A magical thing occurs on the date of the Spring Equinox, not only does it mark the equilibrium between the length of the day and the length of the night, but it is also a symbol of hope & new beginnings, as it means spring is finally here, the natural world is coming alive, the Sun is gaining strength and the days are becoming longer and warmer. Of course this calls for celebration to welcome the brighter days ahead. a celebration to invite and welcome brighter days ahead.
Ever since ancient times, this wondrous celebration is called by pagans Ostara.
History & Origins
Ostara is a Germanic Pagan festival that celebrates the spring equinox as a time of fertility and new growth. Similar to Easter, as it is the foundation of it, the celebrations of Ostara include eggs, rabbits, flowers, and seeds. This spring holiday is believed to be in reverence to Eostra, the Germanic goddess of dawn, spring and fertility. Eostra is also mentioned in a number of inscriptions in Germany, and the modern holiday of Easter - originally the name for the spring Equinox, but later the Paschal calendar for the Christian resurrection holiday is named after her. The name "Eostre", is related to that of Eos, the Greek goddess of dawn, as Eos in the Germanic language means East - where the sun rises from.
Even though it was first celebrated by the Germanic pagans, today, pagans from all over the world celebrate it. For Wiccans and other Pagans, Ostara is the day when the goddess - Mother Earth, and the Sun God join in marriage. Furthermore, it is the time when the Goddess is in her maiden stage - full potential of fertility.
Customs & Traditions
One of the earliest records of Ostara date back to the Persian kings, known as Achaemenians, who celebrated the spring equinox with a festival called No Ruz, meaning new day. The festival was held as a celebration of hope and renewal. Similarly to the resurrection of Jesus in Christianity, the more ancient version of this myth is the resurrection of the Roman god Mithras. Much like Jesus, Mithras is born on the winter solstice, dies, and is resurrected on the spring equinox.
Ancient Mayans celebrated the equinox with a great ceremony called "The Return of the Sun Serpent" it was held at a pyramid in El Casta, Mexico. When the sun would set on the top of the pyramid the light would create an illusion of a giant serpent descending.
Like all other pagan holidays celebrating Ostara included setting up altars with corresponding colors, such as: yellow, purple, and green. In addition people would put statues of gods and goddesses, the sun and the moon, figurines of cattle, lambs, and rabbits, along with basket of eggs, representing birth and abundance of spring, and of course seasonal flowers. Furthermore, there were celebration foods such as, cross buns representing either the elements of earth, air, fire, and water, the four directions: east, west, north, and south, others viewed it as the four phases of the moon: dark, waxing, full, and waning moon or even the seasons: winter, spring, summer, and autumn. Other Ostara traditional meals included mint chutney, roasted lamb, deviled eggs, peep ambrosia, spring sprout salad, and surprise lemon bread. Many pagans would also celebrate Ostara by sowing seeds and\or tilling gardens.
The Ostara Hare and eggs tradition
The rabbit is also tightly associated with Ostara and Eostre (Goddess of fertility), as her symbols are rabbits, eggs and various spring flowers. Additionally, in Anglo–Saxon myth, spring was often depicted with a rabbit's head or ears, and with a white rabbit standing in attendance, who was believed to lay brightly colored eggs, which were given to children during spring festivals - a tradition that is now linked with the Easter Bunny.
This link to rabbits is also because of their spring behavior. Usually the hare is a nocturnal animal, but during March its mating season begins, and hares can be seen all day long. As for the Easter bunny, the character first appeared in German writings dating from 16th-century where it is stated that children who were well-behaved are visited by a rabbit, who will give them colored eggs. The connection between rabbits and eggs is based on the fact that rabbits create a nest on the ground and when the babies grow - the nest is abandoned. However after that plover birds came in and used the nest as their own. Therefore, locals believed the rabbits laid eggs. Thus the Easter bunny myth was created.
One myth tells of another connection between the Hare and the egg. The story tells of the Goddess of all creation visiting the Animal kingdom. Of course this meant that every animal would prepare a special gift for her. Some of the animals were very rich and some very poor, but they all wanted to offer her the greatest gift. The Hare was incredibly poor, but had a generous heart and also wanted to give her the best, but sadly he had nothing but an egg. Even so, the Hare took the egg and decorated it with all the love and devotion he had. He felt very self-conscious of the small gift he had compared to the gold and silver the other animals could give. However when the time came and the Goddess received his gift she proclaimed the Hare as a special Animal to her, as he was the only one to give her everything he had.
In addition to that the Bunny we have the "Easter" Eggs tradition, which is believed to have began in Persia's No Ruz festival. In that festival eggs were painted as the part of the celebration and the mother of the family would eat an egg for each child she has. This resulting in the egg becoming a symbol of fertility.
Furthermore The egg (and all seeds) in many cultures are believed contain all potential and new life. For many It symbolizes rebirth of nature, fertility of the Earth and all creation. For some cultures the egg is a symbol of the whole Universe - the so-called "cosmic egg", believed to be the balance of male and female, light and dark, as the egg contains the yolk (the Sun God) and the egg white (Mother Earth). Thus, it is believed to be appropriate to Ostara and the Spring Equinox when all is in balance.
Today, neopagans still celebrate Ostara in some parts of the world, some following the traditions and others implement some contemporary elements in the celebrations.
Stay tuned for the next part, focusing mainly on the celebration of Ostara.
Blessed Ostara~
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