Happy Equinox of your Choice
This year, Easter falls the second-closest to the equinox that it can, bringing its traditions in line with its origin as a celebration of the coming spring. It may be of some small interest to those of a religious persuasion that this festival was later co-opted by a young, upstart religion in its efforts to attract pagans who, very humanly, were more reluctant to part with their jovial festivities than they were their gods.
Those in the Northern Hemisphere who wish to ignore the religious hijacking of this holiday and instead celebrate the life-affirmation of the coming spring, with such symbols of fertility as hares and eggs, may easily do so. Not so easily the Southern Hemisphere, where I live. For us, March brings with it the promise of Autumn, and the coming cold. Easter seems an empty parroting of Northern customs… the chocolate egg is indeed hollow for us secular southerners.
One wonders… are there any redeeming qualities of this festival worthy of celebration for the antipodean atheist?
March 22, 2008 at 7:16 pm
“Secular southerners”? “Antipodean atheist”?
Maudlin moonflake, methinks. Anyway, happy nodal-point-at-the-intersection-of-the-celestial-equator-with-the-ecliptic to you and yours. The wish is no less sincere for all its inordinately cumbersome verbiage…
March 22, 2008 at 11:03 pm
it is, apparently, a fertility ritual. lot’s of sex seems to be a good reason to celebrate, or, rather, way to celebrate
March 24, 2008 at 7:56 pm
People who put an apostrophe in ‘lots’ (as in “lot’s of sex”) shouldn’t be allowed to breed.
March 24, 2008 at 10:59 pm
You think this is bad ? Imagine the nuttiness that went on during that full eclipse many years ago. Or those TV shows “Spirit Sundae” et al. I am always blown away when I see well-educated yuppies falling for woo-woo. The very worst was when I saw a group of yuppies, sitting on the floor, watching the music visualisation that comes with Windows Media Player and claiming enlightenment and other crap. And they paid for this too ! To sit on the damn floor !
That’s it. I’m starting a woo-woo shop where I will lure gullible yuppies who should know better and charge them exorbitant prices for “healing crystals” and other nonsense.
March 25, 2008 at 7:11 am
And those who would correct others’ spelling on the intertubes need to lurk moar.
March 25, 2008 at 8:34 am
Four day weekend. Case closed.
March 25, 2008 at 10:06 am
i agree with babyacid, and want to add that celebrating fertility in preparation for the winter is good too – we gotta keep warm at night!
also, it’s a farewell party to the hotter half of the year, and most people don’t know / care for the background. let them eat eggs, hollow or marshmallow filled
March 25, 2008 at 12:28 pm
All in favour of the long weekend answer? The ayes have it.