What Do Bunnies and Eggs Have to Do with Easter?

Baskets full of eggs and treats delivered by an Easter Bunny are traditions of not only Easter but other Spring holidays. The modern Easter celebrations are a combination of influences from different cultures. (Photo by Julie Rae Rickard)

By Julie Rae Rickard

Every spring Christians around the country celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ with a holiday called Easter using eggs and bunnies. So, why has the holiest day in the Christian year evolved to be represented by these symbols?

Angelo-Saxton pagans marked the spring equinox by honoring the fertility goddess, Eostre, as a sign of renewal. These festivities used both eggs and bunnies, other signs of fertility.

Many holidays already celebrated by pagans were merged into the Christian holidays as an easy way to convert new followers.

Eggs especially were important to early Christian Easter traditions. The egg and its shell were a symbol for Christ leaving his tomb. Some Christians were forbidden from eating eggs during Lent leading to an abundance of eggs which were decorated in some cultures.

In our modern society, many people give up chocolate for Lent which may be why we invented chocolate eggs to replace the original ones.

The Easter basket also comes from traditions at the end of Lent, where baskets of food were brought to the church for a blessing.

The idea of an Easter Bunny or Easter Hare is said to have begun in Germany and then brought to the United States in the 1700’s. This legend included children making a nest for the “Osterhase” to leave eggs.

Over the years the character has become similar to Santa Claus who rewards children for being good.

As with every thing else in American consumerism, this has expanded to the point that many people give their children gifts during the holiday as well.

Easter, like Christmas has become more about material things than the actual story of Jesus Christ. Many people enjoy both holidays without having any Christian connections.

While we are talking about Easter questions, another big one is why the date for Easter changes each year.

Because Jesus was crucified during the Jewish holiday of Passover, the Easter holiday was set during that same time of the year.

It was decided long ago that Easter should be celebrated on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox, which puts it somewhere between March 22 and April 25.

Although there have been talks with religious leaders about picking a more specific date such as the second Sunday in April for Easter, nothing has changed.

Unfortunately, one evolution of Easter we have missed here in United States is the inclusion of Easter Monday as an actual work holiday which it is in Canada, England, Wales, Northern Ireland and other European countries.