How to Celebrate The Old Celtic Ways: Ostara, The Spring Equinox

Ostara / Ēostre / Ēastre, the celtic celebration of the Spring equinox is an important holiday in the old traditional ways of the Celts. Ostara is celebrated as a time of renewal and rebirth. and the celebration correlates to the Christian Easter which celebrates the coming of the light out of the darkness. 

Candle lighting. Ostara is the Spring Equinox. The sun will rise precisely due East and set exactly 12 hours later due West. To symbolize this and help celebrate this event, many people choose to light a candle in the East at sunrise and another in the West at sunset, extinguishing the eastern candle.

Flora Galore! A great way to welcome in the Spring on Ostara, March 21, is to gather local flowers that are blooming and place them around your home. This signifies the return of life after the long, cold winter months and brightens your day and your home as well.

Bunnies? Why are bunnies so exalted on the Spring equinox? In Europe, the March hare was a nocturnal creature, rarely seen by day. However, in March, breeding time, they were everywhere, day and night. So, they became a symbol for life, birth and fertility and are an important part of any Ostara celebration. There is a legend of a March hare who wanted to give the goddess Eostre the most beautiful egg ever to celebrate her day, Ostara. He decorated the egg and presented it to the goddess. Eostre was so pleased with it, that she wanted all the children (themselves representative of life renewing itself) to enjoy the beautiful eggs too. Thus, the birth of the "Easter Bunny" delivering decorative eggs to children.

 Plant a seed. The celebrate the spring and rebirth of life, plant a seed to commemorate the event. Watch it as it grows and celebrates new life. It doesn't matter what you plant. You can plant whatever seed you like. A tree, an herb, a flower.

 Eggcetera. Eggs are associated with Ostara because they symbolically represent life. Use some great pastels, or spring colors, and dye the eggs. A good, old fashioned egg hunt is a great way to celebrate Ostara reminiscent of times of old.