Easter in Arabia

40 years ago there were no cars, highways or malls and only 3 schools in Oman. The Sultan has achieved a great deal in his 40 year reign in developing Oman into a modern nation. Now there are supermarket chains. Even 5 years ago it was still difficult to buy treats from home. Oman is changing rapidly and today, in this Muslim nation we were able to buy Easter Eggs for the Kiddos! And there was plenty of choice..

Traditions become more important somehow when far from home. In our cross-cultural family we blend two cultures while adding the third one that we live in. As we celebrate we will enjoy some treats from our home cultures-nothing to do with the true meaning of Easter but something the Kiddos will appreciate. 

On Friday (the Holy Day here, like Sunday in most other countries) we will remember the significance of the Easter Holy Day because Sunday is a school/work day. We will gather with friends who are also far from home. What a joy to celebrate what we call Resurrection Day with Indians, Pakistanis, South Africans, Sri Lankans, Filipinos, Koreans, British, Brazilians, Goans and Americans. Love Oman.

Where does the name 'Easter' come from?

Pagan traditions give us the English word "Easter" which comes from the word "Eostre". The Anglo-Saxon word for April was "Eostre-monath" (the month of openings). However, it should be remembered that Christians celebrated the resurrection of Christ long before the word "Easter" was used, and the word they used for the celebration was "Pascha", which is derived from and linked to the Jewish festival of Passover.

According to Bede, the English monastic historian, the English word Easter comes from the Anglo-Saxon name for the month of April, which was known as "Eostremonath" in the AngloSaxon tongue and since Pascha was most often celebrated in Eostremonath, the English Christians began calling it "Easter". Bede also notes that the month was named after the Anglo-Saxon goddess Esostre.

Rituals related to the goddess Eostre focus on new beginnings, symbolized by the Easter egg, and fertility, which is symbolized by the hare (or Easter bunny).