Eostre & the Bunny

Every spring, we celebrate the return of greenery and migratory birds, and the blooming of flowers; most animals celebrate by having lots of sex. Some of us get really religious about it.

Easter is the celebration of fertility and renewed life, and every part of the secular observance reflects this. Several gods through a wide variety of traditions enjoy individual worship in this time, many of them have a name that sounds vaguely like "Easter," including Eostre, Ostara, and Ishtar. They have been asociated for millennia with fertility, and in some cases, eggs.

At the same time, Christians reflect on the paschal sacrifice of Jesus the Christ, and the promise of renewed life. Under the influence of Imperial Christianity, efforts were made to associate the symbols so often seen during this holy season with Jesus and his mother. A lot of these combinations don't immediately make sense, but we'll dig up the details.

The accusation that Christian Easter is ripping off the "pagan" polytheistic tradition is far from true, instead it comes from Judaism in every ancient aspect--but modern traditions have incorporated ill-fitting cultural aspects of the people who celebrate it around the world.

Remembering when Easter will be two years from now is tricky, but there is a scheme to it, and the dates are predicted more than a century ahead of time. Easter is the first Sunday after the full moon after the vernal equinox (northern hemisphere). However, even among groups that stick to this scheme, there are some who don't observe the astronomical equinox, but instead rely on an ill-timed liturgy.

The Springtime Lent also has a lot of tradition around it--especially around the beginning. The time for fasting is biblical, though the practices vary from one group to the next.

All this and more...

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[00:00:11] Katie Dooley: Hi, everyone.

[00:00:13] Preston Meyer: Hi.

[00:00:14] Katie Dooley: My name's Katie.

[00:00:15] Preston Meyer: And I'm Preston,

[00:00:16] Katie Dooley: And we're the hosts of...

[00:00:18] Both Speakers: The Holy Watermelon Podcast.

[00:00:21] Katie Dooley: Thought we hadn't introduced ourselves in a while,

[00:00:23] Preston Meyer: Right? I mean, it's not much of an introduction. You said your name, I said mine.

[00:00:27] Katie Dooley: Is that not what an intro is?

[00:00:30] Preston Meyer: It depends on who you talk to.

[00:00:31] Katie Dooley: Okay, well,

[00:00:34] Preston Meyer: I have a degree in religious studies,

[00:00:36] Katie Dooley: And I don't.

[00:00:40] Preston Meyer: And together we make a fun show.

[00:00:44] Katie Dooley: Together we fight crime.

[00:00:46] Preston Meyer: We fight hate crimes. I mean, not in a terribly vigilante-style way, but.

[00:00:54] Katie Dooley: Maybe we could.

[00:00:55] Preston Meyer: Maybe we reduce hate crimes.

[00:00:57] Katie Dooley: I like that. Why aren't we talking about today? It's topical.

[00:01:03] Preston Meyer: Easter.

[00:01:04] Katie Dooley: Easter!

[00:01:05] Preston Meyer: And rabbits.

[00:01:06] Katie Dooley: And bunnies.

[00:01:07] Preston Meyer: And why anybody would ever combine the two?

[00:01:11] Katie Dooley: Also, bunnies and eggs. Also, weird.

[00:01:13] Preston Meyer: Yeah.

[00:01:15] Katie Dooley: Weird combo.

[00:01:16] Preston Meyer: Right? That's... Who decided that rabbits lay eggs? Chicken eggs.

[00:01:24] Katie Dooley: The Germans.

[00:01:26] Preston Meyer: We get to blame a lot of things on the Germans.

[00:01:28] Katie Dooley: Yeah, they're a pretty good scapegoat.

[00:01:31] Preston Meyer: Christmas is the way it is because of the Germans. Okay, okay.

[00:01:31] Katie Dooley: Yes. This episode will take a similar format to rebranding the holidays. Our Christmas episode on the pagan origi...