马上又到复活节了。复活节是基督教的重要节日之一。复活节的英文是Easter。那复活节为什么叫Easter呢?复活节名字的来源是什么呢?

　　[推荐阅读：各国复活节都怎么放假（中英文）]

　　根据维基百科的介绍，the modern English term Easter, cognate with modern Dutch ooster and German Ostern, developed from an Old English word that usually appears in the form Ēastrun, -on, or -an; but also as Ēastru, -o; and Ēastre or Ēostre. The most widely accepted theory of the origin of the term is that it is derived from the name of an Old English goddess mentioned by the 7th to 8th-century English monk Bede, who wrote that Ēosturmōnaþ (Old English 'Month of Ēostre', translated in Bede's time as "Paschal month") was an English month, corresponding to April, which he says "was once called after a goddess of theirs named Ēostre, in whose honour feasts were celebrated in that month".

　　In Latin and Greek, the Christian celebration was, and still is, called Pascha (Greek: Πάσχα), a word derived from Aramaic פסחא (Paskha), cognate to Hebrew פֶּסַח (Pesach). The word originally denoted the Jewish festival known in English as Passover, commemorating the Jewish Exodus from slavery in Egypt. As early as the 50s of the 1st century, Paul, writing from Ephesus to the Christians in Corinth, applied the term to Christ, and it is unlikely that the Ephesian and Corinthian Christians were the first to hear Exodus 12 interpreted as speaking about the death of Jesus, not just about the Jewish Passover ritual. In most of the non-English speaking world, the feast is known by names derived from Greek and Latin Pascha. Pascha is also a name by which Jesus himself is remembered in the Orthodox Church, especially in connection with his resurrection and with the season of its celebration.

　　复活节名称乃自教会拉丁语的“Pascha”转换而来(由于pascua(nourriture，食物)一词的影响，从pascere(paître，喂食、放养)这个拉丁动词里来的)，原本是从希腊语里的πάσχα(páskha)借用而来，而这个希腊词本身则是从希伯来语פסח(Pessa'h，超越[par-dessus由…之上])里借用的，源自passage(过路/道)，即指犹太人的逾越节，这词同时含有纪念当年以色列人出埃及的意义。根据圣经福音记载，在这个犹太节期间，耶稣基督复活了;这是为什么这个名称被用在基督徒的节日上。

　　根据《牛津词典》和其他一些文章(比如Francis X. Weiser的“Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs”)，英文Easter这个字与犹太人的逾越节这个字有关，这不仅因为耶稣就是逾越节的羔羊，而且在时间上耶稣基督的复活和逾越节也吻合。在很多欧洲的语言里，不仅逾越节的筵席曾称为Easter，而且早期英文圣经译本中用Easter译逾越节。

　　现在公认的理论认为，Easter 一词与德语 Oster, 荷兰语 ooster 等词同源，来自于古英国女神 Ēostre。四月本是以该女神命名的月份，而在这个月份，人们举行相应的宴会与庆祝活动。后来欧洲基督教盛行之后，传统的节日就被冠以了与基督教相关的典故，这与圣诞节类似。

　　最新热文推荐：

　　2019，考试分手！——留学考试备考规划

　　2018-2019最新世界大学排名一览

　　去美国读研究生需要多久

　　一份超完整的英国留学签证申请材料大全

　　5名中国留学生因托福替考在美被捕

（责任编辑：Hui）