By Jamie Noel Koslarevic
With Valentine’s Day over, we are nearing the next holiday, Easter. Commonly known as ‘A bunny brings eggs and chocolates day’.
Eggs and chocolates are great but why is that a holiday? For once it is my brother’s birthday -he was literally born on Easter two years ago-, but that’s not it. Some people -okay a lot of them – celebrate the resurrection of the son of god – well one of the gods. But did you know that the origins of Easter are a lot older than that? And that many people still celebrate the original reason?
No? Well, good that I’m here, because I’ll tell you! If you already do, you are welcome to stay too!
In our regions the most well known reason to celebrate is that a long time ago a guy called Jesus was crucified one day and then rose from the dead three days later. Despite magic, that is not a regular occurance so that was special and he got a holiday for it. That whole thing is said to have happened at a time when some other people celebrated something else.
The Spring Equinox.
You know that Christmas is around the Winter Equinox (Yule), the shortest day of the year, which means that from this moment on, days will become longer again. Not the literal day they are always 24 hours, it’s about the amount of darkness and daylight. The Spring equinox is the day when daylight and darkness are exactly the same, the return of spring. So basically the resurrection of spring and life and such. Pagans of old called this Ostara, or rather the term for it in their language.
And because in the old days some important people wanted that the pagans celebrate together with the Christians they pretty much merged the events. And like 300 years after the whole resurrection deal the big hats of Nicaea decided that Easter should be on a Sunday, more precisely the Sunday after the first Full Moon after the Spring Equinox. Which is why there is no fixed date for Easter, and just moves according to whenever that Sunday’s up.
Jamie, that is all great and stuff, but why the heck is there a bunny and eggs and chocolate?
Mate, I got you. That baffled me too, you know? But I did some research and it turns out that apparently the eggs are a symbol of new life, and so folks linked them to the resurrection and new beginnings of emerging spring. Many cultures decorate eggs -and with eggs- for easter. Bunnies are linked with the goddess Eostre because they symbolize fertility. There you have it.
If you are curious how different countries celebrate this time of the year, especially those that are not Christian, I suggest asking your friends! But at least now you know where it came from!