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| Artistic Representation of Ostara. Artist Unknown. (Google Images) |
Several religions mark the passing of spring through a variety of holidays: the Hindu have Holi, the Jews have Purim, the Sikhs have Hola Mohalla, the Christians have Easter, and Neopagans have Ostara. Ostara is known as a celebration of spring, and it is one of eight major holidays celebrated by Neopagans throughout the year. This holiday is marked on the Spring Equinox, meaning it does not have a set date, but it does have consistent symbols and means of celebration. Today's blog post will discuss the origins of Ostara, its meaning, as well as how it is celebrated by Neopagans across the globe.
The term Ostara is believed to have been derived from Old Germanic languages and means "to shine". It is associated with ancient Germanic traditions that involved celebrating the Spring Goddess or the Goddess of the Dawn who blessed the world by changing the seasons and initiating new life and growth on earth. Some claim that Ostara is actually a Celtic or Saxon holiday, but it appears that they adopted the traditions from the Germanic groups they came in contact with. The holiday was spread throughout Europe and celebrated for centuries prior to the adoption of Christianity.
Today, the old traditions have been revived in various ways. The holiday is associated with spring, and it is connected to notions of fertility, growth, and renewal. Neopagans decorate their altars with spring time flowers, eggs, rabbits, and seeds. It is believed that this holiday is the best time to plant crops, make amends with the past, as well as conceive children.
There are various ways that Neopagans celebrate Ostara. Some opt to decorate eggs, while others elect to plant gardens or fields. Others choose to take nature walks or hikes, while others opt to clean their proverbial or literal homes, clearing out the old to welcome in the new. There is no one way of observing the holiday that is considered paramount, and how a Neopagan chooses to celebrate Ostara is an individual choice. Although many Neopagans opt to celebrate this in their own individual ways the end of the evening is typically marked with a great feast of foods emphasizing seeds, dairy, and eggs. The coming together is a typical theme in many pagan holidays, which is consistent in many religious celebrations.
References Cited
HuffPost Religion Editors. 2015. “Ostara 2015: Facts And Traditions Of The Wiccan Spring Equinox Celebration.” Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/19/ostara-2015_n_6895952.html
34 comments:
This seems a lovely way to celebrate Spring and the renewal. It seems that some Pagan holidays have been modified by Christians, which makes sense as their beliefs were spreading and the new converts were used to celebrating at certain times. Yule became Christmas, Ostara became Easter and I am pretty certain there have always been harvest feasts of some sort. It seems humans like to party!
I have been reading about the Ancient Puebloan people and the celebrations they might have had. It seems reasonable that people around the world would celebrate the longest and shortest days of the year as well as the planting and the harvest times. Is this true?
Yes, Charlie, it does appear that many past and present cultures celebrated those days, which may be related to planting and harvesting or interpretations by modern scholars viewing the past through their cultural lens. The latter may not be a 100% incorrect way of interpreting the past, though.
The spring time is my absolute favorite, I always loved the change of weather as well as the blooming of flowers. While I am not religious, Easter meant a new beginning to the year and it meant a time to deep clean the house. With a clean house, nothing was complete without planting flowers with my mother!
References to Pagans and Paganism in the Christian Bible are universally negative, and often contain references to human sacrifice and Satan worship. for me is very interested to read about the different ways in which the Neopagans celebrate the Ostara. A holliday that is considered paramount to them.
Eliana Llanos
Anth 101 online class
I hope this post has provided you some positive insight into Neopagan religious beliefs, and that you have become more aware and open minded about their religious practices and beliefs. You need not agree with Neopagan beliefs, but taking a culturally relativistic approach is helpful in these situations in leading to understanding and respect, particularly when exposed to beliefs that seem so different from your own. :)
This was fun to read! Like many other people on this Easter night, I celebrated with my family and enjoyed a nice meal. Spring time is a time for cleaning out the old and refreshing it with the new, literally and metaphorically. I like this time of year because it wraps up school and it prepares us for the summer sun. How ever people of different cultures decide to celebrate spring, I believe it is a good time to appreciate change and the rebirth off nature.
-Sam from Anth 102
Why does this holiday seem to correspond with our holiday of earth day? Also isn't mother nature the goddess or symbol for spring as well? - Julia Hartley
Earth day or Easter? Either way, several major holidays are associated with this time of the year, which is probably because it corresponds with crop planting traditions. As for Mother Nature I am not sure where that comes from, but you should look into it as you are interested in it.
I love Spring! The flowers start to bloom and the days get longer. It is a time for "Spring cleaning". The way the Neopagans celebrate Ostara is very similar to how I celebrate Easter Sunday. My family always decorates eggs and has a family dinner. It is a nice holiday that can bring a family together. Everyone celebrates holidays differently so it is always nice to learn the ways of a different culture.
Leslie Milton
Anthropology 101
Course 3001
I have always heard something to the similar. That the Catholics incorporated some of the pagan rituals and celebrations in religious events as to get them into the fold (so to speak). While it may not have turned pagans completely to Christianity, I find it interesting that the combined traditions have stood the test of time.
I loved reading this article and learning about how the Pagans celebrate this holiday. It all seems very similar to how Christians celebrate Easter, with the exception of the church visits. I found it really interesting to read how they feel this is the best time to conceive a child, and the logic behind it makes sense. With the warmth and everything in fresh blooms, one would assume fertility would be the same (of course willing that one can bare a child). It may not be a scientific method and may not have any substantial proof behind it but knowing that it brings hope to many as they embark on such a time in their lives is actually refreshing, and brings a whole new beauty to Spring in my eyes.
