Easter, Fertility, and Farming, by Melinda

Obviously, for Christians Easter is the most significant holiday of the liturgical year, as it celebrates rebirth, regrowth, new spiritual beginnings, and a new life in the most spectacular fashion.

Crossing over in lunisolar calendar

But there are fascinating historical aspects of Easter that lend it other nuances. For one, it's the only "movable" holiday in the Western liturgical calendar--that is, like almost all Hebrew and Muslim holidays, it's calculated by a lunar or "lunisolar" method, while other Christian holidays have set dates in the Gregorian calendar. Easter 2013, for instance, falls on the first Sunday (31st March) after the first full moon (27th March) after 20th March (the Spring Equinox).  Hence, in any given year it can occur from March 22nd to April  25th; according to one scholar, the year-to-year sequence of Easter dates is so complex that it "takes 5.7 million years to repeat"!

This lunisolar calculation is similar to Jewish Passover or Pesach, which occurs around the same time as Easter and marks the beginning of the harvest season in Israel, as well as celebrating the Jews' release from
bondage into a new life (mirroring the theme of rebirth in Christian Easter). The seven foods that were sacred to the Jews (of which Jesus was one) symbolized the seasons of a year's farming, the Jewish connection to the "good land," and a hoped-for abundant harvest--pomegranates, dates, olives, figs, grapes, and wheat (linked with Passover). Jesus' selection of wheat and grapes (wine) at the last Passover meal to represent an abundant "new life," hence, is symbolically profound both theologically and in terms of the land, the soil.

The Worm Moon

Further, vis-a-vis farming, the March full moon is called the Worm Moon, a name bestowed on it by the Algonquins, as this is when the ground begins to soften and worms with their castings reappear, worm-castings (poop) being one of the richest components of the soil and a sure sign of healthy, fertile, organic soil. That's also why robins are so numerous at this time of year, eating lots of worms in early-morning darkness before they lay their eggs around mid-morning (click here for more). The connection between eggs, the moon, fertility, and the growth of new life is at the heart of much Easter symbolism, if you go back far enough in history.

"Easter," for instance, according to the English monk and Christian writer Bede, was named after "Eostre" or "Ostara," the Saxon dawn-goddess of fertility and new life. Eostre had many goddess-analogues in other cultures, including Aphrodite, Astarte, Ishtar, Hathor, Kali, and Demeter (mother of Persephone; we talked about Persephone's symbolism in farming in an earlier post [click here]).

Eostre

What links these goddesses with both Easter and farming is their association with earth's fertility, fostered through cycles of death/darkness/dirt and life/light/air, both seasonally and liturgically. Kali, for instance, in Hindu culture, was described as "the ground," meaning "the mysterious source of life," "ultimate reality," and "the very soil, all-creating and all-consuming." As farmers and gardeners, we need to revere "the ground"--that is, the soil, the humus, which is the earthly source of life and growth--and we need to understand both its productive and destructive cycles, that life springs from death, which of course is also the idea behind the Easter liturgy.

In their role as progenitors of fertility, these goddesses sometimes were

The hare's decorated egg-gift

symbolized by eggs, which of course are a source of new life. Our popular custom of giving Easter eggs thus also has ancient roots. As far back as 3000 BCE in ancient Persia, red-dyed eggs were given to mark the start of spring.  But why are our Easter eggs delivered by a rabbit? According to one legend, the goddess Eostre found an injured bird and saved its life by transforming it to a hare (another animal associated with springtime and fertility). But the transformation was incomplete, and the hare retained the bird's ability to lay eggs. To thank Eostre for its life, the hare decorated its eggs, leaving them as gifts for Eostre. The constellation Lepus,which can be seen just south of Orion, is, in fact, Eostre's egg-laying hare! Think of that when you watch our new hens this spring and summer at the Farm!  Think of Eostre's dying bird, reborn as a rabbit!

Constellation Lepus

New Farm Education Coordinator, and an Invitation to You, the Members, from Joanne

[The "backstory," from Melinda:  the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, who own our Farm, see the Farm as fulfilling part of their environmental goal of shepherding the land, which it does admirably. But  among their other goals are outreach and education. This led to the idea of finding someone already conversant in the hands-on life of the Farm, as well as versed in food science and the health sciences in general, who could guide and coordinate the Farm's educational mission(s). As is so often the case, the person we sought was right under our nose:  Joanne Rosenbaum! Many of you know her as a long-time workshare, but you may not realize that she has extensive professional experience in life sciences (biology and chemistry), health sciences, health administration--particularly but not exclusively in women's health--conference and workshop organizing, and new-program development in those areas. We're thrilled to welcome her as our new Farm Education Coordinator!  Below is Joanne's story in her own words.]

Joanne's Story

Joanne, photo by Melinda

"Back in the day when I was working full-time and had five weeks' vacation, I spent Fridays at the Farm doing my workshare. I came home sweaty, smelling of the earth and whatever veggies I harvested that day. Since then, Red Hill has become my sanctuary for peace, relaxation, introspection, and meeting new and like-minded friends.  Oh, and how could I forget?--the most beautiful, luscious veggies ever! (See my essay on why I love my CSA on the Sisters' site--click here.)

So, one might ask, how and why did I end up taking the Red Hill Farm Education-Coordinator position?

I loved my previous job:  working in women's health had always been my dream. But after sixteen years and many difficult life events, I started thinking that I wanted to work in the community where I live and try to make a difference there in people's lives. I am passionate about "health promotion and disease prevention," especially the importance of good nutrition and the prevention of childhood obesity.

Angela Kidder, our Farm Manager, mentioned that the Sisters wanted to get back to one of the core missions of the Farm, "education."  To make a long story short (as I usually do), I quit my job and here I am!

The Invitation

Part of my charge is planning events and programs for our CSA members and community. I also want to build on the existing farm tour and develop at least two further age-appropriate tours.  Please let me know as soon as possible if you are interested in joining a "working committee" to plan the two tours.  Now please don't be frightened by the term "working!" I will do the leg-work for support materials, contacts, or other things that need to be done during the working day. Ideally, we'd have a group working on each topic of the tour:  e.g., bees, soil health, compost tea, weeds, etc. I'd like to have our first meeting at the beginning of February.

It is also very important to the Sisters, to Angela, and to me to develop relationships with local schools, including Drexel Neumann Academy (see here). I will be planning interactive lectures to take into the schools, in turn supporting them with tours of the Farm.

The most important part of this plan is to include as many members of the community as possible:  school students and teachers, dietitians, clinicians, farmers, Sisters, and of course, YOU, the CSA members!  You can call me at 610-558-5396; or email at Jrosenbaum@osfphila.org. Looking forward to seeing you all again!"