Oestara Round-up

It's almost time for Oestara (more commonly known as Ostara) aka the Spring Equinox! This year it's on Sunday 20th March.

 

Note: For those in the Southern Hemisphere it's nearly time for Madron/Mabon aka the Autumn Equinox. You might like these posts:

 Madron/Autumn Equinox Celebration Ideas: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2017/09/madronautumn-equinox-celebration-ideas.html

Celebrating Madron/Autumn: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2018/09/celebrating-madron-autumn.html

Madron Inspiration: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/09/madron-inspiration.html

Baking for Madron + Extra Ideas!: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2020/09/baking-for-madron-extra-ideas.html

Madron Round-up + Autumn Baking: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2021/09/madron-round-up-autumn-baking.html

 

For the past few years, I've written celebration posts for Oestara. Last year I started a series of round-up posts for each sabbat and am continuing that into 2022, so here is Oestara's! :)

Oestara (more often spelt as "Ostara" but I first came across it with the "e" added) is the 2nd spring festival on the Wheel of the Year and celebrates the "official" shift into spring. The name is thought to have come from the Goddess Eostre, so it's not surprising that this sabbat also has links to the Christian festival Easter!

Oestara comes after Imbolc/Imbolg at the beginning of February (which marks the start of the transition from winter to spring) and before Beltane at the end of April/start of May (when we start to shift from spring to summer).

It is also the Spring Equinox (which happens around 21st March every year), the time when the hours of day and night are around equal length. The light has been growing since Yule/the Winter Solstice  (the shortest day) in December and from now on the days will continue to get longer, until Litha/ the Summer Solstice in June (the longest day). 

Its themes include spring, light, fertility and balance.

 

Now here are the previous posts on the blog:

 

Oestara: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2014/04/oestara.html

Oestara 2015: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2015/03/oestara-2015.html

Oestara 2016: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2016/03/oestara-2016.html 

Oestara/Spring Equinox Celebration Ideas: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2017/03/oestaraspring-equinox-celebration-ideas.html

Oestara 2017: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2017/03/oestara-2017.html 

Celebrating Oestara + Spring: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2018/03/celebrating-oestara-spring.html

Oestara 2018: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2018/03/oestara-2018.html

Oestara Celebration Inspiration: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/03/oestara-celebration-inspiration.html

Oestara 2019: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/03/oestara-2019.html

Oestara + Spring Inspiration: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2020/03/oestara-spring-inspiration.html

Oestara 2020: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2020/03/oestara-2020.html

Happy Oestara!: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2021/03/happy-oestara.html

Oestara 2021: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2021/03/oestara-2021.html

 

And here are some posts from other sites: 

Ideas for celebrating: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/3pagansandacat/2022/03/spring-is-busting-out-all-over-ostara-celebrations/

 

Simple Ways to Celebrate Ostara: https://groundedintheearth.com/simple-ways-to-celebrate-ostara

 

Recipes to celebrate: https://awesomeon20.com/recipes-to-celebrate-ostara/  

Devilled eggs for Ostara/Easter (I think this is the same recipe on Lisa Maria Grantham's other site that I've shared before): https://www.goddesslifestyleplan.com/deviled-eggs-recipe-ostara-easter/

 

My main celebration for sabbats is making/having food and drink. For Oestara I normally bake (or no-bake!) some kind of cake, biscuits or fridge cake. This year I was thinking of making the Malteser squares I made for Oestara 2019, here's the recipe: https://www.redonline.co.uk/food/recipes/a500554/eric-lanlard-s-malteser-squares/

 

But I think I might do these Maltesers traybake bites instead: https://www.goodto.com/recipes/maltesers-bites

They seem quite similar to Birdies Perch, my favourite fridge cake to "no-bake". I made a Malteser slice based on that for Oestara 2016 and did the usual recipe last year. If you don't have Maltesers in your country, they're malted milk chocolate balls. You might have something similar under another name. :) In America they have Whoppers, which are meant to be similar. The Malteser traybake bites have Rice Krispies in them. I usually decorate my Oestara cakes or biscuits with Cadbury Mini Eggs, or you could use another type, depending on what's available where you live. 

 

I also made a white chocolate tiffin in 2020. Find the recipe here: https://www.goodto.com/recipes/jo-wheatley-s-white-chocolate-tiffin

 

 

Hope you enjoyed the post and it gave you some ideas for celebrating! :) It's hard to believe that it's now almost 2 years since we first went into lockdown in the UK, due to the coronavirus pandemic. In my 2020 Oestara + Spring Inspiration post I wrote about the possibility of a lockdown here, since they were having them in other countries.  

The past few years have been difficult and things continue to be hard, especially in Ukraine right now. I hope that everybody is doing ok, or as well as they can. :) 

Hope you have a good Oestara next weekend! I will probably do a post about my celebrations the week after. Happy Oestara/Spring Equinox! (Or Happy Madron/Autumn Equinox!) :)

Photo: Daffodils at Upper Beeding. Moonsparkle 2022.