Spring Equinox - Historical Celebrations of Christianity, Judaism, Paganism ...

[Guest guest]

Spring is right around the corner! In celebration of that I have decided

to post some Springtime related info ...

 

2004 Spring Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere is March 20 at 1:49 a.m.,

Eastern Standard Time. (March 20 at 6:49 Universal Time a.k.a. Greenwich

Mean Time)

(Note: This is also the time of the Autumn Equinox in the Southern

Hemisphere - don't want to leave out all of our members who are " down

under "

 

Quick Fact: The Persian New Year begins on the Spring Equinox.

 

Happy Springtime!

 

*Smile*

Chris (list mom)

 

http://www.alittleolfactory.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

http://www.religioustolerance.org/spring_equinox.htm

 

SPRING EQUINOX CELEBRATIONS:

OCCURS YEARLY, SOMETIME BETWEEN MARCH 19 AND 21

 

The Spring Equinox is also known as: Alban Eilir, Eostar, Eostre, Feast

of Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Festival of Trees, Lady Day,

NawRuz, No Ruz, Ostara, Ostra, Rites of Spring, and the Vernal Equinox.

 

Overview:

Religious followers from around the world observe many seasonal days of

celebration during March and April. Most are religious holy days, and

are linked in some way to the spring or vernal equinox. On that day, the

daytime and nighttime hours are approximately equal -- each being 12

hours long.

 

Christianity and other religious associate three themes with the vernal

equinox:

 

Conception and pregnancy leading to birth on the winter solstice.

Victory of a god of light (or life, rebirth, resurrection) over the

powers of darkness (death).

The descent of the goddess or god into the underworld for a period of

three days. This is such a popular theme among religions that

mythologists refer to it as " the harrowing of Hell. " 13

 

People view other religions in various ways, and thus treat the

celebrations of other faiths differently:

 

Some people value the worldwide variety of March and April

celebrations, because demonstrates the diversity of religious belief

within our common humanity. They respect both their own religious

traditions and those of other faiths for their ability to inspire people

to lead more ethical and fulfilled lives. Religious diversity is, to

them, a positive influence.

Others reject the importance of all celebrations other than the holy

days recognized by their own religion. Some go so far as rejecting some

of their religion's holy days when they are discovered to have Pagan

origins (e.g. Easter and Christmas).

Some consider religions other than their own as being inspired by

Satan. Thus the equinox celebrations of other religions are viewed as

Satanic in origin, and intrinsically evil.

 

When and why the vernal equinox happens:

The seasons of the year are caused by the 23.5º tilt of the earth's

axis. Because the earth is rotating like a top or gyroscope, it points

in a fixed direction continuously -- towards a point in space near the

North Star. But the earth is also revolving around the sun. During half

of the year, the southern hemisphere is more exposed to the sun than is

the northern hemisphere. During the rest of the year, the reverse is

true. At noontime in the Northern Hemisphere the sun appears high in the

sky during summertime and low in the sky during winter. The time of the

year when the sun reaches its maximum elevation occurs on the day with

the greatest number of daylight hours. This is called the summer

solstice, and is typically JUN-21 -- the first day of summer. The lowest

elevation occurs about DEC-21 and is the winter solstice -- the first

day of winter, when the night time hours are maximum. Almost exactly

half-way between the winter and summer solstice is the time of the

vernal or spring equinox. It is one of two times during the year when

the daytime and nighttime are almost exactly 12 hours long, and very

close to being equal to each other.

 

History of the spring equinox:

The early Romans used a lunar calendar in which months alternated

between 29 and 30 days. It was not a precise measure; it gradually fell

out of step with the seasons. Julius Caesar reformed the calendar by

switching its base from lunar to solar. The day on which the vernal

equinox occurred was defined as MAR-25. The length of the year was fixed

at 365 days, with an additional leap-year day added every fourth year.

This made the average length of a year equal to 365.25 days, which was

fairly close to the actual value of 365.2422 days.

 

The annual error of 0.0078 days accumulated over time until it became

unmanageable. A second reform of the calendar was ordered by Pope

Gregory XIII. Under the new system, 1582-MAR-21 CE became the date of

the vernal equinox, the year 1582 was shortened by ten days, and future

centennial years (1600, 1700...2000) were not considered leap years

unless they were divisible by 400. 1 The Gregorian Calendar continues in

general usage today. Eventually, its 0.0003 day annual error will

accumulate and necessitate an elimination of a leap-year day circa 4915

CE.

