Bunnies , eggs, Easter gifts and fluffy, yellow chicks in gardening hats all stem from pagan roots. They were incorporated into the celebration of Easter separately from the Christian tradition of honoring the day Jesus Christ rose from the dead. Her symbol was the rabbit because of the animal’s high reproduction rate.
In fact, the rabbit was the symbol of Eostra—the pagan Germanic goddess of spring and fertility. In other words, the Christian holiday of Easter , which celebrated the resurrection of Jesus , became superimposed on pagan traditions that celebrated rebirth and fertility. So why does the Easter bunny bring eggs?
The story of the Easter Bunny is thought to have become common in the 19th Century. Rabbits usually give birth to a big litter of babies (called kittens), so they became a symbol of new life. Legend has it that the Easter Bunny lays, decorates and hides eggs as they are also a symbol of new life.
Bunnies are a leftover from the pagan festival of Eostre, a great northern goddess whose symbol was a rabbit or hare. Easter is essentially a pagan festival which is celebrated with cards, gifts and novelty Easter products, because it’s fun and the ancient symbolism still works.
John 11:25-26. Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.
Why do we hide eggs at Easter ? In many pre-Christian societies eggs held associations with spring and new life. Early Christians adapted these beliefs, making the egg a symbol of the resurrection and the empty shell a metaphor for Jesus’ tomb. The men would hide the eggs for the women and children to find.
Although traditions like the Easter bunny and Easter egg hunts seem as harmless as believing in Santa Claus, they actually have a significant association with pagan worship and rituals from the past.
The tradition of eating chocolate at Easter is tied to Lent. During the six weeks before Easter , known as Lent, Christians abstained from consuming animal products. This included all dairy and eggs.
For Christians, the Easter egg is symbolic of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Painting Easter eggs is an especially beloved tradition in the Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches where the eggs are dyed red to represent the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed on the cross.
But if you’re looking for the technical, less touchy feely answer to is the Easter Bunny real , well then, no. The Easter Bunny is a figure from folklore and a symbol of Easter . And, by the way, the German Lutheran tradition from which we took the Easter Bunny is not all hidden eggs and chocolates.
Biblical Interpretation of Rabbits Rabbits are symbols of good luck, speed, fertility, family, abundance, sexual activity, and happiness. Rabbits are rarely mentioned the Bible . According to the Bible , rabbits are considered unclean animals and one of those that shouldn’t be eaten by humans.
Easter is a Christian holiday that celebrates the belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Although a holiday of high religious significance in the Christian faith, many traditions associated with Easter date back to pre-Christian, pagan times.
Easter first started out as a celebration of the Spring Equinox: a time when all of nature is awakened from the slumber of winter and the cycle of renewal begins. Anglo-Saxon pagans celebrated this time of rebirth by invoking Ēostre or Ostara, the goddess of spring, the dawn, and fertility.
The Easter story is at the heart of Christianity On Good Friday, Jesus Christ was executed by crucifixion. His body was taken down from the cross, and buried in a cave. The tomb was guarded and an enormous stone was put over the entrance, so that no-one could steal the body.
According to some sources, the Easter bunny first arrived in America in the 1700s with German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania and transported their tradition of an egg-laying hare called “Osterhase” or “Oschter Haws.” Their children made nests in which this creature could lay its colored eggs.