic/church-year/History-of-the-church-year

http://classroom.synonym.com/early-middle-ages-germanic-pagan-customs-18532.html
http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/vernal+equinox  

http://www.guy-sports.com/humor/saints/lady_day.htm

http://www.heartoscotland.com/Categories/CelticMythology.htm

http://blog.metmuseum.org/cloistersgardens/2010/01/15/the-january-feast/

http://blog.metmuseum.org/cloistersgardens/2011/03/25/lady-day/

http://rosaliegilbert.com/holidays.html

https://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/25-march-lady-day-2/

https://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/ten-things-march-equinox.html

Barbara Bettis is the author of medieval romance and Heroes to Live For. Her latest, The Lady of the Forest, is currently on sale for 99 cents.

Here: AMAZON;   TWRP;  B&N

Here’s a peek at the blurb:

He must pursue his enemy; she must protect her people. Can their love survive the duties that drive them apart?

When her elderly husband dies, Lady Katherine fakes her own death and disappears into the forest with others escaping the brutish new lord. Determined to protect her people, she knocks the wrong man senseless. But Lord Henry isn’t an enemy, he’s the brother of her childhood friend. Although his tender confidence tempts her, she’s bound by duty.

Henry of Chauvere has found the one lady he wants for his own, never mind she’s tied him hand and foot. When he learns the king has ordered her to wed Stonehill’s ruthless new master, he insists Kate seek haven with his sister. But she won’t desert her friends. Henry vows to solve her problem, provided he catches a traitor before the threat from Kate's past catches her.

When a daring rescue compels Henry and Kate to join forces, their attraction grows into love. If only duty didn’t drive them apart.