In other ways, though, the springtime holiday is far from straightforward. How did rabbits get involved' Where did the name 'Easter' come from ' and why is the English word different from the way many other cultures refer to the holy day' Even theologically, exactly what the Resurrection means is not universally agreed upon. First things first: Easter is what's called a 'movable feast,' a holiday whose exact date changes year to year. In the Northern Hemisphere it falls soon after the spring equinox, as the world comes back into bloom ' a fitting time to celebrate rebirth. But Easter's dating 'goes back to the complicated origins of this holiday and how it has evolved over the centuries,' wrote Brent Landau, a religious studies scholar at the University of Texas at Austin. Similar to Christmas and Halloween celebrations today, Easter blends together elements from Christian and non-Christian traditions. The name 'Easter' itself seems linked to a pre-Christian goddess named Eostre in...
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