Eastertide

[ ee-ster-tahyd ]

noun

1. Easter time.
2. the week following Easter.
3. the 50 days between Easter and Whitsuntide.

Eastertide

/ ˈiːstəˌtaɪd /

noun

1. the Easter season

Word History and Origins

Origin of Eastertide¹

1100–50; Middle English Estertyde, late Old English Eastren tyde. See Easter, tide ¹

Example Sentences

Hunter cites, among some of his references, Ben Franklin, the Constitution, Pete Seeger, the Bible, E. E. cummings, Bonnie Dobson, an Eastertide anthem called “Roll Away the Stone,” and the birth of his son.

From The New Yorker

"It is therefore my special prayer this Eastertide that they will be your guide and your inspiration."

From BBC

Handel’s “Messiah,” after all, which was also written for Eastertide, is performed far more often around Christmas.

From New York Times

This inconstancy of Eastertide has irritated money-grubbing merchants, who long have surreptitiously, indirectly exported the spirited, springtime surge of joy, light and purity felt by celebrants.

From Time

But it was past Eastertide, and before Lammas.

From Literature

More About Eastertide

What does Eastertide mean?

Eastertide is another word for Easter time, the period around Easter, the holiday on which Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.

Easter is also widely observed in secular (nonreligious) ways and is often associated with rebirth and the start of springtime, but Eastertide is typically used in religious contexts.

Easter always occurs on a Sunday, and the day is sometimes called Easter Sunday. In religious contexts, Easter can also refer to the Easter season or Eastertide. Sometimes, Eastertide is considered to consist of Easter Sunday and the week after. Some branches of Christianity consider Eastertide to last for 50 days, until the day known as Pentecost or Whitsunday.

Where does Eastertide come from?

The first records of the word Eastertide come from the 1100s. The word tide refers to a specific period or time or season. It is used in the same way in other words that refers to seasons, such as wintertide (a less common word for wintertime), or periods following holidays, as in Christmastide.

Did you know ... ?

What are some synonyms for Eastertide?

• Easter time
• Easter season
• Easter week

What are some words that share a root or word element with Eastertide? 

• Easter
• Whitsuntide
• Christmastide
• yuletide
• wintertide

What are some words that often get used in discussing Eastertide?

• week
• season
• Pentecost
• Sunday

How is Eastertide used in real life?

Eastertide is not all that commonly used, especially because many people celebrate Easter on a single day.

All during Eastertide we had “Easter feasts” which were potlucks at different people’s houses throughout the city about once a week for the 50 days. Usually about ten total. In five years I never missed a single one because I’m nothing if not absurdly committed.

— Monty (@Monty__Grace) March 16, 2021

Today is Monday of the Octave of Easter. Eight days of high celebration beginning on Easter Sunday. St. Francis of Assisi used to say that in the "feast of feasts" we should put aside fasting, because even "the walls should be rubbed with fat." Happy Eastertide to all! pic.twitter.com/tq5rTdOQog

— Geska Lima (@Geskalima) April 13, 2020

We are celebrating this year's Easter in a confluence of unusual circumstances engineered by the COVID-19 global pandemic. In line with Christ's teachings, let's mark this Eastertide by demonstrating sincere kindness to the underprivileged man/woman/child who lives next door.

— deMugoi (@dennis_officiel) April 12, 2020

 

Try using Eastertide!

True or False?

Eastertide always begins on the same date.