Stikkord: Spring Equinox

Happy Easter!

I am home again!
– at least for now.

Like many returns after treatment, it tends to be a bit messy!
And while I love being back, there is a quiet tension all around me; the urge to clean and organize everything, and just reset my surroundings completely – and the awareness that I need to slow down.

So this spring, as winter here in Norway is heavily drawing its final breath, my main focus is to find the balance between movement and stillness. Between doing everything all at once – and doing nothing, allowing myself to to just sit down and relax.
This is massive to me – as there is nothing more satisfactory than a freshly cleaned space, yet at the same time – my brain has a deep need for a calmer daily rhytm; one that my body can actually sustain.

Easter in Norway, has always held a particular social importance; regardless of religiosity. Yes, it is technically a religious holiday – but culturally, it is almost like a collective breath of fresh air.
In a single week its as if the darkness of winter dissapears, as (many) families gather at their cabins, read (or watch!) crime novels, eating oranges and chocolate, while the snow quietly melts outside, into a promise of spring.

And it truly is a promise!
Much like the older celebrations of the spring equinox, still celebrated here in the north we slowly see the sun return, day by day – as life ‘begins again’.

Perhaps this is why Easter feels so different this year.
Because, coming home now does not feel like returning to what was. Instead, it feels like stepping intoo something else completely, something new – that I can’t quite put my finger on, or even fully understand.

But it is a feeling of having a different pace of life. A new awareness of who I am becoming, and what needs to change for me to accomplish this.

And maybe that is what this Easter holds for me – not just a time for tradition, rest and reflection, but also a threshold into something new.
No doubt, it feels a little scary – but I am also very exited to see what life brings!

Happy Easter!
– Silje

The Spring Equinox, and its significance for Easter

This year the spring equinox, on the 15th of March (so almost a month ago), marked the beginning of the spring season for the Northern Hemisphere. During this time (as well as during the fall equinox later in the year) both the North and the South pole is simultaneously lit by sunshine.

many elements of today’s easter celebrations have pre-christian origin rooted in the equinox. In 1835, the German folklorist Jacob Grimm published Deutsche Mythologie, in which he claimed that Easter eggs were of pre-Christian origin. He justified this by the symbolic meaning of eggs in the creation myths of many religions and the fact that New Year’s in many Eastern cultures, is celebrated in the spring. Furthermore, Grimm believed that he could identify the term ‘Ostara’ (the name modern pagans use to celebrate this date) with the High German word Ostern («Easter»). He referred to the English monk Beda, who in 725 wrote that the Anglo-Saxon Easter month (in March–April) was originally called Eostur, named after the «goddess of the dawn» Eostre (https://snl.no/ostara).

In later years Grimms theories have been heavily disbelieved, and many scholars have gone out against it. The notion is that Grimm, a collector of national romantic fairy tales, did not place high demands on documentation, thus it is just as likely that modern Ostara-celebrations are based on Christian Easter, as the other way around.

Despite this, in pre-christian Scandinavian spring-celebrations, the spring-equinox is connected to the fertility-godess Freya, within the pagan ‘åsatru’ religion. While few Scandinavians are very religious these days (whether it be paganism, christianity or otherwise), the spring-equinox – and the period petween the equinox and the summer solstice, is still culturally important. This is when the first hints of spring begin to creep up, the snow melts away, and with it the darkness of winter dissapears. Slowly the days turn longer and warmer, its time for the seeds to be planted, and life begins anew.

Within neo-pagan celebrations, the spring-equinox is a celebration that encourages you to live in balance with nature’s yearly cycle. While I am neither pagan, neo-pagan or christian, I too find meaning in this. As most Norwegians I feel closely connected to nature; how could I not, when a 1000 year old forest is right outside my door. As the forest begins to bloom with wild flowers, and the smell of trees once again fills the air – I too feel nature’s renewal. after a long, cold and tiresome winter, the buds of spring – in alignment with the astrological new year, makes this time the perfect time to actually begin a new year, and go forth with whatever I may have been planning in the winter season. First of all, it’s a perfect time for Spring-Cleaning; Out with the old, in with the new! Then, as more and more of nature’s treasures appears and gets ready for harvesting (like wild forest fruits and mushrooms), the cycle begins again.

So what I would ask, it that whether spring and easter is a religious, spiritual or cultural part of your life (or or perhaps none of the above), I would advice you to take the the time to notice what nature has to offer you this time, and find a way for you to repay her, in a way that suits you.

– Silje

Image by: Daiga Ellaby @Unsplash