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Easter: Its Story and Meaning
Jacket illustrations is the Paschal Candle, lighted on Easter Eve & left burning for 40 days to represent the risen of Christ on earth. The three rings stand for God, the Holy Trinity. The flame stands for the Holy Spirit. The five nails in the candles are the five wounds of Christ. The water stands for the original substance out of which the world was made. The Candle in the water is salvation--Christ uniting the world with God.
"So far as I am aware, a book of this kind has never been attempted before, surprising as that may be in view of the important place which Easter holds in the Christian year. There is an abundance of works on the Resurrection of Christ, on the mythologies of the death & resurrection gods & on folkways where those peculiar to Easter are noted. But there is no general description of the history & celebration of Easter even in its Christian context alone, much less one which takes into account its pre-Christian types."--from the text
"So far as I am aware, a book of this kind has never been attempted before, surprising as that may be in view of the important place which Easter holds in the Christian year. There is an abundance of works on the Resurrection of Christ, on the mythologies of the death & resurrection gods & on folkways where those peculiar to Easter are noted. But there is no general description of the history & celebration of Easter even in its Christian context alone, much less one which takes into account its pre-Christian types."--from the text
- GenresReligion
128 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1950
About the author
Alan W. Watts
251 books8,130 followersAlan Wilson Watts was a British philosopher, writer and speaker, who held both a Master's in Theology and a Doctorate of Divinity. Famous for his research on comparative religion, he was best known as an interpreter and popularizer of Asian philosophies for a Western audience. He wrote over 25 books and numerous articles on subjects such as personal identity, the true nature of reality, higher consciousness, the meaning of life, concepts and images of God and the non-material pursuit of happiness. In his books he relates his experience to scientific knowledge and to the teachings of Eastern and Western religion and philosophy.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 16, 2009
This book is like the first part of the movie "Zeitgeist" where it ties all religions together by common themes. The main differences being that it is written with more of a positive air about it and that it uses the story of Easter to predominantly prove its point. A great read for fans of Alan Watts that like to put yourself in the time when it was written and see him blowing doors of new thought open in 1950.
August 14, 2024
THE FINAL PRODUCTION OF WATTS' "EPISCOPALIAN PRIEST" DAYS
Alan Wilson Watts (1915-1973) was a British-born philosopher, writer, and speaker, best known as a populariser of Eastern philosophy. He and his then-wife left England for America in 1938 on the eve of WWII, and he became an Episcopal priest---but he left the priesthood in 1950 and moved to California, where he became a cult figure in the Beat movement of the 1950s and later.
This book, however, was published in 1950, shortly before he left the priesthood. He is still professing (publicly, at least) Episcopalianism, as he says, "A very strong case can be made for the truth of the orthodox Christian belief, but the proper statement of the arguments in its favor would take up so large a part of the book as to carry it far beyond the purpose of the series of works to which it belongs. This purpose is to tell the stories of the great religious festivals, not to arrive at historical judgments about them." (Pg. 10) But he also suggests, "we have become stuffy and stodgy and given to religious observances which are both brief and dull..." (Pg. 56-57)
He admits, "Perhaps there is no HISTORICAL connection between the modern Easter egg and the World-egg of ancient mythology. Indeed, there are no records of the use of Easter eggs in Western Europe before the fifteenth century, although the custom of coloring eggs at Easter has been found in an African tribe once Christian but long since converted to [Islam]." (Pg. 29)
He observes, "we are told by an ancient English chronicler, the Venerable Bede, that the word 'Easter' was originally the name of an Anglo-Saxon goddess of the dawn, known as Eostre or Ostara, whose principal festival was kept at the vernal equinox. We have only Bede's word for it, for no record of such a goddess is to be found elsewhere, but it is unlikely that Bede, as a devout Christian, would have gone out of his way to invent a pagan origin for Easter. But whether or not there ever was such a goddess, it seems most likely that some historical connection must exist between the words 'Easter' and 'East,' where the sun rises." (Pg. 36)
He acknowledges, "It is probable, then, that the Christian Easter has absorbed many of the ancient rites and observances associated, not only with the sun, but also with the fertility of the soil." (Pg. 39) Later, he states, "when a religion such as Christianity comes to a people from outside, it adopts and 'baptizes' some of the folk customs which derive from older religions. It selects and weaves into the liturgy folk observances which seem to signify the same eternal principles taught by the Church." (Pg. 117)
He summarizes, "the story of Jesus lives on, not because he was an innocent man who died a cruel death with bravery... not because he was a great teacher of spiritual principles... not even because he returned from death, for that, too, has been recorded of others. The Christ story lives because it has fascinated man's mind with the thought of a God who has shared the life of his creatures, or a King who has become his own subject." (Pg. 84)
This book of Watts will probably bore those who prefer his earlier and later "Eastern" books; but it remains of interest to those interested in the Christian background of Easter.
