Today everyone knows Easter as a Christian holiday. But where did the traditions come from? Why do we color eggs every year, where did that silly rabbit come from? In fact, why do we call it Easter? Did the name just come down as divine inspiration? I don’t think so.
Once upon a time, before the Church stole the old ways and corrupted them to convert the populace, people celebrated the spring solstice, the day when light and dark were in balance. Spring was a time of birth, as Nature and Her creatures began to emerge from their winter sleep and reproduce, glad for the returning warmth. The ceremony was often known as Ostara, and worshipped the fertility goddess Eostre. In some areas the ceremony bore the same name as the goddess. When the Church began its crusade to convert the ‘heathens,’ it realized that a combination of the old ways and the new would work best. Hence Eostre became Easter, and was placed on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the equinox.
Eostre has a part in another Easter tradition- the Easter bunny. Every deity throughout history has been associated with physical totems, often animal, and Eostre had several. The primary symbol, the hare, is a sensible icon for a fertility goddess. Rabbits mate prolifically and often, and indeed are stereotyped as creatures that multiply. The Easter rabbit is given the task of delivering one of the best known, and best loved, traditions: the Easter eggs.
The spring rites were intended to ensure fertility in the growing season, and eggs are obvious symbols of fertility. Nearly every creature on earth comes from an egg in some form. During the old rites, eggs were colored scarlet for fertility and gold as offerings to the Sun God. Now eggs are usually colored simply for fun and decoration, though in the Ukrainian style the decorations still tell stories and deliver prayers.
We at the Beacon do not approve of plagiarism, of course. If you want to borrow ideas, fine. They are fun, of course. But please, give credit where credit is due. Especially on such a large scale.