Spring Equinox (20th -21st March)

The Sun is at its lowest path in the sky on the Winter Solstice. After that day the Sun follows a higher and higher path through the sky each day until it is in the sky for exactly 12 hours. On the Spring Equinox the Sun rises exactly in the east travels through the sky for 12 hours and sets exactly in the west. On the Equinox this is the motion of the Sun through the sky for everyone on earth. Every place on earth experiences a 12 hours day twice a year on the Spring and Fall Equinox. After the Spring Equinox, the Sun still continues to follow a higher and higher path through the sky, with the days growing longer and longer, until it reaches its highest point in the sky on the Summer Solstice.

Spring Equinox, also known as Ostara, marks the beginning of Spring and the time when days and nights are of equal length. The Goddess manifests as Ostara or Eostre with her basket of eggs. She is accompanied by the Hare or Rabbit (fertility), a manifestation of the God. The name "Easter" derives from the ancient fertility festival of the goddess Eostre, the Teutonic goddess of spring. All cultures have spring festivals of this type. Green has been sacred to this Sabbat since ancient times, because it represents the greening of the land with vegetation. This is a festival of new growth. This turn in the seasons has been celebrated by cultures throughout history who held festivals for their gods and goddesses at this time of year. The Celts continued the tradition with festivities at this time of year.

Today, Pagans continue to celebrate the coming of Spring. They attribute the changes that are going on in the world to an increase in the powers of their God and Goddess (the personifications of the great force that is at work in the world). At the time of Spring Equinox the God and the Goddess are often portrayed as The Green Man and Mother Earth. The Green Man is said to be born of Mother Earth in the depths of winter and to live through the rest of the year until he dies at Samhain. To read more on The Green Man Click Here

To celebrate Spring Equinox some Pagans carry out particular rituals. For instance a woman and a man are chosen to act out the roles of Spring God and Goddess, playing out courtship and symbolically planting seeds. Egg races, egg hunts, egg eating and egg painting are also traditional activities at this time of year.

Wiccan
In Wiccan Lore, the Oak King, the god of light, has now won a victory over the Holly King, the god of darkness. As light conquers darkness, the great Mother Goddess welcomes the young Sun god in the sacred marriage and conceives a child. Nine months later, at winter solstice, the child will he born and the cycle will begin all over again.

Resurrection
Easter celebrates the Christian belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The Lenten season leading up to Easter Sunday is a time of fasting, sacrifice and prayer. It is the Christian way of replicating in a small way what Christ sacrificed for us, both in his fasting and his final death on the cross. The holiday is central to the Christian year and dates back to earliest Christianity. The spring equinox is used to determine the date of Easter. Easter is the Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox and can fall anytime between late March to early April.

The early Church used the Julian calendar to set the date of Easter, although there were several problems with the calendar, which caused Easter to fall closer to the summer. As a result, Pope Gregory XIII made changes to the calendar to ensure that Easter would always fall in the spring.

Passover
Passover, which occurs in the middle of the Hebrew month of Nisan, is one of Judaism's most important festivals. In ancient times, the holiday coincided with the spring harvest, and was a pilgrimage festival (one of three times during the year when all men were required to participate in celebrations at the Temple). Later on the holiday commemorated the Exodus from Egypt in the 13th century B.C.

At a special meal, the Seder, celebrants retell the story of the Jews leaving Egypt with readings from a special prayer book (the Haggadah), sing joyous songs, and eat special foods, such as matzoh (unleavened bread), hard-boiled eggs, and parsley. To remember the haste with which the Jews fled Egypt, no products containing yeast are eaten during the entire holiday.

Many Jews clean their houses thoroughly for Passover. In some areas, there is a custom of wearing new clothes, giving gifts, and buying new household and other kitchen items in advance of the holiday. Passover lasts for eight days.

Chinese New Year
The Chinese New Year is also known as the "Spring Festival," and although it occurs at the midpoint between the winter solstice and the vernal equinox (anytime between early to mid February), there are many customs similar to other cultures. People buy new clothes and may exchange gifts. Special meals and foods may be eaten, and there is the custom of thoroughly cleaning one's house (sweeping away the old), and settling arguments and debts.

Other Customs
Upon awakening Easter Sunday morning, the children will hunt for the Easter basket left by the Easter Bunny. Then the family will dress in their finest new spring clothes, and go off to church to celebrate Christ's resurrection. From there, the holiday tradition varies. Some have a big breakfast. Other families will have a big main meal with baked ham being the most common meat or lamb is also eaten. Brightly colored hard boiled eggs will also be popular. Simnel Cake is a special cake at this time. It is not a day for high cholesterol diets. It is a day to feast as the long lenten season is over and Christ has arisen.

Prepare egg dishes and share them with friends. Organize egg games, such as egg hunts. Decorate your home with spring flowers and sprouting greens. Wear green clothing as an affirmation of new growth within yourself and Nature. Bless any seeds you plan to plant in your garden. Easter Lilies and daffodil are popular flowers and a sign of Easter. They are great as gifts, or to decorate your home or workplace. They are grown from bulbs, and can be transplanted into your garden after the blooms have died off. Then, they will bloom in your flower garden every spring. Begin a new project. Make a growth charm out of a hard-boiled egg -- decorate it with symbols, write on it the quality you would like to manifest more fully within yourself, energize it, and then eat it.

After winter, the signs of springtime rebirth are starting to be seen. Depending on where you live, you may already be seeing some telltale signs: migratory birds returning, trees beginning to bud, or crocuses peeking through the last of winter's snow. Maybe you've noticed a few extra minutes of daylight, or a change in how you feel, or even in how you dress.

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