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 The kids and I blow out eggs and decorate them with Celtic and spring symbology. Then we hang them on a branch, spray painted white and put in a vase of brightly colored floral pebbles. This is our “Ostara tree”. We plan a spring menu to celebrate the spring Equinox ( we always celebrate March 21, disregarding the Christian Easter). We also begin some of our garden indoors on this day such as tomatoes and peppers. It brings the meaning of being closer to the earth to our kids. Of course, we always do an egg hunt too, usually indoors, since it is usually still chilly on March 21 where we are and the kids are still young. They go wild for this. I just wish I could come up with more ideas of things that are non-candy to out in the eggs.
Europa14 – USA
Every year so far we have followed the traditions we had in my household while growing up, which are pretty typical. Coloring eggs the night before, hunting for them the next morning or afternoon, Easter baskets, and a special dinner with family. This year I’m finally shaking the mindset that we have to do everything the day the calendar says; since we are not following Christian traditions, there is no reason to follow the Christian date. We’ve taught Thorin that we are celebrating spring, so we might as well do just that. We’ll be doing everything on the [...]
 All of these projects were done with my four year old with materials we had on hand. We’ve decided that lights will be the only item on our tree that we don’t make ourselves, so last year we started making our own ornaments to decorate our home and tree with. Here is what we’ve done this year, along with photos to supplement my instructions.
Salt Dough Ornaments
2 c flour
½ c salt
¾ c water
Combine in a large bowl until a workable dough forms. Roll out on a smooth surface rather thin, about 1/8 of an inch. Cut out with your favorite cookie cutters; metal ones work the best. Use a straw to poke a hole to hang the ornaments by and transfer to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper (or very lightly oiled). You may want to smooth the edges gently with your finger for a cleaner look. Bake at 200 degrees for 2 hours and cool on a wire rack. Once cooled completely, paint with tempera or acrylic paints and add a clear coat to finish, if you would like.
Take-Out Tree Topper
I was inspired last night when cleaning up from a take-out dinner; we had two thin aluminum pans that I decided to wash rather than toss into the recycling bin. I trimmed away the edges and using the butt of a screwdriver, I smoothed out the lines while in the metal (with a piece of cardboard underneath). By rubbing [...]
 Yule, also known as the Winter Solstice, starts when the Sun enters the sign of Capricorn and the temperature is at zero degrees (the beginning of energy). This is the longest night and the darkest time of the year. On the Solstice, the sun rises around 9 a.m. and sets around 3 p.m. The rebirth of the Sun is the primary focus of most Yuletide celebrations. In many traditions, the Goddess is responsible for this rebirth.
Irish Christmas traditions are similar to those found in many western countries: the basic Christmas rituals, such as gift-giving, attending Mass, and decorating trees, are shared by most nations where Christmas is celebrated. One of the main reasons for the rapid propagation of Christianity throughout Europe during the first millennium was the willingness of Christian leaders to incorporate the rituals, beliefs and customs of other religions. Few of the ancient displaced religions were more assimilated than the Druids, Wiccans and Pagans.
Yule coincides with the Christian celebration of Christmas (the birth of Christ being very similar to the rebirth of the Sun, itself symbolic of the rebirth of the God), which is no coincidence, as the early Christian Church chose to celebrate the birth of Christ (which is actually believed to have happened in March, amongst other pointers, Shepherds don’t take their flocks out to pasture in the Middle East in winter!) at this time to try and woo the Pagan peoples away from their own faith. Many other Gods of Pre-History share similar [...]
 I thank the God and Goddess each and every year when Autumn / Mabon,(pronounced MAY-bun, MAY-bone, MAH-boon, or MAH-bawn) has finally arrived. It has to be my favourite season of the year – summer has finally ended and we can now cool down and enjoy the beauty and colour that surrounds this wonderful season.
The Autumn Equinox divides our days and nights equally; we should all take a moment to pay our respects to the impending dark and to the waning sunlight, as we store our harvest of this year’s crops. The Druids call this celebration, Mea’n Fo’mhair, and honour the The Green Man, who is the God of the Forest, by offering libations to trees.I have one section of my Kitchen wall dedicated to The Green Man and his woodlands. Each Autumn I decorate my kitchen and living room with Autumn Baskets and Mabon nick knacks.
Offerings of ciders, wines, herbs and fertilizer are appropriate at this time. Pagans celebrate the aging Goddess as she passes from Mother to Crone, and her consort to the God as he prepares for death and re-birth. Most of us dread the aging process, but with age comes wisdom and knowledge so I am looking forward to both.
Other names for Mabon are The Second Harvest Festival, Wine Harvest, Feast of Avalon, Equinozio di Autunno (Strega), Alben Elfed (Caledonii), or Cornucopia. The Teutonic name, Winter Finding, spans a period of time from the Sabbat to Oct. 15th, [...]
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