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Sunday 23 February 2014

Shrove Tuesday on March 4th 2014, what are the Pagan origins

It is Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras this year on March 4th, 2014 this precedes the beginning of the Christian festival of Lent, the fasting period leading up to Easter. Do you have any plans? We usually cook pancakes, with sugar and lemon of course!


Easter was originally a Pagan festival celebrating the Goddess Eostre, Astara or Oestara. This is of course the festival of Oestara, Oestre or Eostre on the Pagan Wheel of the Year, this follows Imbolc and heralds the beginning of spring. 

Lent is developed from the pagan tradition of mourning for forty days over the death of the God Tammuz(one day for each year of his life) who was the son/husband of the Babylonion Goddess Ishtar. He was killed by a wild boar and then allegedly resurrected. Tammuz represents the seasons and the cycle of life, fertility and the harvest. Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras was a Pagan day that occurred before this fasting period to use up all the rich foods before the fasting began. This year we have a dark moon on the day of Shrove Tuesday.


3 comments:

  1. It always amazes me how some pagan traditions and Catholicism share so many traditions. Interesting post, Alison...as usual :))

    Hugs

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  2. Wow, all the things a person can learn in a day! Thank you for sharing this awesome bit of information!

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  3. Great post Alison! I never new this information! Thank you! I always learn something new from you! We usually have pancakes too ;o) Hugs ;o)

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