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An annual Pagan festival called Ostara honors the Earth’s fertility and fresh growth around the spring equinox. It takes place in the Northern Hemisphere between March 19 and March 22. This ceremony involves eggs, bunnies, flowers, and seeds, just like Easter celebrations.
See the fact file below for more information about Ostara, or download the comprehensive worksheet pack, which contains over 11 worksheets and can be used in the classroom or homeschooling environment.
Key Facts & Information
Origin
- One of the eight Sabbats observed by the Wiccan religion is Ostara. Ostara marks the beginning of spring. The Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre is the source of the word Ostara. Eostre stood for spring and fresh starts.
- The springtime celebration of fertility known as Ostara commemorates the morning goddess Eostre. It’s a time to sow the seeds for what you wish to flourish throughout the year (her name signifies East, from where the sun rises).
- A modern celebration called Ostara was influenced by many pagan traditions that have existed throughout history and the world. When the Sun is directly overhead the equator, the Vernal Equinox and the planet’s northern hemisphere start to tilt toward the Sun, ushering in Spring, is celebrated.
- The fruitful force of the season that erupts from buds and blossoms is personified by the goddess Eostre. Additionally, rabbits and eggs are two of the holiday’s key emblems.
- Eostra, the goddess of spring, is also linked to the moon‘s phases and the natural world. It was common to present bread, dumplings, and buns to her priestesses, known as “wudu-maer” or “Wood Mothers,” during Spring ceremonies. The Saxons thought that the crosses and sun wheels on these cakes represented the cosmic equilibrium of heaven and earth during the Spring Equinox.
- At Ostara, the virgin Goddess reunites with her reborn lover in the shape of Pan or the Horned God, according to contemporary paganism and Wicca.
- Ostara rituals include feasting and fun as the spirit of spring surges. Ritual cleansing is also done during this period to eliminate old habits and usher in new ones.
- Although the vernal equinox or spring equinox was celebrated all over the world, Northern Europe is where Ostara’s origins come from. The spring equinox is celebrated in many civilizations.
Symbols of Ostara
- Ostara and the egg she carries represent fertility and the beginning of new life. According to some accounts, Eostre is the goddess of birds and rabbits and has a hare’s head. Due in part to its nocturnal feeding habits and part to the picture of a hare on the moon, the hare is also connected to the moon in many civilizations.
- Eggs are the literal symbol of fertility. But, in many cultures, they also represent luck and new life.
- According to a common belief, the children of the period gave the goddess eggs as a gift in exchange for her delivering them in the spring. She was so moved by this gift that she enlisted her minions, or rabbits, to bring the eggs back to the kids in baskets or bird nests, only this time, they were brilliantly colored. This is how the custom of bunnies bringing eggs to kids began.
- Due to the hares’ rutting season in March, the hare is an unmistakable fertility emblem inextricably linked to the Vernal Equinox. In the countryside of Europe, that must be quite a show. It is stated that the usually quiet, the timid hare became ardent and obsessive.
- Eggs are a symbol of fertility and the potential for new life. Eggs were frequently colored crimson by the Celts to represent the menstrual cycle. When dyeing the eggs, women, and children would carefully consider their aspirations and intentions for the upcoming year. In order to nourish and support the plant during its growing season, they would bury the eggs beside a seedling in the earth. The hope or wish would take root as the plant developed and bore fruit at the end of the year.
- Other Symbols include Colors: Green, yellow, and lavender. Crystals: Peridot, moss agate, and sunstone. Flowers: Crocus, violets, daffodils, and forsythia. Animals: Rabbits, birds, lambs, and chicks. Plants: Rhubarb, asparagus, peas, and lettuce.
Tradition and Practices
- When Christianity arrived in the northern isles, it was said that priests and bishops encouraged kids to look for and dig up the eggs because they disapproved of this “pagan” tradition. The Easter egg hunt originated when the clergy would reward the kids for finding eggs by giving them a tiny gift when they returned them to the church.
