Ostara, Eostre, Hot Cross Buns

Ostara is a festival I have problems with generally as it is a little unknown & the Pagan links are somewhat thin & tenuous. The only real mention of Eostre, the goddess that Ostara & eventually Easter came from the Venerable Bede in the 8th Century, that the month of April was Eosturmonath to which there were festivals in her honour. But this is the earliest account we have of her. No one actually knows who she is, but theories have been put around that she is a goddess of the dawn, she is a goddess of regeneration, she is the goddess of the East wind, but which if any of the claims are true? Could it be that she is a different goddes entirely, could she be a fertility goddess? Her symbols would suggest that it is possible. Is it echoes from the past of European traders from Greece worshipping Eos? It could be that she is yet another goddess that has disappeared somewhat in to obscurity with all the information that she existed is a name & that we have just speculated the rest as it seems to fit the time of year. We don't know, but it does throw up an interesting question, which came first Easter or Ostara? Plus why if Eosturmonath is April why are we celebrating the festival in March? There are also claims that hot cross buns were Pagan too because of the equal armed cross. If hot cross buns were a Native American thing then yes it could quite easily be argued that was the case but in Europe the equal armed cross was used by early Christians especially in eastern countries, so to claim them as ours is spurious at best. I think it is good that we mark a natural progression of time but to claim it as ancient, I have distinct lack of ease with, but one thing is for certain the name for Easter had to come from somewhere or we would still be calling it Pasque. Hope you enjoy the chocolate eggs though as that I find the real perk to the celebrations. By the way still wired from all the caffeine consumed at the Pagan Moot seeing as though the giving up alcohol for Lent is still going strong. Yours twitchily Pagan Chaplain