The Easter Bunny (also called the Easter Rabbit or Easter Hare) is a folkloric figure and symbol of Easter, depicted as a rabbit—sometimes dressed with clothes—bringing Easter eggs. Originating among German Lutherans, the "Easter Hare" originally played the role of a judge, evaluating whether children were good or disobedient in behavior at the start of the season of Eastertide,[1] similar to the "naughty or nice" list made by Santa Claus. As part of the legend, the creature carries colored eggs in its basket, as well as candy, and sometimes toys, to the homes of children. As such, the Easter Bunny again shows similarities to Santa (or the Christkind) and Christmas by bringing gifts to children on the night before a holiday. The custom was first[2][unreliable source?] mentioned in Georg Franck von Franckenau's De ovis paschalibus[3] ('About Easter eggs') in 1682, referring to a German tradition of an Easter Hare bringing eggs for the children.
Eggs have been used as fertility symbols since antiquity.[9] Eggs became a symbol in Christianity associated with rebirth as early as the 1st century AD, via the iconography of the Phoenix egg, and they became associated with Easter specifically in medieval Europe, when eating them was prohibited during the fast of Lent. A common practice in England at that time was for children to go door-to-door begging for eggs on the Saturday before Lent began. People handed out eggs as special treats for children prior to their fast.[10]
As a special dish, eggs would probably have been decorated as part of the Easter celebrations. Later, German Protestants retained the custom of eating colored eggs for Easter, though they did not continue the tradition of fasting.[11] Eggs boiled with some flowers change their color, bringing the spring into the homes, and some over time added the custom of decorating the eggs.[12] Many Christians of the Eastern Orthodox Church to this day typically dye their Easter eggs red,[13] the color of blood, in recognition of the blood of the sacrificed Christ (and, of the renewal of life in springtime). Some also use the color green, in honor of the new foliage emerging after the long-dead time of winter. The Ukrainian art of decorating eggs for Easter, known as pysanky, dates to ancient, pre-Christian times. Similar variants of this form of artwork are seen amongst other eastern and central European cultures.[14]
The idea of an egg-giving hare went to the U.S. in the 18th century. Protestant German immigrants in the Pennsylvania Dutch area told their children about the "Osterhase" (sometimes spelled "Oschter Haws"[15]). Hase means "hare", not rabbit, and in Northwest European folklore the "Easter Bunny" indeed is a hare. According to the legend, only good children received gifts of colored eggs in the nests that they made in their caps and bonnets before Easter.[16]
Marshmallow bunnies and candy eggs in an Easter basket
A real live bunny with decorated Easter eggs
Chocolate Easter bunnies
Chocolate Easter Bunny molds from Alsace Musée du pain d'épices
Alleged association with Ēostre
In a publication from 1874 German philologist Adolf Holtzmann stated "The Easter Hare is unintelligible to me, but probably the hare was the sacred animal of Ostara".[17] The connection between Easter and that goddess had been made by Jacob Grimm in his 1835 Deutsche Mythologie.[18] This proposed association was repeated by other authors including Charles Isaac Elton[19] and Charles J. Billson.[20] In 1961 Christina Hole wrote, "The hare was the sacred beast of Eastre (or Ēostre), a Saxon goddess of Spring and of the dawn."[21][page needed] The belief that Ēostre had a hare companion who became the Easter Bunny was popularized when it was presented as fact in the BBC documentary Shadow of the Hare (1993).[22]
The Oxford Dictionary of English Folklore however states "nowadays, many writers claim that hares were sacred to the Anglo-Saxon goddess Ēostre, but there is no shred of evidence for this; Bede, the only writer to mention Ēostre, does not link her with any animal".[23]
^Cross, Gary (2004). Wondrous Innocence and Modern American Children's Culture. Oxford University Press. ISBN978-0195348132.
^Easter Bunny – What Does He Have To Do With Easter? 2021-02-13 at the Wayback Machine, occultcenter.com
^Franck von Franckenau, Georg (1682). Disputatione ordinaria disquirens de ovis paschalibus / von Oster-Eyern. Satyrae Medicae. Vol. XVIII. Heidelberg. p. 6. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
^ abChapman, Chris (2004). "What does the Symbol Mean?". Three Hares Project. from the original on 13 May 2020. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
^Marta Powell Harley (1985). "Rosalind, the hare, and the hyena in Shakespeare's As You Like It". Shakespeare Quarterly. 36 (3): 335–337. doi:10.2307/2869713. JSTOR 2869713. from the original on 2023-04-09. Retrieved 2020-04-07.
^"Sir Thomas Browne (1646; 6th ed., 1672) Pseudodoxia Epidemica III:xvii (pp. 162–166)". from the original on 2023-04-09. Retrieved 2014-05-16.
^"Three Hares as representation of the Trinity". Threehares.blogspot.com. 2006-02-25. from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2010-06-29.
