Balance – day equals night.  The promise of spring first seen at Imbolc is now here.  Winter’s grip is failing, a bare remembrance of cold remains.  The sun’s return warms the earth and the seed saved from last year’s harvest is sown in the freshly turned soil. 

For most Neo-Pagans, this is the time when the Goddess awakes from a long sleep or returns from the underworld – returning life to the earth in the form of new growth of blossom and leaf.  Many cultures share stories of a return from the underworld that occurs at this time of year – with some, it is a lover that returns (such as Isis/Osiris and Aphrodite/Adonis), with others, it is a mother/child (with Demeter/Persephone and Bacchus/Semele)

This season’s strong link to the idea of returning from death, made it a perfect time for the new Christian religion to incorporate one of its primary myths – the death and rebirth of the son of their God.  The name of this celebration seems to have come from a Teutonic Goddess of Spring, Dawn and Fertility – Eostre or Ostara.  Hares and eggs seem to be common symbols of the season – as they both represent fertility and new life: hares because of their ability to reproduce so quickly, eggs because of their potential for new life.

Unfortunately, other than the standard kid memories of too much chocolate candy, the only image that really stands out for me is an old black and white picture of me at 4 years old, all dressed up in a fancy white Easter dress with a very large Easter basket next to me that I had won from a local radio station.  (277 words)