My eight year old daughter (I have five children at home) looked out at our willow tree three weeks ago when all the many other trees were still “dead” and cried out excitedly, “Look Mama! The willow tree came back to life!” She was so amazed, and my three year old with her. Out the door they went to investigate.
My children love that tree (we planted it after the baby was born last year) and were so sad it had “died” over the winter. Her sudden lightbulb moment realization made me realize why the ancients loved spring so much. It was thus vitally important for Jesus / Yeshua / Adonis / Tammuz / Osiris to “die” and then come back to life in the Spring. Ancient people must have been very afraid all winter long that Nature was dead for good, and might not resurrect. Since Nature was feminine, it made sense that a male god would come and “fertilize” her with his “blood.”   Then again, there is the Greek Demeter/Persephone story, where the annually resurrected one (comes up from her descent into hell) is a goddess.
Anyway, that’s why we love Spring — and Easter!
Went out yesterday hunting for palm branches or decorations. I wanted to put up all the bunnies and eggs, yes, but also add some palms, lilys and white donkey colts, maybe some rolling tomb stones, etc. No crosses, though. Not going there yet, my girls don’t need to dwell on that symbol. I just read yesterday how the early Christians despised the cross as a symbol and used the Ichthys “Jesus fish” and the anchor instead. Then came the Chi Rho, and only 400 years later, the crucifix. Yuck.Â
But we didn’t find any of these “alternative” easter decorations. Got a bunch of cling to the window bunnies, eggs and chicks. Might have to hit the larger Christian bookstores in Fort Worth or Dallas for such non-pagan Easter decorations. Our local shop didn’t have anything, although the florist will be getting real palm leaves and lily flowers the end of this week. My little girls did find a God’s Little Princess Bible. So cute. Says all little girls are princesses because they are the daughter of a King. “Who is the King?” they asked and I said Creator-God. El aka Yah, aka God-the-Father. Jesus being King of Kings notwithstanding. I really think they mean God-the-Creator/Father when they say all girls are daughters of the King. The Princess Bible is full of charming activities of a princess-y nature and I look forward to using it in our home esoteric Sunday School.
Official name is God’s Little Princess Devotional Bible by Sheila Walsh. Click above to see the cute hard-back cover and read about it — it’s only $11.
Katia
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