EASTER. 21 
The date may be as early as March 22, or as 
late as April 25. It is the first Sunday follow- 
ing the full moon, which appears on or after 
March 21. 
The word Easter. may have been derived 
from the same root as east, and applied to this 
season of the year which was proverbially angry 
and stormy.* Another probable source of the 
word is Ostara or Eoestre, the name of an 
Anglo-Saxon goddess —corresponding to the 
Latin Aurora — whose festival occurred at this 
season. 
The Saxons when converted to Christianity 
continued many of their customs at the spring 
festival — but instead of saying “ Eoestre hath 
awakened,” greeted each other with “The Lord 
hath risen.” 
Until within a comparatively short time 
special services and opservance of Easter were 
confined to the Catholic and Greek churches ; 
* Oster-monat, or month of the east wind, was the Saxon name for 
April. 
