Got Your Easter Bonnet On?

Oh, thought I couldn't work

superheroes into this post?

Say hello to The Winter Rabbit,

also known as The Easter Bucky!

[art by solitary-serenity, found here]

And to all of you who celebrate,

the Butter Lamb and I wish you and yours . . . .

Friday Face OFF -- Butter Lamb

For today's Friday Face OFF link party

of art featuring faces, hosted by Nicole of

DVArtist, Art, Food and Everyday Things --

Last weekend I went to a workshop

held at the Alberta Council for the Ukrainian Arts

and learned how to make a Butter Lamb!

A Butter Lamb is a traditional Slavic Easter decoration.

Made by hand or by using a mold, it is taken to church

to be blessed, nestled in an Easter basket

of other special foods and treats.

Then on Easter, the Butter Lamb becomes the

centrepiece of the festive table and is eaten with

celebratory foods like Paska bread and ham.

The Butter Lamb represents Jesus as the sacrificial

Lamb of God resurrected at Easter, and brings

good fortune and abundance to the household.

So here's my Butter Lamb --

I made it by hand using half a pound of butter, a sharp knife,

and a garlic press to create the "wool." It has two cloves

for eyes and a peppercorn for the nose.

And here's me leaving the workshop with my Lamb --

The Christian holiday of Easter is still

three weeks away but today, March 20th,

marks special holidays in two other

spiritual traditions --

Today is the Spring Equinox, so I wish

Ostara blessings to all my pagan readers!

Welcome Spring!

And today is Eid which marks the end of Ramadan,

so I wish Eid blessings to all my Muslim readers!

Enjoy your feast!

Last Suppers, Bunnies, and Peeps -- Happy Easter!

Easter's Almost Here. How's Jesus Doing These Days?

Celebrating the Rebirth of Spring

Today is the Spring Equinox

in the Northern Hemisphere,

when Day and Night are equal.

We call it "the first day of Spring."

In pagan tradition, Spring is brought by

the Goddess named Ostara or Eostre,

accompanied by her sacred rabbits,

flowers, pussy willows, and

coloured eggs -- all symbolizing

the fertility and new beginnings

of a reawakened Earth.

Other myths of Springtime celebrate the Goddesses

Demeter and Persephone -- the return of the Daughter

from the Underworld to awaken joy and renew life

in the heart of her grieving Earth Mother.

Whichever mythology is referenced,

it is clear that the Spring Equinox

is a time of new hope, new life,

new beginnings!

*** Blessed Be ***

to all who celebrate!

It's Spring! HOP TO IT!

Today is the Spring Equinox, known in pagan spirituality as the festival of Ostara or Eostre. Its Christian equivalent, Easter, is coming up soon as well. Because I love rabbits, this has always been a favourite holiday of mine.

Since ancient times, rabbits and hares have been a common symbol of fertility and of the Goddess herself.

This Spring fertility imagery and the central place of rabbits continue in Christian Easter iconography as well.

Shall we take a little meme trip to celebrate All Things Bunny?

How about some fresh, tasty buns?

Here's another kind of tasty --

And finally, let's end with a GROAN! 

I'm also linking this post to

Thursday Art Date with Rain.

Her prompt this week is "rabbits"

and while there is none of my own art

in this post, I'd like to share all

the rabbit images and memes

with her readers too!