Not a Wiccan holiday, I know. Easter is a Christian holiday. However, I`ve always liked the fun involved, and this time of year, (in the United States, anyway) you can`t really avoid it. In Japan, there`s very little to nothing having to do with Easter, which I found slightly disappointing, though I will admit that that`s mostly from the viewpoint that I don`t get my favorite candies this year.
(Like this or this )
I`m tempted to make my own Reeses Easter Eggs, but I`d have to buy more peanut butter, and in the meantime what would I do for my peanut butter and fluff sandwiches?
That isn`t to say that they don`t have any Easter candy here, though it`s nothing like in America. Here I`ve found a little, mostly cookies, at the supermarket:
Candy aside, something I find interesting about Easter is that its roots are actually a little uncertain. Some sources say that `Easter` is from `Eostre` who was a goddess. Though whether she was Germanic or Anglo-Saxon is up for debate. I`ve also read conflicting stories on whether this was the goddess of spring and rebirth, or simply of fertility. And then of course, you have those arguing that Easter is simply the celebration of when Jesus stopped being dead.
I`m not quite sure which version I believe, but none of them really explain why we ended up with a bunny that gives out eggs. (Or a beagle, if you read Charles Schulz comics…I copied one of his pictures to post on a Spring themed school bulletin board, making it large enough to see easily.
)
I understand that eggs are an old tradition, started way back when as like a good luck type custom. Give someone an egg for good luck. Which makes a lot of sense, since eggs can be used to help remove negative energy!