Spring is a time of new beginnings.
Many religions and cultures across the globe celebrate spring festivals as a time for renewal, reflection, and rejuvenation. Historically, many celebrations were tied to agriculture and the hope for a successful planting season. Today, traditions carry on, and while most of us work indoors, we still take a break to celebrate spring with family and friends.
Here are a few of the better-known spring festivals:
Passover: This Jewish holiday is also known as the Festival of Freedom and the Festival of Spring. It celebrates the liberation of the Jewish people from slavery as well as the beginning of the agricultural season. The Passover festive meal is called the “seder,” which means “order,” as there is a specific order to the ritual meal that includes re-telling of the Passover story. An unleavened bread called matzah is eaten for the 8 days of Passover, to remind us that when fleeing Egypt, there was not enough time for bread to rise. Amongst the other symbolic items on the seder plate, an egg represents spring, rebirth, and the circle of life.
Ostara is a pagan holiday originating in Northern Europe that occurs on the spring equinox and celebrates sunlight, warmth, fertility, and the awakening of the earth. Holiday themes include balance, renewal and rebirth. It’s a time to “sow the seeds for what you want to flourish throughout the year.” Altars are set up and decorated with spring colors such as yellow, green, and purple, and adorned with figurines. The holiday’s namesake, the goddess Eostere, is a goddess of birds and rabbits. Eggs, a symbol of fertility and new life, play a prominent role in Ostara traditions, with egg painting, egg races, egg eating, and egg hunts. Historically, children gave the goddess eggs as a gift, and she had her rabbits return brightly colored eggs in baskets or bird nests in the spring. Present-day celebrations also include being outdoors in nature, making and enjoying egg-based dishes, and planting gardens.
Easter is a Christian holiday that celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and in Western cultures is now celebrated on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the Spring equinox. Easter is celebrated with special church services, and family brunch or dinner that includes ham, lamb, and spring vegetables. Secular spring celebrations were combined with the holiday, so traditions include dyeing eggs, giving Easter baskets, and hunting for hidden eggs. Other symbols of spring are often incorporated such as bunnies, baby chicks, flowers, and green grass.
Semana Santa is the Holy Week of Easter in Spain, Latin America and the Caribbean celebrating the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Each day of the Holy Week has its own special traditions that include elaborate and somber street processions, bonfires, bringing olive branches to church, eating special foods, and breaking colored eggshells filled with confetti, known as “cascarones,” over the heads of family and friends. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are the most important days of Holy Week.
Holi is a Hindu festival, also known as the Festival of Colors, that dates back to the 4th century CE. It’s a joyous festival that celebrates the beginning of spring and the triumph of good over evil. The night prior, large pyres are lit to signify the burning of evil spirits, and the day is marked by tossing colored powder into the air and at each other. Water is squirted or splashed on each other, and water balloons filled with colored water are thrown. The day concludes with a festive family meal and the sharing of sweets.
Nowruz, meaning, “new day,” is a Persian celebration that marks the beginning of a New Year, and the first day of spring. It is celebrated on the vernal equinox, typically March 21st. Celebrations last 13 days, during which one reflects on the past and sets intention for the future. The roots of Nowruz come from the ancient Zoroastrianism religion and are a celebration of the return of Spring, the triumph of joy over sorrow and good over evil. Nowruz is celebrated by setting the Haft Seen (Haft=7, Seen=S) table, where seven items beginning with the letter S in the Farsi language are presented (for example, sabzeh (wheat sprouts) to symbolize rebirth and growth. Day 13, the end of the Nowruz period, is known as Nature’s Day, where people picnic outdoors.
Ramadan is a holy month in the Muslim calendar which is marked by daily fasting from dawn until dusk and nightly feasts. Fasting is meant to be a form of spiritual discipline with introspection and increased generosity and charity. The end of Ramadan is marked by the three-day celebration of breaking the fast, called Eid-al-Fitr. Families and friends gather together on Eid-al-Fitr for big meals and gift exchanges. Because Ramadan is based on the Islamic lunar calendar, the start of the holy month changes every year. For the past few years and the next, it will take place during the spring season.
Vernal Equinox Day in Japan is a national holiday that celebrates a “love of nature and all living things.” Prior to the 1948 separation of church and state, the day was celebrated as a Shinto religious holiday called “Shunki koresai,” that honored past emperors. During the current holiday, many families have borrowed from past traditions and use the holiday as a time to gather together, visit burial sites of ancestors, clean gravestones and plant flowers at gravesites to honor those who have passed.
Spring Festival in China coincides with the lunar New Year and lasts for 15 days. Although it technically takes place in winter, the date is midway between the winter solstice and the spring solstice, signifying the beginning of a warming trend. Approximately 4,000 years ago the calendar was divided into agricultural seasons, and ploughing and planting began around this time. During the Spring Festival, families gather and “participate in religious practices for good fortune.” Family meals are prepared by elders. Fireworks are used to scare off evil spirits. The end of the 15-day celebration is marked by the Lantern Festival, which promotes peace, reconciliation, and forgiveness.
There are many other festivals around the globe, some specific to a city, a town, or a region. There are tulip festivals, cherry blossom festivals, spring food festivals and even a festival in Zurich, Switzerland, where they burn an effigy of a snowman to celebrate the passing of winter and the coming of spring! However you celebrate, enjoy this season of renewal and rebirth!
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