Easter and Earth Day

This year Easter and Earth Day are as close as they ever come, so I am writing on the day in between. They are followed by the ancient pagan holiday of Beltane or Beltain (Celtic), which was a major fertility festival in Northern Europe as the trees leafed out and it was planting time. Sine sources sa tThat humans coupled naked in the fields to show the plants and animals what there were supposed to be doing. That custom did not survive to our generation, but the Maypole as a courting dance is a reminder of that past. Also the Biblical command to be fruitful and multiply, a commandment we may have taken too seriously.?
Easter is a moveable feast governed by both sun and moon, the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. Its customs come from Roman, Celtic, and Nordic traditions, with the eggs and rabbits being Norse in origin, lilies Roman.. While Christians celebrate this holiday with the risen Christ (some literally, others figuratively, it is no small coincidence that it also sees the return of plant life in the northern hemisphere.
When I was in seminary, I was taking a directed readings in weekly sessions with advisor, who was (like many of the professors) a Methodist. He was curious about Unitarianism. When we met in Holy Week he asked “Why do Unitarians celebrate Ester>” I couldn’t resist a wisecrack. “Why, I asked, do Christians name their most important holiday of the year for the Goddess of the dawn). (Eos, Astarte, and Oestra are other forms of her name).
Ester blends nicely into Earth Day as we celebrate the resurrection of the natural world with a renewed commitment to be better stewards of creation. It probably need more than a day, but it is worth asking ourselves some of the basic questions of our responsibilities for the earth by asking ourselves at least once a week (Monday is good) the following questions (one of my answers in parentheses):

1. What have I learned recently that makes me more concerned about h future of earth’s inhabitants? The menace of micro-particles of plastic in our food and our bodies, animals a well as human)
2. How can I change my habits to reduce this threat to plant and/or animal life? (avoid using plastics to the extent possible, with the additional reason that they are made with fossil fuels. All my bowls for leftovers and cooking are now glass or some other non-plastic substance. I bring reusable bags to the grocery store. )
3. How can I work with communities? (Encourage groups that eat together to use paper or glass instead of plastic and be prepared to wash dishes. Ask schools and other larger groups to consider more environmentally friendly products and local governments to bring about this change, especially shifting from plastic to paper containers at sporting events Use biodegradable trash bags for your household waste.)
4. Ask what businesses and governments can do to reduce the tremendous volume of plastic waste or seek out opportunities to recycle more kinds of plastic. [Invest in firms that produce and/or promote degradable plastics or alternatives to plastic in many uses. Tax fossil fuels to discourage the use of that dwindling resource for products where there as more earth-

So, having eaten the chocolate marshmallow eggs and the Easter ham, and planted vegetables and flowers and shrubs (at least if you live in my part of the world), it’s time to reciprocate. What gift of change and action will you bring to Mother Earth in the days ahead in gratitude for all the nurturing we receive from her?