Happy Easter

Easter Egg Soap from ajsweetsoap, an Etsy shop

Hi everyone,

Happy Easter or Passover to all.  We are all celebrating the spring and the rebirth of  everything around us.   A celebration that has been going on for thousands of years. 

The word Easter was most likely derived from the ancient Anglo-Saxon  lunar goddess Eoster.  Her two symbols were the egg and the hare, both representing fertility and new life , both have been incorporated in our modern day Easter celebrations. 

The Easter egg has long been a symbol of this season, way before it was known as an "Easter egg".   Ancient Egyptians, Phonecians, Persians and Hindu all believed the world began as an egg.  An egg from which all life sprung.  They all painted eggs during their spring equinox festivals to represent the rebirth of the world from the long dead winter.

Early Eastern Europeans used a wax batiking process to decorate their eggs; a process that is still used today.  Faberge took egg decoration to a new level when he designed a gold and jewel encrusted egg for Czar Alexander III to give his wife on Easter Sunday in 1855.  It was such a success that he crafted eggs for the Czar's wife each Easter.

Today there are lots of egg shaped goodies for us to enjoy, chocolate eggs, marshmallow eggs and jelly beans!  Yum!

The hare or the rabbit was Eoster's other symbol.  Rabbits and the Easter bunny have long been associated with this season.  The German's were the first to write about the Easter bunny in the 1500's.  They brought the bunnies tradition with them to America in the 1700's.  The chocolate bunny was born in Pennsylvania Dutch country soon after! Today, we still see store shelves stocked with giant chocolate bunnies.

So what ever your holiday, enjoy it and realize you are participating in the ancient tradition.  Celebrate the spring and the rebirth of the earth!

anne