 

The linkage between the equinox, Pagan celebrations & Easter:

Many, perhaps most, Pagan religions in the ancient Mediterranean region

had a major seasonal day of religious celebration at, or following, the

spring equinox. In one religion, Cybele, the Phrygian fertility goddess,

had a consort who was believed to have been born via a virgin birth. He

was Attis, who was said to have died and been resurrected each year

during the period MAR-22 to MAR-25; i.e. at the time of the vernal

equinox in the Julian calendar.

 

Wherever Christian worship of Jesus and Pagan worship of Attis were

active in the same geographical area in ancient times, Christians " used

to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus on the same date; and

pagans and Christians used to quarrel bitterly about which of their gods

was the true prototype and which the imitation. " Since the worship of

Cybele was brought to Rome in 204 BCE, about 250 years before

Christianity, it is obvious that if any copying occurred, it was the

Christians that copied the traditions of the Pagans.

 

Today, no consensus exists on the linkage between the Attis legend (and

the stories associated with many other god-men) and Jesus Christ:

 

Some religious historians believe that the god-man's death and

resurrection legends were first associated with Pagan deities many

centuries before the birth of Jesus. They were simply grafted onto

stories of Jesus' life in order to make Christian theology more

acceptable to Pagans in the Roman Empire.

Ancient Christians had an alternate explanation; they claimed that

Satan had created counterfeit Pagan deities with many of the same life

experiences as Jesus had. Satan and his demons had done this, in advance

of the coming of Christ, in order to confuse humanity.

Most modern-day Christians regard the Attis legend as being a Pagan

myth of little value. They regard Jesus' death and resurrection account

as being an exact description of real events, and unrelated to the

earlier Pagan traditions.

 

Among the Roman Catholic church and Protestant denominations, Easter

Sunday falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after MAR-20,

the nominal date of the Spring Equinox. Its ancient linkages to sun and

moon worship are obvious. Many sources incorrectly state that the

starting date of the calculation is the actual day of the Equinox rather

than the nominal date of MAR-20. Other sources use an incorrect

reference date of MAR-21.

 

Easter Sunday can fall on any date from March 22 to April 25th. The

year-to-year sequence is so complicated that it takes 5.7 million years

to repeat. Eastern Orthodox churches sometimes celebrate Easter on the

same day as the rest of Christendom. However if that date does not

follow Passover, then the Orthodox churches delay their Easter -

sometimes by over a month.

 

Spring celebrations by various faiths - ancient and modern

ANCIENT BRITAIN: Both the solstices and equinoxes " were the highly

sophisticated preoccupation of the mysterious Megalithic peoples who

pre-dated Celt, Roman and Saxon on Europe's Atlantic fringe by thousands

of years. " The equinoxes were not otherwise celebrated in ancient

Britain, until recent years.

ANCIENT IRELAND: The spring and fall equinox were celebrated in ancient

times. A cluster of megalithic cairns are scattered through the hills at

Loughcrew, about 55 miles North West of Dublin in Ireland. Longhcrew

Carin T is a passage tomb which is designed so that the light from the

rising sun on the spring and summer equinoxes penetrates a long corridor

and illuminates a backstone, which is decorated with astronomical

symbols. 19,20

ANCIENT GERMANS: Ostara, the Germanic fertility Goddess was associated

with human and crop fertility. On the spring equinox, she mated with the

solar god and conceived a child that would be born 9 months later on

DEC-21: Yule, the winter solstice.

ANCIENT MAYANS: The indigenous Mayan people in Central American have

celebrated a spring equinox festival for ten centuries. As the sun sets

on the day of the equinox on the great ceremonial pyramid, El Castillo,

Mexico, its " western face...is bathed in the late afternoon sunlight.