Michelle Amos ANTH205-3001
Every religion has different ways of celebrating the arrival of spring. For the Christians, they have Easter. It's celebrated on different dates, as it usually falls either on March or April. This year, it was at the end of March and last year, it fell in the beginning of April. I believe Easter Egg hunting and chocolate bunnies are more of an American tradition than a christian tradition.
I think that Ostara sounds like a fun holiday because you can choose for yourself how to celebrate it. It sounds like a great way to celebrate springtime in your own way.
Once again, I love this post Dr. B! I feel as if there are qualities of Ostara that I use in welcoming spring. We've heard the term "Spring Cleaning," and this celebration does just that! Making amends with the past is a form of cleaning up your conscious and bringing relationships to a fresh start. Literally cleaning your home is another way of getting rid of the old and welcoming the new. I like the idea of using this time to conceive and plant harvests. Spring is a time for life to start anew, and I feel as if this holiday is a great representation of that.
I have known for some time that spring is often associated with firtility, as well as pagan rituals. I believe I have read in scholarly articles that the Christian Easter was adapted as both a symbolic meaning for Jesus Christ as well as a simulation tactic for pagan and polytheistic individuals living in and out of Roman Borders. It is nice to have a name to the Neopagan rituals.
Sessions Arvans
Anth 102
Ostra reminded me so much of Easter! For some reason I favorite the word Ostra over Easter, I feel like it owns up to what it stands for than Easter. Easter to me automatically reminds me of church on Sunday following with a Sunday brunch haha. When I'm most likely wearing a pastel or white dress.
I know that there are several religions holidays in spring time. Christians celebrate Easter which is the most powerful celebration in the life of Christians and it also marks the new beginning of Christina's year
It is always a pleasure to learn about other cultures. I grew up in a Christian home and i value my culture but i respect others. Maybe this coming spring i will celebrate Ostra if i feel like it.
My grandmother would love this holiday. She has so many plants and other things planted in her yard. If she knew about it I definitely think she would celebrate it with them.
Aaliyah Caldwell
My grandmother always said Easter was a pagan holiday and I never really thought about it but know I know what she meant but she didn’t really mean Easter she meant this which Easter shares similarities with.
I know a lot of people that would enjoy this holiday because they love nature and gardening. When I go back home I'm going to inform them of this so that they can research it and see if its something they would be interested in.
I think some Neopagans color eggs because of how available egg dye is in the spring in modern American culture due to Easter. Also, I eel the need to point out that Easter was originally a pagan holiday that, much like Christmas, was assimilated into Christianity.
while reading the blog for some reason this reminded me of groundhog day and that's all I could think of, maybe because 6 more weeks of winter. this celebration seems fun in the since they say people are supposed to start planting crops and its a good time to make amends with others and people are supposed to make babies so that's a good time. I have never know anyone to actually participate in this holiday but hopefully we as a class can celebrate come spring this year
The spring time is considered to be one of the most beautiful times in the world. The ways that the time is celebrated through the religions is somewhat similar. The decorating of eggs with the Neopagans is similar to that of Christians during easter.
That is a fun unique way to celebrate the coming of Spring and it's exilerating that there is not necessarily a set date. Since that's the case, it builds anticipation so when the time does come I imagine a fun celebration such as new years. This was a good read.
Ostra is a very cool way to celebrate Spring. This is something I can see myself doing. The only thing that I dont understand is if the Ostra has no set date, then how will you know when to celebrate it?
The Spring Equinox, which is when Ostara is celebrated, generally falls on March 21-23. As it is the longest day of the year it is largely dependent on the Earth's orbit around the sun, which changes slightly over time, hence the slight date change. Don't panic about the orbit-it's normal. :)
What other holidays do they celebrate and are they also judged by the orbit rather than dates?
I like to see how spring is celebrated in other places on earth while it being spring time now it was the perfect time to read this article. this holiday reminds me of an open joyful holiday like Easter or Christmas
Tiffany Heavens
- The Ostara holiday sounds very similar to Easter they just focus on spring. Easter focuses about the Resurrection of Christ. Ostara connected with fertility, growth and renewal. Easter and Ostara both do not have set days on which they occur on.
I have never heard of Ostara before reading this article, but it sounds like a fun holiday. It's a unique take on celebrating the coming of spring. It's also pretty neat that some who celebrate decorate eggs which is similar to what we do on Easter.
I never knew that their was different names or ways to celebrate what we call "easter". Even those who are not Christians refer to it as easter. I have never heard of Neopagans so exactly what are they? are they commonly found in the U.S?
-Apreshana Page
My name is Tonii Saffore. Hearing about this past holiday "Ostara" brings me joy. To know there was a holiday in place which gave people a choice how to celebrate it. It was like you where free to make your own decision on what the holiday would mean to you and your family. One holiday I can relate it to is Easter. Full of family, food, and joyfulness.
Spring in one of my favorite times of year for so many reasons, and a huge reason is Easter. Learning about other ways people celebrate other forms of “Easter” is beautiful to me. It is also neat how there are some similarities between religions. Great post.
Kahla Perry
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