So, How Do We Celebrate?

As spring approaches, there are lots of ways we secular folks can celebrate. After all, most of the celebration started well before Christianity and is still relevant today.

The changing season, renewed greenery, new baby animals, and passage of time are wonderful touch points.

Some activities to consider:

• Enjoy a good, Marie-Kondo-style spring cleaning. Donate what you don’t need to an organization that can find them a new, loving home.
• Dress up a bit if you like. Spring is a wonderful time to wear a fancy dress or make (and rock) an amazing hat!
• Nourish yourself and your family with fresh foods. Prepare, enjoy, and share a special meal. Include some fresh grains if you like.
• Celebrate spring all around you. Plant some seeds, celebrate Earth Day (May 22) and the wonders of nature’s renewal.
• Host a gathering of family and friends. Invite everyone to make or wear an outlandish hat. Make or acquire seed bomb eggs and let them dry in the sun while you dine together on a succulent feast.
• Create an egg-stravaganza of decorated eggs if you partake. Decorate eggs with plant-based dyes, markers, symbols of nature, or create your own special meanings.
• Enjoy the sweets of the season. Celebrate benevolent giving with an egg hunt or a basket of goodies from a rabbit, a fox, a stork, or a loving person.

Rather than trying to find separations or ownership of beliefs and practices, I prefer the braided stream view that we also use for human evolution. That is, syncretism over time and space. There many similar beliefs and traditions that arose in geographically separate areas just as animal shells arose more than once in evolution. Each had its place and purpose in time. Stories about ancient gods explained things humans did not yet understand. They came out of the human need to find patterns, even when patterns are not actually there.

We can take these practices today and choose those that have meaning for us or consider the life they once supported. We can create our own rituals to celebrate the cycle of the year. Make this spring special any way you like!

Easter, Eostre, and Gifts from Benevolent Strangers