The lengthening shadows appear to run from the top of the pyramid's

northern staircase to the bottom, giving the illusion of a

diamond-backed snake in descent. " This has been called " The Return of

the Sun Serpent " since ancient times. 14

ANCIENT GREEKS: The god-man Dionysos was a major deity among the

ancient Greeks. " As a god of the spring rites, of the flowering plants

and fruitful vines, Dionysos was said to be in terrible pain during

winter, when most living things sicken and die, or hibernate. "

Persephone, a daughter of Demeter, descended into the Otherworld and

returned near the time of the spring equinox. This story has close

parallels to various Goddess legends, stories of the life of King

Arthur, and of Jesus Christ. 10

ANCIENT PERSIA; ZOROASTRIANISM: Various ancient civilizations

(Mesopotamia, Sumeria, Babylonia, Elam) circa 3000 to 2000 BCE

celebrated new years at the time of the spring equinox. " No Ruz, " the

new day or New Year has been celebrated in the area of modern-day Iran

since the Achaemenian (Hakhamaneshi) period over 2500 years ago. It

survived because of Zoroastrianism which was the religion of Ancient

Persia before the advent of Islam 1400 years ago. Many religious

historians trace the Judeo-Christian concepts of Hell, Heaven,

Resurrection, the arrival of the Messiah, and the last judgment to

Zoroastrianism. In that faith, the Lord of Wisdom " created all that was

good and became God. The Hostile Spirit, Angra Mainyu (Ahriman),

residing in the eternal darkness created all that was bad and became the

Hostile Spirit. " 16 This dualistic God/Satan concept is surprisingly

close to the views of conservative Christianity today.

ANCIENT ROMANS: In " about 200 B.C., mystery cults began to appear in

Rome just as they had earlier in Greece. Most notable was the Cybele

cult centered on Vatican hill ...Associated with the Cybele cult was

that of her lover, Attis ([the older Tammuz, Osiris, Dionysus, or

Orpheus under a new name)...The festival began as a day of blood on

Black Friday and culminated after three days in a day of rejoicing over

the resurrection. " Attis was born of a human woman, a virgin named Nana.

He " grew up to become a sacrificial victim and Savior, slain to bring

salvation to mankind. His body was eaten by his worshipers in the form

of bread...[He was] crucified on a pine tree, whence his holy blood

poured down to redeem the earth. " 2 The celebration was held on MAR-25,

9 months before his birth on DEC-25. In Rome, the rituals took place

where St. Peter's now stands in Vatican City. 8 The similarities between

the stories of Attis and Jesus are obvious.

ANCIENT SAXONS: Eostre was the Saxon version of the Germanic lunar

goddess Ostara. She gave her name to the Christian Easter and to the

female hormone estrogen. Her feast day was held on the full moon

following the vernal equinox -- almost the identical calculation as for

the Christian Easter in the west. One delightful legend associated with

Eostre was that she found an injured bird on the ground one winter. To

save its life, she transformed it into a hare. But " the transformation

was not a complete one. The bird took the appearance of a hare but

retained the ability to lay eggs. ..the hare would decorate these eggs

and leave them as gifts to Eostre. " 10

BAHÁ'Í WORLD FAITH: Naw-Rúz is an ancient Iranian New Years day

festival which occurs near the Spring Equinox. It is now a world holiday

of the Bahá'í faith. If the equinox occurs before sunset, then New

Year's Day is celebrated on that day in the Middle East; otherwise it is

delayed until the following day. In the rest of the world, it is always

on MAR-21. It is celebrated with many symbols indicating regrowth and

renewal - much like the Christian Easter. Some members follow the

ancient Iranian " haft-sin " custom on this day involves arranging seven

objects whose name begin with the letter " S " in Persian; e.g. hyacinths,

apples, lilies, silver coins, garlic, vinegar and rue.

CHRISTIANITY: The record of the Roman Army's execution date of Yeshua

Ben Nazareth (later known as Jesus Christ) has been lost. Dates linked

to the Jewish Passover celebration in the years 30 to 33 have been

suggested. Easter commemorates Jesus' execution, visit to Hell, and

resurrection. Easter Sunday is a moveable holy day, being celebrated

from late MAR to late APR. It is named after the " Teutonic goddess

Eostre, whose name is probably yet another variant of Ishtar, Astare and

Aset... " 8

 

The Feast of Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is held on MAR-25,

on the nominal date of the spring equinox, according to the old Julian

calendar. This is the time when the angel Gabriel told Mary that she was

pregnant. (Luke 1:26-38) Nine months later, at Christmas/Yule, Mary is

traditionally believed to have given birth to Jesus, while still a

virgin.

