Oestara 2024

Last Wednesday (20th March) it was Oestara (more commonly known as Ostara)/the Spring Equinox. (Or Tuesday the 19th depending on your time zone.) I normally bake for this sabbat and this year I made some carrot cake cupcakes. I used this recipe from Love Lemons: https://www.loveandlemons.com/carrot-cake-cupcakes/

They have cream cheese icing/frosting and are similar to the spicy carrot cake cupcakes I made last Oestara. You can also make a carrot cake version of these (big cake). They were quite nice. I didn't use any nutmeg because I didn't have any. I was going to use mixed spice instead but realised it was out of date! lol.

The cream cheese icing was nice and I put Cadbury Mini Eggs on top to fit the Oestara/spring theme. Here's a pic:

 

Easing into Spring

Spring is starting (or has already started depending on whether you go by the meterological or astronomical start). I've previously written a few posts about getting ready for spring, which you can see below:

Getting Ready for Spring: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2018/03/getting-ready-for-spring.html

Preparing for Spring + Spring Inspiration: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/03/preparing-for-spring-spring-inspiration.html

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

Winter Photos + Preparing for Spring (2021): https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2021/03/winter-photos-preparing-for-spring.html

Saying Goodbye to Winter, Moving into Spring: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2022/02/saying-goodbye-to-winter-moving-into.html

 

Note: If you're in the Southern Hemisphere, autumn is starting! You might like these posts:

Getting Ready for Autumn: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2018/09/getting-ready-for-autumn.html

Autumn Photos + Inspiration: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2018/10/autumn-photos-inspiration.html

Autumn 2020 + More Inspiration: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2020/10/autumn-2020-photos-more-inspiration.html

Saying Goodbye to Summer, Moving into Autumn: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2022/09/saying-goodbye-to-summer-moving-into.html

 

This year I thought I would share a few links with inspiration for spring. And also for  the spring festivals Oestara aka Ostara/the Spring Equinox and Easter. Oestara is on Wednesday 20th March this year, or tomorrow (Tuesday 19th March), depending on your time zone. Easter is 31st March.

I called the post Easing into Spring because the start of seasons are transitional times. Sometimes you might feel like going full steam ahead into the next season, and other times you might want to go slower. Often at this time of year the weather is still colder and winter lingers. 

As I mentioned in my Imbolg 2024 post, we had snow in the UK in January. Some parts of the country have had some more recently but we haven't had any more in Sussex, just a lot of rain. At the moment it's been warmer, about 14C (56F) during the day and 9C (48F) at night. There's meant to be colder weather again and more snow in some places next week though.