Happy Easter 2006
What do eggs have in common with rabbits? Any good guess….yes, both are symbols of Easter. But how come these two different symbols with apparently nothing in commom have anything to do with one of Cristianity’s most important celebrations? Who and when started this?The answer might not be very clear, and is surrounded by myths and centuries of activities, symbols and folklore that may be considered pagan.
Mythology from Saxony, a current part of Germany, places the ancient goddess, Eostre -who symbolized the passage of time as well as new life and fertility- as a key symbol for the celebration of the arrival of spring.
Such a celebration was called Ostara, and was used by the Saxon people to mark the time when they started to grow their crops.
Well, legend has it that Eostre was saved by a bird whose wings had frozen by the cold winter. This process transformed this bird into a hare, but this was not an ordinary hare; this long-eared rabbit could also lay eggs.
Notice the similarities in the names of Eostre, Ostara, and Easter! Thus, the main symbols of Easter are the egg, symbolizing life and beginnings, and the rabbit/hare, symbolizing fertility.
Now, why does Easter fall on a different date every year? It is a celebration “de rigueur” shouldn’t there be a fixed date for it?
Well, the Council of Nice decreed in 325 A.D. that “Easter was to fall upon the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the Vernal Equinox.” That’s why it is not a fixed date.
Anyway, whatever your beliefs are, Easter is a time of renewal of the spirit, a time to try new things, and a time to develop a new attitude towards life.
Easter 2006 April 16th.
