If your family is like many pagan families, you may have already celebrated Ostara during the Spring Equinox, which was March 20 this year. However, many families opt to celebrate Ostara, during the time when other families traditionally celebrate Easter. This can make it easier to coordinate with school schedules, as well as with family events and days off.

Either way is fine to do, and if you haven’t yet celebrated Ostara with your family, there is still plenty of time to do so by next Sunday. Here are a few activities you might be interested in doing together.

Set up an Ostara altar. Include anything symbolic you like, such as images of Eoster, bunnies, fresh flowers, eggs, etc. You can dye eggs (with a kit, food coloring, or with natural dyes such as berries, herbs, or onion skins—here is an easy how-to chart on how to make your favorite colors) and place them on your altar as well.

Develop your green thumb. Ostara is a perfect time to set up a greenhouse, start plants inside (or outside, depending on where you life), and plan your spring and summer garden. We’ve recently started potato plants in our kitchen window, which my daughter found delightful.

Make your own Ostara egg holders. You can use the ones here for ideas, or simply print them out on cardstock and color them. We like to hollow our eggs out and stack them in pretty, wide, clear vases in our house.

Create balance. With the balance of day and night equal at Ostara, many pagans conduct balancing exercises, spells, or rituals during this time. You may want to simply balance your schedule a bit by making a circle and slicing it into sections like a pie chart. Label them work, family, spirit, fun, obligations, etc. Make as many as you need. Then assess how much of your time you are spending in each area. Is it too much? Too little? See if you can create some balance and help your children in doing the same. Balancing exercises, such as walking on a beam or using the seesaw, can also be handy in explaining balance.

Cook together. Some excellent recipes can be found in Circle Round: Raising Children in Goddess Traditions. However, feel free to make up your own recipes, particularly those which include eggs as a main ingredient.

Talk about fertility. It’s a great time to discuss the growth of plants, the hatching of bird eggs, the abundance of bunnies; it’s also beneficial to discuss other forms of fertility, such as fertile imaginations and general growth. Wear green, kokopeli, snakes, or other symbols of fertility.

Read about relevant myths and stories together. My daughter and I have been reviewing the story of Kore/Persephone and the changing of the seasons. We’ve enjoyed drawing pictures of what we think she looked like, both in the underworld and above.

Learn more together. Search the web, the library, and the bookstore for Ostara lore, history, and fun facts. Here is a good basic article to get started with, and some great books for children and families can be found here.