Why is the Easter Bunny the Easter Bunny?
I have often wondered about were the Easter Bunny come from. Why is a bunny and eggs associated with Easter? So I decided to do some research. I quickly found out there are several theories but nobody knows for sure. It seems to be one of those things that has always been and everybody just goes with it. I found several theories that have some similar thoughts and others that
had nothing in common with any other theory. So what I decided to do was look at all the theories and come up with my own.
I quickly put away all the theories that had a rabbit at the cross or in the tomb. There wasn't any logic in them and no scripture to support them. I also tossed out the idea that Peter Cottontail comes from the disciple Peter. He doesn't seem like the fuzzy bunny type. I saw dates from BC to AD. I saw the bunny coming from across Europe to the Middle East to the North Pole. I decided to look closer at the theories that had common thoughts.
Most theories started with Eostra. Eostra was a goddess of fertility and birth. The rabbit was her symbol because of its high rate of reproduction. She was popular in Germany in the 13 century. Spring was her season because it was the time when the earth experienced "rebirth". There were festivals of sorts to celebrate her and this rebirth. Eggs have long been a symbol of birth. They slowly made their way into the Eostra Spring Festivals. I guess this was because eggs made better gifts than rabbits and smoked turkey legs at festivals had not been invented yet.
There are documented accounts of a story going around in the 1500's about an Easter Bunny. This was around the same time when Roman Catholicism became the dominate religion in Germany. Many were looking for ways to combine their pagan traditions with the Roman Catholic religious traditions. So this Easter Bunny probably came from someone trying to combine Eostra and the Roman Catholic Church. By 1680 there was a published story about a rabbit laying eggs and hiding them in a garden.
Red dyed eggs had become to represent the resurrection of Christ. This tradition was started in Rome was there was a prayer of blessing for eggs printed in the first Roman Ritual published in 1610 that was to be said before eating them. I can understand that because I remember the time I ate six red pickled eggs at one time. I did a lot of praying afterwards.
In the 1700's Easter traditions started being formed that we still do today. As the German settlers came to America with their traditions they began to look for ways to merge them with the Christian traditions already in place. As they shared their story of the Easter Bunny and his eggs many families started making nests for the bunny to "lay" the eggs. Now for a lot of families these eggs couldn't be eaten until after Lent because eggs were on the list of things to be given up. So the tradition of boiling them to make them last until after Lent was started. The brightly colored eggs the German bunny brought soon was paired with the red dyed eggs so the Easter Bunny was bringing eggs to remind everyone of Christ's resurrection. Over the years America became more city than farm so the nest making was replaced with baskets. That's why that stringy grass stuff was invented to make the basket look like a nest. In reality all it does is make a mess that ruins your vacuum when it sucks up that unbreakable string. Also as Easter became more commercialized because people realized there was a profit to be made candy, small treats and other things were added to the basket. Some started with a tie to the resurrection while others only had a tie to profits.
So based on my research and reading all of the different theories I found that is how the Easter Bunny may have gotten his job. Now, what does the bunny and eggs really have to do with Easter? NOTHING! Easter has been and will always be a time to remember the risen Savior. Just like Santa
and Christmas, the bunny may have some symbolic meaning that a few people get but the true reason for Easter is Jesus. You can sing about Peter Cottontail coming down the bunny trail all you want but I want to hear about how up from the grave He arose! Dying eggs is fun but worshiping Jesus who died for my sins AND arose from the tomb is life changing. I have ate a few chocolate bunnies in my time but still prefer to be washed in the blood of the Lamb.
So this Easter enjoy your candy, hide your eggs and pick out the perfect basket but do not forget the sacrifice Jesus made so that you can enjoy eternal life. Spend more time searching the scriptures than hunting eggs and you will find a greater prize than any size egg can hold. Candy comes and goes but salvation last forever and ever and ever Amen!
Parting Thought: Every year at Easter I think God for nothing because nothing in the tomb was the perfect Easter gift.
I quickly put away all the theories that had a rabbit at the cross or in the tomb. There wasn't any logic in them and no scripture to support them. I also tossed out the idea that Peter Cottontail comes from the disciple Peter. He doesn't seem like the fuzzy bunny type. I saw dates from BC to AD. I saw the bunny coming from across Europe to the Middle East to the North Pole. I decided to look closer at the theories that had common thoughts.
Most theories started with Eostra. Eostra was a goddess of fertility and birth. The rabbit was her symbol because of its high rate of reproduction. She was popular in Germany in the 13 century. Spring was her season because it was the time when the earth experienced "rebirth". There were festivals of sorts to celebrate her and this rebirth. Eggs have long been a symbol of birth. They slowly made their way into the Eostra Spring Festivals. I guess this was because eggs made better gifts than rabbits and smoked turkey legs at festivals had not been invented yet.
There are documented accounts of a story going around in the 1500's about an Easter Bunny. This was around the same time when Roman Catholicism became the dominate religion in Germany. Many were looking for ways to combine their pagan traditions with the Roman Catholic religious traditions. So this Easter Bunny probably came from someone trying to combine Eostra and the Roman Catholic Church. By 1680 there was a published story about a rabbit laying eggs and hiding them in a garden.
Red dyed eggs had become to represent the resurrection of Christ. This tradition was started in Rome was there was a prayer of blessing for eggs printed in the first Roman Ritual published in 1610 that was to be said before eating them. I can understand that because I remember the time I ate six red pickled eggs at one time. I did a lot of praying afterwards.
In the 1700's Easter traditions started being formed that we still do today. As the German settlers came to America with their traditions they began to look for ways to merge them with the Christian traditions already in place. As they shared their story of the Easter Bunny and his eggs many families started making nests for the bunny to "lay" the eggs. Now for a lot of families these eggs couldn't be eaten until after Lent because eggs were on the list of things to be given up. So the tradition of boiling them to make them last until after Lent was started. The brightly colored eggs the German bunny brought soon was paired with the red dyed eggs so the Easter Bunny was bringing eggs to remind everyone of Christ's resurrection. Over the years America became more city than farm so the nest making was replaced with baskets. That's why that stringy grass stuff was invented to make the basket look like a nest. In reality all it does is make a mess that ruins your vacuum when it sucks up that unbreakable string. Also as Easter became more commercialized because people realized there was a profit to be made candy, small treats and other things were added to the basket. Some started with a tie to the resurrection while others only had a tie to profits.
So based on my research and reading all of the different theories I found that is how the Easter Bunny may have gotten his job. Now, what does the bunny and eggs really have to do with Easter? NOTHING! Easter has been and will always be a time to remember the risen Savior. Just like Santa
So this Easter enjoy your candy, hide your eggs and pick out the perfect basket but do not forget the sacrifice Jesus made so that you can enjoy eternal life. Spend more time searching the scriptures than hunting eggs and you will find a greater prize than any size egg can hold. Candy comes and goes but salvation last forever and ever and ever Amen!
Parting Thought: Every year at Easter I think God for nothing because nothing in the tomb was the perfect Easter gift.
Comments
Post a Comment