JUDAISM: " In its origin, the Passover dinner itself was a spring

fertility festival–the unleavened bread coming from the agricultural

past of the people and the paschal lamb from its more distant pastoral

years. " 6 The Bible passages of Leviticus 23:5-8 and Numbers 28:16-18

state that Passover is to be celebrated in the springtime, on the 14th

day of the Jewish month of Nissan. The Feast of Unleavened Bread to the

Lord is held on the 15th.

NATIVE AMERICAN SPIRITUALITY: There are countless stone structures

created by Natives in the past and still standing in North America. One

was called Calendar One by its modern-day finder. It is in a natural

amphitheatre of about 20 acres in size in Vermont. From a stone

enclosure in the center of the bowl, one can see a number of vertical

rocks and other markers around the edge of the bowl " At the winter

solstice, the sun rose at the southern peak of the east ridge and set at

a notch at the southern end of the west ridge. " The summer solstice and

both equinoxes were similarly marked. 4

 

" America's Stonehenge " is a 4,000 year old megalithic site located on

Mystery Hill in Salem NH. Carbon dating has estimated the age of some

charcoal remnants at 3,000 and 4,000 years ago. Researchers have

concluded that the site was erected either by Native Americans or an

unknown migrant European population. 15 The site contains five standing

stones and one fallen stone in a linear alignment which point to both

the sunrise and sunset at the spring and fall equinoxes.

NEOPAGANISM: This is a group of religions which are attempted

re-creations of ancient Pagan religions. Of these, Wicca is the most

common; it is loosely based on ancient Celtic beliefs, symbols and

practices, with the addition of some more recent Masonic and ceremonial

magic rituals.

 

Monotheistic religions, like Judaism, Christianity and Islam, tend to

view time as linear. It started with creation; the world as we know it

will end at some time in the future. Aboriginal and Neopagan religions

see time as circular and repetitive, with lunar (monthly) and solar

(yearly) cycles. Their " ...rituals guarantee the continuity of nature's

cycles, which traditional human societies depend on for their

sustenance. " 3

 

Wiccans recognize eight seasonal days of celebration. Four are minor

sabbats and occur at the two solstices and the two equinoxes. The other

are major sabbats which happen approximately halfway between an equinox

and solstice. Wiccans may celebrate Lady Day on the evening before, or

at sunrise on the morning of the solstice/equinox, or at the exact time

of vernal equinox.

 

Near the Mediterranean, this is a time of sprouting of the summer's

crop; farther north, it is the time for seeding. 8 Their rituals at the

Spring Equinox are related primarily to the fertility of the crops and

to the balance of the day and night times. Where Wiccans can safely

celebrate the Sabbat out of doors without threat of religious

persecution, they often incorporate a bonfire into their rituals,

jumping over the dying embers to assure fertility of people and crops.

It is experienced as a time of balance.

 

The date and time of the spring equinox:

The exact date and time of the vernal equinox, when the sun moves into

the astrological sign of Aries, varies from year to year. Each year, the

date/time moves progressively later in March until the year before

leap-year is reached. On leap-year, it returns to an earlier date/time.

The four-year cycle is then repeated.

 

Between the years 1503 CE and 2496 CE, the earliest spring equinox will

be on 2496-MAR-19 at 12:28 UT. The latest was on 1503-MAR-21 at 8:42 UT.

 

Year Spring Equinox (UT)

1999 MAR-21 @ 01:46

2000 MAR-20 @ 07:35

2001 MAR-20 @ 13:30

2002 MAR-20 @ 19:16

2003 MAR-21 @ 01:00

2004 MAR-20 @ 06:49

 

The above dates and times were derived from the astronomical

calculations on The Dome of the Sky web site. 7 Times are in UT

(Universal Time). This used to be called Greenwich Mean Time or GMT. In

North America, you can find your local time by subtracting:

 

3 hours 30 minutes for Newfoundland time

4 hours for ATL

5 hours for EST

6 hours for CST

7 hours for MST

8 hours for PST

9 hours for ALA

10 hours for HAW

 

Egg-balancing belief:

