Free Ostara/Easter Egg Graph

I so wanted to get this out earlier than this - It's been a scattered, scattered week and it looks like this year, sinus headaches are going to be an issue for me.  I never used to be this bothered when I was younger! The things they don't tell you about getting older...hrmph!

But, we are on the very verge of Spring, so enough talk of growing old!   The Vernal Equinox, which takes place on Sunday, March 20 at 7:10pm EDT marks the point where day and night are equal lengths - 12 hours of daylight, 12 hours of dark, and when the position of the sun is such that it rises exactly east and sets exactly west.   Ostara is the name of a Germanic goddess of spring and fertility and is the source for the word 'Easter' - and while it has been readopted by many modern pagans, it has a long history - the Venerable Bede, around 400 AD speaks of the connections.

Most of the symbols used for Easter have their roots in the pagan customs (and here again, if we think about it, religions do not develop apart from the culture in which they develop - we all modify what we do to give it meanings we prefer - early Christians would have been no different, layering their new spiritual views on top of traditions they already cherished... less a replacement or 'theft' as some might call it, then a blending of custom and meaning). Rabbits were fertility symbols.  Baby animals were - well for starters, they were everywhere, because that's what happens in spring!  But their use as a symbol pointed to new life.  Flowers, again, pointed to life after a seeming period of death.  And eggs... eggs are one of the most universal symbols there are, found in many, many cultures.  It is self contained and whole, protective, literally a necessity for fertility and birth, and so is used also to symbolize the rebirth of life that occurs in the spring.

My graph for this holiday, then, is an egg decorated with springtime shades of variegated floss and spiral shapes to show the cycle of life.  I have left the choice of floss shades up to you - pick what pleases you so that every egg is unique.  I stitched mine on perforated plastic so that I can cut around the egg shape and finish it easily, but that's only one option.

As always, should you stitch it, let me know - I'd love to share a picture of what you've done with it!

(shared with Hookin Up with HoH, Strut Your Stuff Thursday, Show Off Your Stuff Thursday, It's a Keeper Thursday, Transformation Thursday,  Flaunt It Friday, Sweets This Week, Amaze Me Monday, Craftastic Monday, Mad Skills Link Party, Motivated Monday, You're So Very Creative Monday, Inspire Me Monday, Made By You Monday, Mad Skills Monday, Making the World Cuter Monday, Making Monday Marvelous, DIY Project Parade, Homemaker Monday, Market Yourself Monday, Made with Love Monday, Get Your Craft On Tuesday, Anything Related, We Did It Wednesday, Whatever Goes Wednesday, Show and Tell Wednesday, Make It Yours Wednesday, Hoo's Got Talent)