Today we all know that Easter celebrates the resurrection of Christ, but like most Christian holidays there is more to it than just what meets the eye. There is a bit of pagan history involved with the birth of this holiday also.
The ancient Saxons celebrated the arrival of Spring with a celebration honoring their goddess of Spring called Eostre. This was around the same time the Christians were celebrating their holiday, so eventually as the influence of the Saxons waned their holiday was brought into the Christian holiday until they became one.
The Easter Rule was created by Emperor Constantine which states that Easter will fall on the first Sunday after the Vernal Equinox, which is always on March 21. Today Easter is always celebrated on a Sunday between March 22 and April 25.
The Easter Bunny, or as it was known at the start, the Easter Hare was the sacred companion of the goddess Eostre. The hare or rabbit being one of the most fertile animals around were the symbol of new life or spring. Before the Christian tradition started parents told their children the Easter Hare would bring them gifts, the gifts being mainly painted eggs since eggs are a symbol of new life.
Rabbits or Bunnies slowly replaced the Hare as the former are more widely known than the latter throughout the world. The bunny was first used as a symbol of Easter in Germany during the 16th century.
German settlers arriving in Pennsylvania introduced America to the Easter Bunny in the 1700s as the "Oschter Haws". The children believed if they were good the Bunny would lay colored eggs for them as prizes for their well behaviour during the year.
2 comments:
I always find it fascinating how no single religion owns these holidays. They seem such a jumbled mix of varied traditions.
I feel much more informed now on the Easter Bunny. Its very interesting stuff.
Hope you are enjoying the hunt.
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