As a child, I always thought that the Easter Bunny was somewhat creepy. Aside from him being much larger than the average bunny, bunnies do not lay eggs. Also, I always imagined the Easter Bunny being male. I guess I equate this to the bowtie and vest he sports much of the time. So, since the Easter Bunny is male (I think) it makes it even more unlikely that he hops around laying colorful eggs. Of course, as I grew older and wiser, some of those questions were answered. However, I find myself asking this question—what is the association between the egg laying Easter Bunny and the holiday itself?
With my curiosity getting the better of me, I went in search for the answer to my question. What I found was that spring festivals were celebrated within the pagan culture. One of the most popular festivals being held in honor of Eostre, an Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring and fertility (and where Easter eventually derives its name). The spring goddess, Eostre, was linked to the hare and the egg which are both symbols of fertility; the hare because of its known ability to reproduce in vast quantities and the egg—a symbol of life. Eostre was solely responsible for bringing in the spring season each year. Apparently, one year she was late and in order to make up for not being on time, she found an injured bird who could no longer fly and transformed the bird into a hare. However, in its transformation from bird to hare, it had not lost its ability to lay eggs—thus, the emergence of the egg-laying hare.
In the 1700s, German immigrants brought the tale of the hare—known to them as Oschter Haws—to America. As Christianity spread, the Oschter Haw, Americanized its name to the Easter Bunny, became a part of their Easter celebration. As for the egg—according to an article in The Digitial Universe, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah (01-2015), it is the Christian belief that the egg is a symbol for renewal and rebirth that ties back to Christ’s resurrection. The egg itself is a representation of the tomb which is evidenced by its shell. Cracked, it imitates the resurrection of Christ and his emergence from his resting place. It also mentions that the tradition of rolling eggs represents the rolling away of the stone covering Jesus’ tomb.
I am sure there are many other tales as to how the infamous egg-laying bunny emerged but I found this one interesting.
;)
