‘We must not allow the clock and the calendar to blind us to the fact that each moment of life is a miracle and mystery.’ H. G. Wells (1866 - 1946)

Easter is a key event in the Christian faith, a festival that celebrates the resurrection of Christ three days after his death by crucifixion. It’s the oldest Christian holiday (the word ‘holiday’ comes from ‘holy day’), however, the method of determining the date each year is a highly complex affair. The Western churches celebrate Easter on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox; as a result, Easter can be anywhere from mid March to mid April. Eastern churches use the same calculation but based on the Julian calendar, which means the Orthodox Easter sometimes falls on the same day as Western Easter – as it does in 2010 – but the two can occur as much as five weeks apart.

Over the centuries religious observances like processions, lighting candles and feasting, have been supplemented by popular customs, many of which stem from pagan fertility celebrations. The word ‘Easter’ is believed to derive from Eostre or Ostara, an Anglo Saxon goddess of rebirth who was worshipped around the time of the spring equinox until around the 8^th century.

Calendars may say otherwise, but it’s widely held the spring equinox – when day and night are equal and the sun stands halfway between its lowest midwinter point and highest midsummer arc – marks the first true day of spring. This is a time when daylight lengthens, trees burst into leaf, crops and plants start to sprout and ripen and nature focuses on life, growth and fertility. Easter is one of eight festivals on the earth-based pagan (and Wiccan) calendar, all either linked to the turning points of the sun (solstices and equinoxes) and four marking the mid point between these.

Symbols of the goddesses revered at this time of year include eggs, rabbits, flowers and vines, which link to the modern day traditions of giving and eating chocolate eggs and the proliferation of bunny rabbits as motifs, soft toys, chocolates etc. The reappearance of rabbits after winter hibernation celebrates the start of spring, as nature emerges green and fresh to mark a time of new life and beginnings. Interestingly, when Britain adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752, the beginning of the new year was changed from March 25 – appropriately around the spring equinox - to January 1.

Spring is also a time for new beginnings in the home, when nesting instincts go into overdrive in the annual spring clean. Rooms that looked warm and cosy in the dim light of winter are suddenly exposed and found wanting when days lengthen and sunlight floods back into the home. So it’s no coincidence the Easter bank holiday weekend (held on 2-5 April this year) is the busiest time of the year for DIY superstores.

There’s more to life than chocolate… but perhaps not at Easter. Enjoy!