The vernal ("spring") equinox ("equal night") occurs on or around March 21, when the sun is directly over the equator. Marking the beginning of spring, this day has inspired many rituals celebrating the return of warmth, sunshine, and new life.

One ancient holiday associated with the vernal equinox was Ostara, a celebration honoring the Saxon lunar goddess Eostre. According to myth, Eostre once rescued a wounded bird, whose wings had become frozen by the cold, by changing her into a hare who could more easily survive the winter. In keeping with her avian origins, the transformed creature was still able to lay eggs; she expressed her gratitude to the goddess by decorating those eggs and giving them to her. Starting to sound familiar? It should. Missionaries adapted some of these Ostara traditions for Easter in the hopes of converting pagans to Christianity.