^D'Costa, Krystal. "Beyond Ishtar: The Tradition of Eggs at Easter". Scientific American. from the original on 28 March 2018. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
^Shrove Tuesday Pancakes! 2006-12-09 at the Wayback Machine by Bridget Haggerty – Irish Culture & Customs, World Cultures European, paragraph 5 line 2 refers to the Catholic custom of abstaining from eggs during Lent. Accessed 3/1/08
^Snodgrass, Lucie L. (March 2005). "DYED IN Tradition". Academic Search Complete. No. 329. Vegetarian Times.
^How To Dye Red Eggs with Onion Skins for Greek Easter 2021-02-13 at the Wayback Machine by Nancy Gaifyllia from Your Guide to Greek Food on About.Com Accessed April 9, 2008
^Hallett, Vicky (March 31, 2003). "Egg-cellent art". Academic Search Complete. Vol. 134, no. 10. U.S. News & World Report.
^"Gruß vom Osterhasen: Oschter Haws Song". Germanworldonline.com. 2011-04-23. from the original on 2013-06-03. Retrieved 2013-03-31.
^Easter Symbols 2008-03-12 at the Wayback Machine from Lutheran Hour Ministries. Accessed 2/28/08
^Attenborough, Sir David (Presenter) (April 12, 1993). Wildlife on One Easter Special Shadow of the Hare (Television). United Kingdom: BBC.
^Simpson, Jacqueline; Roud, Steve, eds. (2003). "hares". Dictionary of English Folklore. Oxford University Press. ISBN978-0-1917-2664-4.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Easter Bunny.
Charles J. Billson. "The Easter Hare". Folk-Lore. Vol. 3, No. 4 (December 1892).
On the Bunny Trail: In Search of the Easter Bunny, Stephen Winick, Folklife Today, March 22, 2016
Osterfuchs [de] (Easter Fox) (in German)
Bott, Adrian (2011) The modern myth of the Easter bunny, The Guardian, Sat 23 Apr 2011
January 18, 2024
easter, bunny, also, called, easter, rabbit, easter, hare, folkloric, figure, symbol, easter, depicted, rabbit, sometimes, dressed, with, clothes, bringing, easter, eggs, originating, among, german, lutherans, easter, hare, originally, played, role, judge, eva. The Easter Bunny also called the Easter Rabbit or Easter Hare is a folkloric figure and symbol of Easter depicted as a rabbit sometimes dressed with clothes bringing Easter eggs Originating among German Lutherans the Easter Hare originally played the role of a judge evaluating whether children were good or disobedient in behavior at the start of the season of Eastertide 1 similar to the naughty or nice list made by Santa Claus As part of the legend the creature carries colored eggs in its basket as well as candy and sometimes toys to the homes of children As such the Easter Bunny again shows similarities to Santa or the Christkind and Christmas by bringing gifts to children on the night before a holiday The custom was first 2 unreliable source mentioned in Georg Franck von Franckenau s De ovis paschalibus 3 About Easter eggs in 1682 referring to a German tradition of an Easter Hare bringing eggs for the children Easter BunnyA 1907 postcard featuring the Easter BunnyGroupingLegendary creatureSub groupingAnimalFolkloreFolkloric figure and symbol of EasterOther name s Easter Rabbit Easter HareCountryGermanyDetailsGrass Contents 1 Symbols 1 1 Rabbits and hares 1 2 Eggs 2 Gallery 3 Alleged association with Eostre 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksSymbolsRabbits and hares nbsp Inflatable Easter Bunny in front of San Francisco City HallThe hare was a popular motif in medieval church art In ancient times it was widely believed as by Pliny Plutarch Philostratus and Aelian that the hare was a hermaphrodite 4 5 6 The idea that a hare could reproduce without loss of virginity led to an association with the Virgin Mary with hares sometimes occurring in illuminated manuscripts and Northern European paintings of the Virgin and Christ Child It may also have been associated with the Holy Trinity as in the three hares motif 4 7 unreliable source 8 Eggs Main articles Easter egg and Egg decorating Eggs have been used as fertility symbols since antiquity 9 Eggs became a symbol in Christianity associated with rebirth as early as the 1st century AD via the iconography of the Phoenix egg and they became associated with Easter specifically in medieval Europe when eating them was prohibited during the fast of Lent A common practice in England at that time was for children to go door to door begging for eggs on the Saturday before Lent began People handed out eggs as special treats for children prior to their fast 10 As a special dish eggs would probably have been decorated as part of the Easter celebrations Later German Protestants retained the custom of eating colored eggs for Easter though they did not continue the tradition of fasting 11 Eggs boiled with some flowers change their color bringing the spring into the homes and some over time added the custom of decorating the eggs 12 Many Christians of the Eastern Orthodox Church to this day typically dye their Easter eggs red 13 the color of blood in recognition of the blood of the sacrificed Christ and of the renewal of life in springtime Some