Easter, The Spring Fertility Festival

Easter has been a fertility festival since long before Jesus came into the picture.

The holiday is in fact named after a fertility goddess, Eostre.

A few interesting facts about Easter after the jump.

“Teutonic dawn goddess of fertility [was] known variously as Ostare, Ostara, Ostern, Eostra, Eostre, Eostur, Eastra, Eastur, Austron and Ausos.”

Interestingly, this is also where the name for the female hormone estrogen comes from.

This holiday was originally celebrated at the spring equinox, when the light and dark are in balance, and called Ostara.

Flowers are blooming, birds and other animals are nesting, and the sun is, literally, reborn. The symbols of bunny rabbits and eggs are quite obviously those of a fertility festival.

So go ahead and enjoy yourself, worship the reborn sun, and have fun with chocolate, sex, and love!

Happy Easter!