The Birth Of The Easter Holiday Bunny
by Nadia Vakan
http://www.focusholiday.com
Aside from the obvious religious connotation that the
Easter holiday takes on, the most common image that comes
into our minds when we think of this holiday is the Easter
Bunny - good old Peter Cottontail. Children are often as
excited by his pending visit as they are by the expectation
of Santa. Did you ever stop to think of how the story of
the Easter Bunny began? Like every other piece of
folklore, this lovable, yet secretive, character has
evolved from legend that has been in place for thousands
of years.
The Easter Bunny is associated with pre-Christian fertility
traditions. In Pagan wisdom, Eostre, the goddess of spring
had as her companion the Easter Hare that was considered
sacred. Hares and rabbits were seen as fertility symbols
because of their tendency to reproduce with ease.
Children listened to tales about magic hares bearing eggs
painted to make gifts. The egg was a symbolic
representation of the springtime bounty of new life, and
parents would tell these tales as part of the festival
celebrating spring before the birth of Christ. Perhaps
because they score more cute points with kids, or because
they are spotted more often, the Easter Bunny Rabbit has,
over the years, replaced the Easter Hare.
The correlation between the use of a bunny to specifically
symbolize Easter first came about in 16th century Germany.
It took until the 19th century, however, to produce the
first edible Easter Bunny - which also originated in
Germany. These were commonly made of some form of pastry
and sugar, but were restricted to the spring of the year,
when Easter was celebrated.
Germany was also the origin of the making of the first
Easter basket. Children first made nests from grass which
the children would leave in the garden outside their
houses. It was hoped that in the night the Easter Bunny
would come and fill the nests with gifts for the children
of eggs in various colors.
This tradition was passed into American society by German
migrants to the Pennsylvania Dutch country in the 18th
century. Like Santa Claus the children came to expect that
if they had behaved themselves well during the year,
Oschter Haws (the Easter Bunny) would leave them painted
eggs.
After a number of years, American children began to
integrate these Easter nests into the indoor environment.
This was the catalyst for the first Easter Basket, filled
with cellophane grass that the Easter Bunny would place the
eggs into and, eventually, leave other treats such as
candies and small toys.
Starting with the Pagan ritual, adopted in Germany and
further adapted in America, our Easter bunny ritual has
grown over time but continues to bring joy to kids
worldwide. These days the bunny is such a common theme at
Easter that some cultures who do not celebrate the Easter
festival could be forgiven for thinking that it is about
the bunny. Luckily those of us who mark Easter remember
the real reason.
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