There is a rumor that surfaces twice a year at the time of the spring

and fall equinoxes. Many people believe that since the equinox is a

time of balance where the daylight hours and nighttime hours are equal,

that -- by some mystical force -- one can balance eggs on their end on

these days. Some believe that one can only balance an egg within a few

hours before or after the exact time of the equinox. 17

 

Philip Plait (a.k.a. the Bad Astronomer) writes: " Usually you cannot

stand a raw egg because the inside of an egg is a very viscous (thick)

liquid, and the yolk sits in this liquid. The yolk is usually a bit

off-center and rides high in the egg, making it very difficult to

balance. The egg falls over. However, with patience, you can usually

make an egg stand up. It may take a lot of patience! " He has a photo on

his web site that shows himself and three eggs standing on their end. 18

 

 

Being able to stand an egg on its end is clearly determined by the

internal structure of the egg, gravity, condition of the surface of the

egg at its end, the condition of the surface that the egg is being

balanced on, how level the surface is, etc. None of these factors have

anything to do with the passage of the seasons. So, a person probably

has as much luck standing an egg on its end on the equinox as on any

other day of the year.

 

Plait reports that only a small percentage of eggs can be balanced. He

believes that the successfully balanced eggs have small irregularities

that act as miniature legs and prop up the egg.

 

Needless to say, balancing an egg on it stubby end is a lot easier than

on its pointed end.

 

Related essays on this web site:

Easter

Summer solstice

Fall equinox

Winter solstice

 

References:

J.G. Walshe, et al., " Dates and meanings of religious and other

festivals, " Foulsham, (1997).

B.G. Walker, " The Woman's Encylopedia of Myths and Secrets, " Harper &

Row, San Francisco CA, (1983), Pages 77 to 79.

Yisrayl Hawkins, " Ancient Pagan Religious Expression, " at:

http://yahweh.com/pages/pw3_96/1_396pg1.shtml

J.W. Mavor & B.E. Dix, " Manitou: The sacred landscape of New England's

Native Civilization. " Inner Traditions (1989).

" Of Gods and Men: The A-Z of mythology and legend: Dionysos. " at:

http://www.clubi.ie/lestat/ofgodsd.html

A.M. Greely, " The greatest mysteries; an essential catechism, " at:

http://www.usao.edu/~facshaferi/greeley/mysteries7.htm

" Find the equinoxes and solstices for a particular year, " at

http://einstein.stcloudstate.edu/Dome/equiSol.html

Janet & Stewart Farrar, " Eight Sabbats for Witches, " Phoenix Publishing,

(1981), Page 14; Pages 72 to 79.

" Gwyl Alban Eilir Ritual (Performed 1990) A Celtic-Wiccan Ritual " at:

http://www.goodnet.com/~merlyn/ALBANEL.htm

" Lady Day: March 19-20 (The Vernal Equinox), " at:

http://ladyhedgehog.hedgie.com/ladyday.html

" About.com guide to alternative religions: The call of spring: Rites for

the Equinox, " at:

http://altreligion.about.com/culture/altreligion/library

" Vernal Equinox: Dates and times of day each year from 1096 years , 1452

- 2547, " at: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/3116/eqindex.html

" Gwyl Canol Gwenwynol (Spring Eqinox) page, " at:

http://www.tylwythteg.com/Spring.html

" Mayan spring equinox sacred sites tor and cruise: The return of the sun

serpent, " at: http://www.solunatours.com/st-mayan.htm

" America's Stonehenge " is at: http://www.stonehengeusa.com/

" Iranian New Year: No Ruz, " at:

http://tehran.stanford.edu/Culture/nowruz.html

Von Del Chamberlain, " Equinox Means Balanced Light, Not Balanced Eggs, "

at: http://www.clarkfoundation.org/astro-utah/

Philip Plait, " Standing an egg on end on the Spring Equinox, " at:

http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/

" Loughcrew Megalithic Cairns, " Knowth.com at:

http://www.knowth.com/loughcrew.htm

" Equinox - Loughcrew Cairn T, " Knowth.com, 2002-MAR-23, at:

http://www.knowth.com/loughcrew-equinox.htm

 

2000 & 2002 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance

Originally written: 2000-FEB-23

Latest update: 2002-OCT-4

Author: B.A. Robinson