Ostara
Osterfeuer in Sankt Peter-Ording
Also called	Egg Day, Easter, Eostre, Spring Equinox
Observed by	Neopagans Wiccans
Type	Pagan
Significance	Marks the Celtic Mid-Spring, and the Astronomical beginning of Spring
Date	Spring Equinox on March 20 or 21 in the Northern Hemisphere September 21 or 22 in the Southern Hemisphere
2007 date	March 21 (North) or Sept 23 (South)
2008 date	March 20 (North) or Sept 22 (South)
2009 date	March 20 (North) or Sept 22 (South)
Celebrations	Celebrating the new life and fertility of the land
Related to	Easter, Eostre, Spring Equinox, Quarter days

Ostara is a modern Neopagan holiday. It is loosely based on several holidays which were celebrated around the spring equinox (when day and night are nearly of equal length). The modern holiday does not have a strong relation to any known historical Pagan religious observation. A historically correct reconstruction is impossible. Sankt Peter-Ording is a sea resort and a municipality in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. ... This article is about the Christian festival. ... Eostre (Easter) and Ostara are the name of a putative Germanic goddess. ... In astronomy, the vernal equinox (spring equinox, March equinox, or northward equinox) is the equinox at the beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere: the moment when the sun appears to cross the celestial equator, heading northward. ... Neopaganism (sometimes Neo-Paganism, meaning New Paganism) is a heterogeneous group of religions which attempt to revive ancient, mainly European pre-Christian religions. ... For other uses, see Wicca (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Spring. ... For other uses, see Equinox (disambiguation). ... is the 79th day of the year (80th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 80th day of the year (81st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Northern hemisphere highlighted in yellow. ... is the 264th day of the year (265th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 265th day of the year (266th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... southern hemisphere highlighted in yellow (Antarctica not depicted). ... is the 80th day of the year (81st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Northern hemisphere highlighted in yellow. ... September 23 is the 266th day of the year (267th in leap years). ... southern hemisphere highlighted in yellow (Antarctica not depicted). ... is the 79th day of the year (80th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Northern hemisphere highlighted in yellow. ... September 22 is the 265th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (266th in leap years). ... southern hemisphere highlighted in yellow (Antarctica not depicted). ... is the 79th day of the year (80th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Northern hemisphere highlighted in yellow. ... September 22 is the 265th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (266th in leap years). ... southern hemisphere highlighted in yellow (Antarctica not depicted). ... This article is about the Christian festival. ... Eostre (Easter) and Ostara are the name of a putative Germanic goddess. ... In astronomy, the vernal equinox (spring equinox, March equinox, or northward equinox) is the equinox at the beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere: the moment when the sun appears to cross the celestial equator, heading northward. ... In British and Irish tradition, the quarter days were the four dates on which servants were hired, and rents and rates were due. ... Neopaganism or Neo-Paganism is any of a heterogeneous group of new religious movements, particularly those influenced by ancient, primarily pre-Christian and sometimes pre-Judaic religions. ... For other uses, see Equinox (disambiguation). ... Pagan and heathen redirect here. ... Romuva Spring JorÄ— festival in Kulionys, Lithuania in 2006. ...

Etymology

The name Ostara goes back to Jacob Grimm, who, in his Deutsche Mythologie, speculated about an ancient German goddess Ostara, after whom the Easter festival (German: Ostern) could have been named. Grimm's main source is De temporum ratione by the Venerable Bede. Bede had put forward the thesis that the Anglo-Saxon name for the month of April, Eostur-monath, was named after a goddess Eostre^[1]. The Brothers Grimm on a 1000DM banknote. ... This article is about the Christian festival. ... De Temporum Ratione is a treatise on the reckoning of time written in Latin by the Northumbrian Anglo-Saxon monk Bede. ... For other uses, see Bede (disambiguation). ... Old English redirects here. ... This article or section needs additional references or sources to improve its verifiability. ... Eostre (Easter) and Ostara are the name of a putative Germanic goddess. ...

Wiccan festival

Ostara is one of the four lesser Wiccan holidays or sabbats of the Wheel of the Year. Ostara is celebrated on the spring equinox, in the Northern hemisphere around March 21 and in the Southern hemisphere around September 23, depending upon the specific timing of the equinox. Among the Wiccan sabbats, it is preceded by Imbolc and followed by Beltane. For other uses, see Wicca (disambiguation). ... In Neopaganism, the Wheel of the Year is the natural cycle of the seasons, commemorated by the eight Sabbats. ... is the 80th day of the year (81st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 266th day of the year (267th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Imbolc is one of the four principal festivals of the Irish calendar, celebrated either at the beginning of February or at the first local signs of Spring. ... This article is about the Gaelic holiday. ...

In the book Eight Sabbats for Witches by Janet and Stewart Farrar, the festival Ostara is characterized by the rejoining of the Mother Goddess and her lover-consort-son, who spent the winter months in death. Other variations include the young God regaining strength in his youth after being born at Yule, and the Goddess returning to her Maiden aspect. A Cucuteni culture statuette, 4th millennium BC. A mother goddess is a goddess, often portrayed as the Earth Mother, who serves as a general fertility deity, the bountiful embodiment of the earth. ... For other uses, see Yule (disambiguation) and Jul (disambiguation). ...

Ostara is the virgin Goddess of spring. This holiday concerns the deity's trip to the underworld, and their struggle to return from the Land of the Dead to Earth. When they accomplish this return, they have a life renewed^{[citation needed]}. It was considered bad luck to wear anything new before Ostara, so the people would work through the winter in secret to make elegant clothes for the Sabbat celebration. The entire community would gather for games, feasting, and religious rituals while showing off their clothing^{[citation needed]}.

The lamb was another symbol of Ostara, and was sacred to the Virgin Goddess of Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.^{[citation needed]}.

The modern belief that eggs are delivered by a rabbit known as the Easter Bunny comes from the legend of the Goddess Eostre. So much did a lowly rabbit want to please the Goddess that he laid the sacred eggs in her honor, gaily decorated them, and humbly presented them to her. So pleased was she that she wished all humankind to share in her joy. In honor of her wishes, the rabbit went through the entire world and distributed these little decorated gifts of life^{[citation needed]}.

References

See also

Litha, the entire light half of the year, is centered upon Midsummer, with which it is easily identified, so that the summer solstice holiday is often referred to as Litha, especially in the recreated calendar used in the revived Germanic religion of Asatru. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Mabon is one of the eight solar holidays or sabbats of American Neopaganism. ... Look up Samhain in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Walpurgis Night in Sweden. ... For other uses, see Yule (disambiguation) and Jul (disambiguation). ... Passover, also known as Pesach or Pesah (פסח pesaḥ), is a Jewish holiday (lasting seven days in Israel and among some liberal Diaspora Jews, and eight days among other Diaspora Jews) that commemorates the exodus and freedom of the Israelites from Egypt; it is also observed by some Christians to... Festivus is an annual holiday invented by Readers Digest writer and editor Dan OKeefe. ... The term Celtic calendar is used to refer to a variety of calendars used by Celtic-speaking peoples at different times in history. ... In Neopaganism, the Wheel of the Year is the natural cycle of the seasons, commemorated by the eight Sabbats. ...

External links

• Ostara Wicca.com
• Germanic Pagan Info
• The Witches Voice
• The Encyclopedia Mythica