Hello and Happy Easter to you. Hope you are enjoying some choccy goodness.
Easter as a festival shows a great intertwining of Christian and Pagan beliefs and traditions. For Christians, Easter is a celebration of the rebirth of Jesus, and the egg for Christians symbolises the potential of life coming into the world. Easter is celebrated at the time of the Spring Equinox where Pagans celebrate the coming of Spring, the quickening of life, and the new buds and seeds.
The name Easter springs from (see what I did there;)) the Goddess Ostara, also known as Eostre, who is a Saxon and also Northumbrian Goddess of the Spring. The 8th Century scribe Bede, wrote of the feasts held in April by Anglo Saxon Pagans in honour of the Goddess Eostre/Ostara. As signs of fertility, Spring and new life, eggs, Hares and Rabbits were sacred to Ostara. She was/is also a Goddess of the Moon, and Hares are also linked with this side of her nature. eggs were decorated, carved and given as gifts to honour Ostara and her festivities.
Anyway! I must go to work now! have a lovely day, and enjoy the rich interweaving of faiths, traditions and beliefs.
Blessings xx
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