Alan Wilson Watts (1915-1973) was a British-born philosopher, writer, and speaker, best known as a populariser of Eastern philosophy. He and his then-wife left England for America in 1938 on the eve of WWII, and he became an Episcopal priest---but he left the priesthood in 1950 and moved to California, where he became a cult figure in the Beat movement of the 1950s and later.
This book, however, was published in 1950, shortly before he left the priesthood. He is still professing (publicly, at least) Episcopalianism, as he says, "A very strong case can be made for the truth of the orthodox Christian belief, but the proper statement of the arguments in its favor would take up so large a part of the book as to carry it far beyond the purpose of the series of works to which it belongs. This purpose is to tell the stories of the great religious festivals, not to arrive at historical judgments about them." (Pg. 10) But he also suggests, "we have become stuffy and stodgy and given to religious observances which are both brief and dull..." (Pg. 56-57)
He admits, "Perhaps there is no HISTORICAL connection between the modern Easter egg and the World-egg of ancient mythology. Indeed, there are no records of the use of Easter eggs in Western Europe before the fifteenth century, although the custom of coloring eggs at Easter has been found in an African tribe once Christian but long since converted to [Islam]." (Pg. 29)
He observes, "we are told by an ancient English chronicler, the Venerable Bede, that the word 'Easter' was originally the name of an Anglo-Saxon goddess of the dawn, known as Eostre or Ostara, whose principal festival was kept at the vernal equinox. We have only Bede's word for it, for no record of such a goddess is to be found elsewhere, but it is unlikely that Bede, as a devout Christian, would have gone out of his way to invent a pagan origin for Easter. But whether or not there ever was such a goddess, it seems most likely that some historical connection must exist between the words 'Easter' and 'East,' where the sun rises." (Pg. 36)
He acknowledges, "It is probable, then, that the Christian Easter has absorbed many of the ancient rites and observances associated, not only with the sun, but also with the fertility of the soil." (Pg. 39) Later, he states, "when a religion such as Christianity comes to a people from outside, it adopts and 'baptizes' some of the folk customs which derive from older religions. It selects and weaves into the liturgy folk observances which seem to signify the same eternal principles taught by the Church." (Pg. 117)
He summarizes, "the story of Jesus lives on, not because he was an innocent man who died a cruel death with bravery... not because he was a great teacher of spiritual principles... not even because he returned from death, for that, too, has been recorded of others. The Christ story lives because it has fascinated man's mind with the thought of a God who has shared the life of his creatures, or a King who has become his own subject." (Pg. 84)
This book of Watts will probably bore those who prefer his earlier and later "Eastern" books; but it remains of interest to those interested in the Christian background of Easter.
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April 6, 2020Hi, I read at least part of this book some years ago and it was wonderful as I recall. The themes of life and death and resurrection as interrelated and part of each other were what I recall the most, as well as Alan's references to religious and source mythologies related to these themes. The man was a genius to say the least, in my opinion!
Peace and love,
Sam Spencer
Peace and love,
Sam Spencer
September 15, 2015
I have always been a fan of Alan Watts and his books, so I thought I'd try this book of his about the meaning of Easter. After all, among so many other things, he was an ordained Episcopal priest for a while. This book is short (123 pp.) and a rather easy read, which I mean partly as a compliment because Alan has a lovely style that has a way of making complex things simpler. As one might expect given his background, the book is particularly strong in discussing the Easter liturgy (ritual). He places Easter against the background of many myths, in particular the various ancient dying and rising god myths. In this respect the book is dated, as he wrote before criticism of the category of dying and rising gods emerged in full form, and further I found him to be inaccurate on some of the details of these myths. On the other hand, importantly he evaluated Easter together with these other myths against the background of Jungian psychology, a point which I would like to have seen developed further, but then he was not a psychologist. Although I enjoyed the book, I gave it a 3 because it was just too thin and somewhat superficial, did not refer to the sources of the material described, is a bit dated, and spent an undue amount of time simply regurgitating the Jesus story and Easter calendar, which any reader of the book would or should know.
April 3, 2026
This book is informational, but not as entertaining. There are interesting pictures with explanations that help tell the story of the Easter holiday. As someone who grew up celebrating Easter, I had an understanding of what the reasoning behind Easter is, but this book was able to tie the origins and traditions alongside other religious celebrations during the same part of the year. Not one of my favorite books by Watts, but an interesting read about an almost universally celebrated time of year.
November 17, 2014
This book represents perhaps the last expiring gasp of Watts' work as an Episcopal priest. Within a year of its publication he had divorced his wife, hooked up with another woman and moved to Millbrook, NY. Already here, however, we see his interest in religion as being much broader than any orthodox Christian tradition, this book contextualizing the Easter tradition with attention to its pre-Christian roots.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews