The Vernal Equinox is on March 20 this year. The March equinox marks the moment the Sun crosses the celestial equator – the imaginary line in the sky above the Earth’s equator – from south to north.

Pagan celebrations of Eostre, aka Ostara, Austra, and Eastre, is thought of as the origin of the celebration by Christians of Easter. It marks the day that light is equal to darkness, with light becoming increasingly longer. A time of renewal. A renewal of the fertility of the earth. Hares, eggs, and returned plant growth are all symbols of fertility and life. The celebration of the egg as a symbol of fertility and renewed life is ancient, finding its origins in ancient Egypt and Persia.

The celebration of Easter, a proven pagan celebration, was absorbed by the Christian faith. The Easter celebration this year is quite some time after the actual Equinox, April 16.

For the Christian religion Easter has come to be a symbol of the resurrection of Jesus. Arbitrarily, the First Council of Nicaea (325) assigned the date of Easter as the first Sunday after the full moon following the March Equinox.