Did you know that the day upon which Jesus Christ supposedly rose from the dead wasn't established until three-hundred and twenty-five years after the supposed event? Indeed, "The Council of Nice decreed in 325 A.D. that 'Easter was to fall upon the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the Vernal Equinox.'"
Rabbits? Eggs? "The ancient goddess, Eostre, a Saxon deity who marked not only the passage of time but also symbolized new life and fertility, was the key symbol of this celebration which was also known as Ostara. Legend has it that the goddess was saved by a bird whose wings had become frozen by the cold of winter.
"This process turned the bird into a hare. Yet this was no ordinary cottontail; this long-eared rabbit could also lay eggs!
"The main symbols for Easter are the egg, for new life or beginnings, and the rabbit/hare, for fertility."
Yes, Pagan rituals and beliefs form the basis for Christian beliefs, practices related to Easter.
"As Christianity spread across Europe and Britain, these older symbols became incorporated into the new faith's holiday of Easter; even the name seems to have been a variant of the Goddess whose festival was originally celebrated with the arrival of spring. The old rites honoring the planting of new seeds, the fertility of the land and its people, and the hope of the new life arising in the world were replaced by solemn displays commemorating Christ and Christian beliefs."
You might want to take a look at Equinox and Solstice.Com.
It was 17 degrees this morning at 6:30 when I took Melissa for her first of three daily walkies. But, we're expecting 60+ degrees here in Denver this weekend. But, just wait until April. Vernal Equinox or not, I betcha we get a doozy of a storm in April.
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