- Ostara participants engage in solitary and group rituals, such as egg painting, egg eating, egg races, and egg hunts. Plays in which a man and a woman take on the roles of the spring god and goddess display courting customs that correspond to seed-planting.
- Like other neo-pagan holidays, Ostara is observed by setting up altars symbolizing spiritual renewal. Altars are usually decorated with spring colors such as yellow forsythia, purple lilacs, and green leaves. In addition, statues of gods and goddesses, the opposite colors of candles, and the sun and moon can also be placed. Moreover, figurines of cattle, lambs, and rabbits, along with the basket of eggs representing the birth and abundance of spring, also feature on many altars.
- Solitary rites also involve adorning the altar and casting a circle of three candles—yellow, green, and purple—along with a bowl of milk and honey or sugar. The yellow candle stands in for the sun, the purple light for the spiritual power that directs life, and the green candle for the earth’s flowering throughout the spring.
- Deities symbolizing spring include Asase Yaa of the Ashanti people of Ghana, Cybele, the mother goddess of Rome, Eostre of Western Germanic mythology, the Norse fertility goddess Freya, Osiris of Egypt, and Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of art.
- Hot cross buns, also known as cross-quarter buns, which stand in for the elements of earth, air, fire, and water, are a staple of every Pagan occasion, including Ostara, which is celebrated with both traditional and contemporary food in honor of the coming of spring.
- Hot cross buns are a symbol of the four cardinal directions in certain Pagan traditions, as well as the dark, waxing, complete, and waning phases of the moon. Additionally, the seasons of winter, spring, summer, and fall are represented by each quadrant.
- Certain rites are performed by certain Pagans to commemorate the Spring Equinox. For example, a man and a woman are chosen to play the parts of the Spring God and Goddess, simulating romance and planting symbolic seeds. At this time of year, other customs include egg painting, egg eating, egg racing, and egg hunts.
- Eggs, honey, sprouting greens, hot cross buns, and asparagus are typical Ostara festival delicacies.
Ostara Worksheets
This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about Ostara across 21 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Ostara worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Ostara, which is a Pagan festival celebrated during the spring equinox as the time of fertility and new growth of the Earth. Similar to Easter celebrations, this event includes eggs, rabbits, flowers, and seeds.
Complete List of Included Worksheets
- Ostara Facts
- Spring Equinox 101
- Winter and Spring
- Spring Deities
- Spring Around the World
- Symbols and Meanings
- Pagan Sabbats
- Ostara Glossary
- Springtime Poem
- Celebrate Ostara
- Ostara in Letters
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Ostara?
One of the eight Sabbats observed by the Wiccan religion is Ostara. Ostara marks the beginning of spring. The Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre is the source of the word Ostara. Eostre stood for spring and fresh starts.
What is Ostara and how is it celebrated?
A modern celebration called Ostara was influenced by many pagan traditions that have existed throughout history and the world. When the Sun is directly overhead the equator, the Vernal Equinox, and the planet’s northern hemisphere start to tilt toward the Sun, ushering in Spring, it is celebrated.
How did pagans celebrate Ostara?
Certain rites are performed by certain Pagans to commemorate the Spring Equinox. For example, a man and a woman are chosen to play the parts of the Spring God and Goddess, simulating romance and planting symbolic seeds. At this time of year, other customs include egg painting, egg eating, egg racing, and egg hunts.
What to eat in Ostara?
Eggs, honey, sprouting greens, hot cross buns, and asparagus are typical Ostara festival delicacies.
What do you do in Ostara?
Like other neo-pagan holidays, Ostara is observed by setting up altars symbolizing spiritual renewal. Altars are usually decorated with spring colors such as yellow forsythia, purple lilacs, and green leaves. In addition, statues of gods and goddesses, the opposite colors of candles, and the sun and moon can also be placed. Moreover, figurines of cattle, lambs, and rabbits, along with the basket of eggs representing the birth and abundance of spring, also feature on many altars.
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Link will appear as Ostara Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, February 27, 2024
Use With Any Curriculum
These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.