Spring

Easter is, as we all know and more and more christians realize, the ancient fertility spring festival. It is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon next to the Vernal Equinox. This is the reason the date varies; it can fall any time between Mar 22 and Apr 25. The christian Easter originated from the Jewish passover; and in case you're wondering what is to be 'passed over' it is the Jewish commemoration of the 'Exodus from Egypt' when the first-born of the Egyptians were to be killed. The Jews marked their houses with blood so they would be passed over and their children spared.

Traditionally the much later crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus took place at the same time of the year. Initially the churchmen wanted to commemorate the crucifixion, but before long it was felt by many that it would be better to emphasize the resurrection and give the ceremonies a more joyful and optimistic flavor.

Finally the argument was settled when, at the Synod at Niceae in 325 CI the christian church was officially instated by Constantine and at the same time it was decided that the celebration of Easter would forthwith be held on a Sunday and the resurrection would be the main topic for the ceremonies. The time setting for the holy day would follow the Jewish method.

Still in the 4th and 5th centuries christians had disagreements about the date and purpose but Easter is now held all over the Western world on the same Sunday.

Now, what has that got to do with our celebration of Eastra (Ostara), our Godness of Spring? Well, when the churchmen penetrated our northern homelands they saw that pagan celebrations were already traditionally held at the same time as their own. First the Spring Evennight as our forefathers marked the halfway point of the sun's journey from Winter to Summer Sunstead. Fertility rites were held in connection with the spring activities in the fields; 'charming of the plow' was a very important ceremony to ensure the blessings of the gods; seeds saved from last year's harvest were symbolically given back to the soil as an offering for the crops taken away. According to climatic circumstances the dates were different, for working the land after the winter freeze did not begin at the same time in every location but the central idea was the same - celebrations in honor of the gods, especially those connected with fertility and the weather.

Although our forefathers did not petition the gods in the same way christians do, it was still important to keep steady contact with the gods or rather with the natural forces represented by the gods who were the powers that would help mankind against any capricious forces that might work to the detrement of the folk, and in that way secure a bountiful harvest come fall.

On our calendar the Spring Evennight, Tree planting/Charming of the plow and May Day are all fertility festivals, precided over by different gods. Some revisions may be coming up but the essence of the festivals will remain the same, a celebration of spring, honoring fertility gods and expressing the hope that when man does his part, the gods and nature will be favorably inclined and bring about the right amount of rain and shine so that wealth will be harvested from the soil in the fall and the folk will have enough food until the next growing season.

Although the christian celebration supposedly is one of joy, the crucifixion still looms in the background. The somber reason for the crucifixion is the idea of Original Sin, that Jesus had to die to atone for our imaginary sins. This is to be sure the worst guilt trip christianity has imposed on our folk and through the years it has created a great variety of mental anguish, not to mention more serious reactions to the idea that even if you do nothing wrong you're already at birth a sinner.

Teutonic heathens of course do not accept this vicious christian tenet and it may well be one of the main reasons that many Nordics never really accepted the christian creed in their hearts, for it goes directly against our inborn feelings of fairness, justice and honor. But if we do not accept Original Sin then much of the christian house of cards collapses; for if there is no Original Sin we don't need a redeemer, and the notion of Jesus as the Redeemer of mankind is THE ONE pillar upon which christianity rests. Original Sin is therefore the most important tenet of the faith, and Easter is closely connected with that notion, but the celebration is only 'Ersatz', originally it was a celebration of Spring and Life.

It was therefore necessary for the missionaries to make their festival into something acceptable to the pagan world and they had to invent the resurrection and accept all the eggs, chickens and rabbits used by our forefathers as symbols of fertility. So let's remember as we celebrate our spring festivals that we are following the ancient traditions and that the christian Easter is an imposition, intruding upon territory that originally was ours but annexed by the creed, as it could not survive without the Easter trappings.

Even their sunrise mass is non-christian. It was customary as late as when this writer was young to get up once a year, usually at Whitsun time to 'see the sun dance'; you got up well before sunrise to get up on a hill and greet the sun as she got up over the horizon - another ancient custom in honor of the life-giving properties of the natural forces, knowing quite well both their creative and destructive powers.

Spring time is thus an occasion to renew our relationship with the cosmic cycle, the 'birth' of nature after the 'death' of winter.

C

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