Easter Customs….
n"In time an
elaborate system of beliefs in such natural forces was developed into mythology. Each civilization and culture had its own mythological structure, but the structures were often quite similar. The names of the gods may have been different, but their functions and actions were often the same. The most prominent myth to cross cultural lines was that of the fertility cycle.
Many pagan cultures
believed that the god of fertility died each year during the winter but was reborn each year in the spring. The details differed among cultures, but the
main idea was the same"
- Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary,
1995, "Gods, Pagan,"
p. 508