*Celtic*
Spring Equinox was generally overlooked in Celtic lands until after the
Norse invasion brought it into prominence. THe Celts in Cornwall and
Wales renamed it "Lady Day" and was when the young Goddess returned from
her winter hibernation. On this day of balance, she is able to meet the
young God, mate with him, and become impregnated with both the God to be
reborn (Yule), and the Autumn Harvest.
*England*
In England the Dieties appear as the Lord of the Greenwood, a version of
the Horned God, and the Green Goddess - fertile Virgin/Mother.
*Grego-Roman*
Greco-Roman tradition celebrates Ceres - Grain Goddess, from Equinox
until the 1st Harvest. She is believed to go from field to field at the
Equinox, blessing the newly sown crops. Her special blessings are asked
for freshly tilled lands.
The lily, now seen more as a Christian Symbol of Death, is actually a
symbol of life in Greek and Roman traditions, often adorning altars and
temples. A lily was given in much the same way as a diamond is today. In
accepting a lily from a young man, a young woman was accepting him as a
life mate.
*Norse*
The Norse also honor their Virgin Goddess and celebrate her mating with
the young God, an even most traditions selebrate at Beltane. Fertility
relations were almost obligatory on the Eve of Ostara, as was a communal
meal featuring foods associated with fertility such as cake, honey, and
eggs.
*Slavic*
Slavic tradition believes this to be a day when death has no power over
the living. A personification of Death is symbolically killed by
throwing him into moving water to drown. Symbols of life renewed,
flowers, are tossed in after him and he is sung to as he floats down the
river. People who died on the Equinox are thought to be favored and
accorded princely treatment until reincarnation by the Gods.
Brightly-painted red eggs were passed around during the procession to
the ritual site, where the renewal of Spring is celebrated with food,
dance and drink.
