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Around the time of Yule and Christmas, we often hear Christians stating, "Jesus is the Reason for the Season." Although as a pagan, I don't agree with this sentiment, it does make a catchy phrase. This year, as the pagan holiday of Ostara was approaching, I pondered. "What would make a good, catchy phrase to represent what it is all about?" I heard a voice whisper in my ear, "Ostara is the Sabbat with the Rabbit."

Just what is a sabbat anyway? According to the Merriam-Webster On-line Dictionary, a sabbat is "any of eight neo-pagan religious festivals commemorating phases of the changing seasons." In the case of Ostara, it refers to the celebration of the Spring Equinox, one of the two times of the year when the sun crosses the plane of the earth's equator, and day and night are of equal length.

The Spring Equinox, or Ostara, is a time to celebrate the return of Spring. But how it got its name is somewhat of a mystery. According to pagan folklore, it is named for the Anglo-Saxon Goddess Ostara, the goddess of spring. She was also known as Eostre, goddess of the east and the dawn. Two of the symbols of this celebration are the colored egg and the hare.

There are two popular legends about how the Easter rabbit came to deliver colored eggs. According to one story, the goddess Eostre found a wounded bird in the snow. To help the little bird survive the winter, she transformed it into a rabbit, but the transformation was incomplete and the rabbit retained the ability to lay eggs. In thanks for its life being saved, the rabbit took the eggs and decorated them and left them as gifts for Eostre. This story was written in 1990 by Sarah Ban Breathnach in her book, "Mrs. Sharp's Traditions, Nostalgic Suggestions for Re-Creating the Family Celebrations and Seasonal Pastimes of the Victorian Home."

The other legend states that one of the Eostre's devotees was a small hare who wanted to give a gift to the goddess. But he didn't know what he could give that she would like. One day he came upon a fresh egg, something very precious after a hard winter when food was scarce. He very much wanted to eat the egg, but he decided to give it to Eostre instead. To make it very special, he took it home and decorated it with a multitude of colors. Eostre was very pleased with her gift, and decided that all children should enjoy them. Since that day, the descendants of the hare have taken on the task of delivering decorated eggs at spring. They are called Easter Bunnies. This story is found

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