Throughout the ages, humans have celebrated the end of winter and the return of life to the world…so stow your bunny ears and take a look at:
- Anna Perenna and the Rites of Cybele
- Feeding Bears Pancakes
- Isis: Have Divinity Will Travel
- Saint Patrick and the Snakes
- Passover and the Seder Meal
- Scotland's "Whuppity Scoorie"
 |
| Romans would celebrate Anna Perenna on the banks of the Tiber. (spalla67) |
Anna Perenna and the Rites of Cybele
It wasn’t like the Romans to miss an excuse for a party, so they celebrated Anna Perenna on the Ides of March. Anna Perenna was a mythological figure with multiple origins - in one, she was an exile who threw herself in the river Numicius to escape her enemies, only to be transformed into a water nymph. In another, she appears as an old woman who distributes cakes to the hungry. Either way, she was regarded as a source of health and bounty – the Romans celebrated the 15th of March with parties in her honor.
Another Roman celebration venerated the goddess of agriculture and was held towards the end of March. Cybele (only one of her many names) was a surprisingly destructive deity, having caused her sometime lover Attis to castrate himself and bleed to death during a fit of jealousy - legend held that his blood grew into the first violets.
In keeping with this theme, the rites of Cybele were rather bloody. A pine tree said to represent Attis was a guest of honor at her feasts... and amid frenzied dancing on the 24th, her clergy would slash themselves and flick blood across the altar and the pine. The rites finished with Hilaria on the 25th (which seems to have similarities to modern day April Fools) and the bathing of Cybele's statue on the 27th.
Feeding Bears Pancakes
Russians celebrate the beginning of spring with Maslenitsa, a holiday dedicated to consuming blinis (a type of pancake) that symbolize the brightening sun. Legend has it that in past times, the pancakes were also left out for the local bear population as they roused from hibernation - an old pagan name for Maslenita is Komoyeditsa, which loosely translates as feeding bears.
During the festival, a large effigy of "Lady Maslenitsa" is constructed to represent the dying winter. At the end of the festival the effigy is burnt on a pyre alongside any remaining pancakes. The ashes are collected and spread on the fields in the hope of a good harvest!
 |
| Isis was a major god in ancient Egypt - and one of her domains was resurrection. (NadineDoerle) |
Isis: Have Divinity Will Travel
To celebrate the spring, ancient Egyptians held the ceremony of the powerful goddess Isis. She was said to have resurrected her consort (Osiris) after his murder - which led to her association with bringing the dead to life and the fertile Nile Delta, the beating heart of Egyptian civilization.
Worship of Isis traveled pretty far – she was picked up and incorporated into Roman mythology, where she was venerated in the spring festival Navigium Isidis. This festival involved a model ship being taken from the temple the shore in a costumed procession, asking Isis for the protection of seafarers... and some have suggested that it may have been an inspiration for Carnivals.
There is even evidence that her worship extended as far as the British isles – such as this statue of Harpocrates, a Romanized variant of Horus (son of Isis) found in the Thames.
Saint Patrick and the Snakes
Saint Patrick’s Day is an originally Irish celebration that emigrated to America. Legend has it that the titular saint drove all the snakes out of Ireland (the British Isles have very few snakes - grass snakes, smooth snakes and adders are native, but there are no wild populations on Ireland.)
Since Ireland had very few (if any) snakes to begin with, it's been suggested that the story may be a metaphor for the Saint spreading Christianity - and thus driving out the original pagan religion of Ireland.
Whether that's true or not, St Patrick's Day is celebrated on March the 17th and is used as an excuse to wear an excessive amount of green!
 |
| There's no native snakes in Ireland... (S N Pattenden) |
Passover and the Seder Meal
The Passover festival of Judaism commemorates the exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt. In addition to cleaning the house, a special meal called the Seder is served - culminating with a reading of stories of the exodus and set of special prayers.
There are a number of traditions associated with the festival, including a ban on any “leavened” food such as most bread and pasta. This is in memory of the hasty exodus from Egypt, during which there was no time for bread to rise.
The Seder meal itself is designed to reflect the hardships of that era. For example, bitter herbs and salt water are intended to reflect the bitterness and tears of slavery, while a paste of fruit and nuts represents the mortar used in the construction of pyramids. Finally, hard boiled eggs and green leaves represent rebirth and hope.
Scotland's "Whuppity Scoorie"
The Lanark area of Scotland bears witness to the “Whuppity Scoorie” tradition at the start of March. In this strange rite, the local youth gather around the churches and race clockwise around the building three times while swinging paper balls on strings above their heads. In the interim, the populace throw small-change for the participants to collect after their race.
It's not actually clear exactly how and why this tradition occurred, though there a certainly reports of it happening in the Victorian era. Some suggest a much older origin for the practice though, pointing out that the tradition used to use bonnets rather than paper balls, which could be used a bit like an improvised whip.
Perhaps Whuppity Scoorie was once a nod to the archaic whipping of vagabonds or witches... or alternatively (and probably more likely) it could have just been a high-spirited rough-and-tumble celebration of spring!
Thanks for reading - for more curious customs, try...