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Easter

What is Easter? And how do they figure it out each year?

Easter is a Christian holiday that celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Easter takes place three days after Jesus’s death on Good Friday. This holiday concludes the “ion of Christ” series of holidays that began with Ash Wednesday. The last week of this series is called Holy Week, and it includes Holy Thursday (celebration of the Last Supper), Good Friday, and Easter Sunday.

For Catholics, this day is a Holy Day of Obligation, meaning that Catholics must attend Mass at church. Easter is one of the two Christian holidays that most Christians attend at church. There are many Christian families who do not attend church regularly, but do attend “for Christmas and Easter.” Those two holidays are considered to be the two most important Christian holidays.

Some common traditions for families celebrating Easter are: decorating Easter eggs with paint or dye, hunting for Easter eggs, eating chocolate eggs & bunnies, and eating a traditional Easter meal. This meal often includes deviled eggs, ham or lamb, and carrots.

Some Easter traditions are not closely associated with the religious aspects of the holiday, but are common symbols of spring. One example is the Easter bunny. The origins of the Easter Bunny as a figure that delivers candy and chocolate eggs to children for Easter are unknown. However, rabbits are often associated with this time of year as many rabbits pop up during spring. In addition, many baby bunnies are born in spring. Some Protestant Christian denominations, including Lutheran's and Quakers, do not observe many Easter traditions, since they have less to do with the religious aspects of the holiday.

According to legend, after Jesus was resurrected, Mary Magdalene, a devout follower, went to visit the Roman Emperor Tiberius Caesar in Rome. She brought with her, an egg, to illustrate that Jesus had been resurrected (like an egg hatching). She held out the egg in her hand and said, “Christ is risen!” The Emperor replied that Christ has no more risen than the egg in her hand was red. Upon saying those words, the egg in Mary’s hand turned red as a sign from God that her message was true. This may be how the tradition of decorating eggs started.

In Western churches, Easter always falls on a Sunday between March 22 and April 25. Eastern Orthodox churches follow a different calendar, and for them, Easter falls on a Sunday between April 4 and May 8 each year. This year, Orthodox Easter falls on April 28.

Can a pagan celebrate Easter?

Simple answer yes. You can CELEBRATE any holiday. But with Easter being part of the christian religion there are many who say you can't or they are ostracized.

Is ostara the same as Easter?

No. Every once in awhile Easter will fall very close to the equinox (ostara) they do share similar themes however.

What's the difference between ostara and Easter?

Ostara is a neopagan festival that commemorates the spring equinox. It’s very likely that the various pre Christian tribes in western Europe had spring celebrations that honored fertility at around this time, but the date wasn’t necessarily fixed. May Eve, or Beltane, is a similar festival, and between the various tribes the dates get a bit blurred.

Agriculture and pastoral changes as the seasons flowed were much more important than celestial (solstice and equinox) events. Spring Equinox, or Ostara, is a wonderful but fairly modern sabbat that’s observed by modern pagans, and it’s part of the Wiccan Wheel of the Year. It was likely included by the founder of Wicca to increase the number of religious observances. Wicca IS a religion of mirth and merriment entwined with the sacred.

Ostara is named after a goddess who was mentioned once in ing by the medieval monk historian, the Venerable Bede. There are no corroborating sources.

Easter is more closely related to the Abrahamic over. The themes of new life and resurrection run through both Easter and Ostara (and spring festivals in general) but the similarity ends there. The customs around Easter such as bunnies and Easter eggs are obviously vestiges of pagan fertility symbols, and they are encouraged by commercial businesses. But the theology behind Easter is decidedly Christian and it centers around their Christ.

How to celebrate Easter as a pagan in the broom closet.

If you decorate eggs each year already with your family, recommend trying natural dyes! Harvest or collect random veggies scraps and experiment with the colors.

Color magick is highly encouraged! Between coloring your eggs and during the egg dying process set your intentions. But clothing and makeup can be blessed, or used in your magical workings and no one would know!

If you attend the church services listen to the messages about rebirth! Focus on new beginnings and make the connections!

Use this time to enjoy and be present with your community!

Many times after church services they have a feast! Feast with them! Bless some food and bring it like a pot luck. Or just feast at home!

When they are praying you can pray to your deity's/Creator in your head

If you're not in the broom closet you can do much more!

Combine your decorations! If you have an altar update it with Easter decorations of eggs and rabbits but you can use crosses and stuff like that too!

Make some prayers up to honor the resurrection and rebirth story!

In conclusion

While yes they share similarities and have roots in each other they are different! Be mindful of that but enjoy the time with friends and family as that's what holidays are for! Carving time out to think about all that's come, what is to come and embrace the love of our community! That's what these holidays are about!

Many blessings friends! Feel free to have a discussion down below or we can discuss it over DMs! Maybe share some of your Easter traditions 🫶🏻

**Links to some sources, all images belong to their rightful owners**

Easter v. Ostara link

Origins and practices of easter