It's that time of year again.
Every shoppping centre you visit is decked out with Cadbury Bunnies and eggs.
In Christian terms, Easter. In pagan terms, Oestre. In Japanese terms Hōnen Matsuri. Yep, it's harvest time, and everything fertility or birth related time as well.
I suppose the Oestre festivals and the harvest festivals were historically first. Human kind seems to have an affinity with celebrating with rituals and large groups.
In Japan, the Hōnen Matsuri is the celebration of a bountiful harvest, prosperity and fertility. Its most famous symbol is the large wooden phallus that is paraded from shrine to shrine. While this is highly amusing to foreigners, it is a sacred event for the Japanese.
The bunny (or a hare) and the egg were originally pagan in nature. Rabbits breed very quickly, and eggs represent birth, so it makes sense that these are symbols that, to this day, represent fertility and birth. These were once offered to the goddess of fertility, who has been called a variety names, one of which has been Anglicised to Easter.
So there we have two festivals/tributes to the harvest/fertility.
Where does the Christian Easter come from? Historically, it's very vague about the actual date that Jesus was crucified and resurrected. (It's also very vague about the date that Jesus was born.) It's very convenient that many of the Christian festivals fall on or near dates of the equinoxes and solstices. As for Easter, it's VERY convenient that the death and rebirth of Jesus is represented through ancient symbols of birth an fertility. Which has been pointed out before. In fact, a lot of pagan rituals have carried over to Christianity, as it's been stated, to allow for an easier transition of religion for the pagans in the countries where Christianity originally flourished (The Roman Empire I think).
So why make the bunnies and eggs out of chocolate then? Chocolate was imported from the Americas, and was once described as one of the Devil's temptations. Hilarious that it's now a major symbol for many of the countries that celebrate Easter.
Can't really think of a conclusion, just thought I'd bring up some observations I'd found interesting. Happy Easter!
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2 comments:
Allegedly, the Crucifiction was Friday 13th of April, 33 AD.
Which is why Friday 13th is ominous.
Eostre seems to have been another name for Frigga, or the goddess Eostre seems to have kind of blended in with her.
Though the Nordic religion wasn't practised in the Empire. You can blame the Anglo Saxons and the Augustinian church of Early England for Eostre :)
It's fascinating to find out the origins of superstitions. Or maybe it's because I'm obsessed with psyche, and reasons why humans hold irrational beliefs =/
I'm assuming Frigga and Eostre are the archetypal mother-figures, so it does make sense that the two have seemed to join together over the course of history.
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