Happy Ostara!
March 20th is the Spring Equinox here in the Northern Hemisphere, and the feast of Ostara. Ostara is a putative West Germanic Goddess, who is unknown to historians except via the writings of St. Bede. A bit on this goddess:
The modern English term Easter developed from the Old English word Eastre, which itself developed prior to 899. The name refers to the goddess Eostre, who was celebrated at the Spring equinox, and has cognates in Old High German ōstarūn, plural, "Easter" (modern German language Ostern). The Old English term Eastre ultimately derives from ēast - meaning the direction of east. This suggests it originally referred to a goddess associated with dawn. Corresponding traditions occur with the Roman goddess Aurora and the Greek goddess Eos.
This is the festival in which the Mother Goddess is reunited with her son-lover-consort who had been reborn at Yule. Beltane, the next major holiday festival, is a fertility festival in which the God impregnates the Goddess. The actual dating of the Christian celebration of Easter only vaguely is linked to this, and to this day the computation of Easter differs between the Eastern and Western Churches, only because of the use of the Gregorian and Julian Calenders, respectively.
Anway, Happy Ostara and Happy Easter!
--V
The modern English term Easter developed from the Old English word Eastre, which itself developed prior to 899. The name refers to the goddess Eostre, who was celebrated at the Spring equinox, and has cognates in Old High German ōstarūn, plural, "Easter" (modern German language Ostern). The Old English term Eastre ultimately derives from ēast - meaning the direction of east. This suggests it originally referred to a goddess associated with dawn. Corresponding traditions occur with the Roman goddess Aurora and the Greek goddess Eos.
This is the festival in which the Mother Goddess is reunited with her son-lover-consort who had been reborn at Yule. Beltane, the next major holiday festival, is a fertility festival in which the God impregnates the Goddess. The actual dating of the Christian celebration of Easter only vaguely is linked to this, and to this day the computation of Easter differs between the Eastern and Western Churches, only because of the use of the Gregorian and Julian Calenders, respectively.
Anway, Happy Ostara and Happy Easter!
--V