Two Easters

find my BWL books here

This year my family is celebrating two Easters…one in America and one in Greece.

Elysian mysteries in ancient Greece celebrate rebirth after death in winter. In modern Greece, Easter celebrations connect with the Christian Orthodox faith.

In Greece...Easter means RED eggs!

  

...and candles at midnight

There have been accounts of dying and rising gods for thousands of years of our history…the resurrection of Egyptian Horus, Mithras, worshipped at Springtime, Dionysus, resurrected by his grandmother. All the stories highlight fertility, conception, renewal, descent into darkness, and the triumph of light over darkness or good over evil. They represent the cycle of the seasons and the stars.

The goddess Eostre

From Lakota scholar Tristan Picotte, here's a New World view: “For many Native American cultures, the seasons also coincide with certain traditions and beliefs. The arrival of warmer weather signals the return of animals and plants. Beautiful greens roll across the plains and mountains, and wildlife forages in the area. Tribes recognize this as the time to gather, confer with one another and make decisions that affect the community as a whole. For our ancestors, these gatherings decided who got to go where, how adversarial tribes were to be handled, and what new resources were available.”

The name of our holiday, Easter, comes from Eostre, goddess of Spring, also Ostara, Austra, and Eastre. She is a spirit of renewal.

The Latin name for Easter, Pascha is derived from the Hebrew Pesach, meaning Passover. Both holidays celebrate rebirth – in Christianity through the resurrection of Jesus, and in Jewish traditions through the liberation of the Israelites from slavery.

Whether you observe a religious holiday or the coming of Spring, I wish you a happy spirit of rebirth.