also use the color green in honor of the new foliage emerging after the long dead time of winter The Ukrainian art of decorating eggs for Easter known as pysanky dates to ancient pre Christian times Similar variants of this form of artwork are seen amongst other eastern and central European cultures 14 The idea of an egg giving hare went to the U S in the 18th century Protestant German immigrants in the Pennsylvania Dutch area told their children about the Osterhase sometimes spelled Oschter Haws 15 Hase means hare not rabbit and in Northwest European folklore the Easter Bunny indeed is a hare According to the legend only good children received gifts of colored eggs in the nests that they made in their caps and bonnets before Easter 16 Gallery nbsp Dreihasenfenster Window of Three Hares in Paderborn Cathedral in Paderborn Germany nbsp Easter bunnies and Easter eggs as Easter biscuits nbsp Marshmallow bunnies and candy eggs in an Easter basket nbsp A real live bunny with decorated Easter eggs nbsp Chocolate Easter bunnies nbsp Chocolate Easter Bunny molds from Alsace Musee du pain d epicesAlleged association with EostreIn a publication from 1874 German philologist Adolf Holtzmann stated The Easter Hare is unintelligible to me but probably the hare was the sacred animal of Ostara 17 The connection between Easter and that goddess had been made by Jacob Grimm in his 1835 Deutsche Mythologie 18 This proposed association was repeated by other authors including Charles Isaac Elton 19 and Charles J Billson 20 In 1961 Christina Hole wrote The hare was the sacred beast of Eastre or Eostre a Saxon goddess of Spring and of the dawn 21 page needed The belief that Eostre had a hare companion who became the Easter Bunny was popularized when it was presented as fact in the BBC documentary Shadow of the Hare 1993 22 The Oxford Dictionary of English Folklore however states nowadays many writers claim that hares were sacred to the Anglo Saxon goddess Eostre but there is no shred of evidence for this Bede the only writer to mention Eostre does not link her with any animal 23 See alsoEaster Domestic and pet rabbits Easter Bilby Mad as a March hare Rabbits and hares in art Moon Rabbit Rabbits in culture and literature The Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs References Cross Gary 2004 Wondrous Innocence and Modern American Children s Culture Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0195348132 Easter Bunny What Does He Have To Do With Easter Archived 2021 02 13 at the Wayback Machine occultcenter com Franck von Franckenau Georg 1682 Disputatione ordinaria disquirens de ovis paschalibus von Oster Eyern Satyrae Medicae Vol XVIII Heidelberg p 6 Retrieved 18 July 2013 a b Chapman Chris 2004 What does the Symbol Mean Three Hares Project Archived from the original on 13 May 2020 Retrieved 20 April 2014 Marta Powell Harley 1985 Rosalind the hare and the hyena in Shakespeare s As You Like It Shakespeare Quarterly 36 3 335 337 doi 10 2307 2869713 JSTOR 2869713 Archived from the original on 2023 04 09 Retrieved 2020 04 07 Sir Thomas Browne 1646 6th ed 1672 Pseudodoxia Epidemica III xvii pp 162 166 Archived from the original on 2023 04 09 Retrieved 2014 05 16 Three Hares as representation of the Trinity Threehares blogspot com 2006 02 25 Archived from the original on 2011 07 08 Retrieved 2010 06 29 Lewis Stempel John 2019 The Private Life of the Hare Transworld ISBN 9781473542501 Heller Steven April 2014 Seeing Rabbits Academic Search Complete Vol 68 no 2 D Costa Krystal Beyond Ishtar The Tradition of Eggs at Easter Scientific American Archived from the original on 28 March 2018 Retrieved 28 March 2018 Shrove Tuesday Pancakes Archived 2006 12 09 at the Wayback Machine by Bridget Haggerty Irish Culture amp Customs World Cultures European paragraph 5 line 2 refers to the Catholic custom of abstaining from eggs during Lent Accessed 3 1 08 Snodgrass Lucie L March 2005 DYED IN Tradition Academic Search Complete No 329 Vegetarian Times How To Dye Red Eggs with Onion Skins for Greek Easter Archived 2021 02 13 at the Wayback Machine by Nancy Gaifyllia from Your Guide to Greek Food on About Com Accessed April 9 2008 Hallett Vicky March 31 2003 Egg cellent art Academic Search Complete Vol 134 no 10 U S News amp World Report Gruss vom Osterhasen Oschter Haws Song Germanworldonline com 2011 04 23 Archived from the original on 2013 06 03 Retrieved 2013 03 31 Easter Symbols Archived 2008 03 12 at the Wayback Machine from Lutheran Hour Ministries Accessed 2 28 08 Holtzmann Adolf 1874 Deutsche Mythologie Leipzig B G Teubner p 141 Grimm Jacob 1835 Deutsche Mythologie Gottingen Dietrichsche Buchhandlung pp 181 182 Elton Charles Isaac 1882 Origins of English History London Bernard Quaritch pp 407 408 Charles J Billson 1892 Folk Lore vol 3 issue 4 Christina Hole 1961 Easter and its Customs Attenborough Sir David Presenter April 12 1993 Wildlife on One Easter Special Shadow of the Hare Television United Kingdom BBC Simpson Jacqueline Roud Steve eds 2003 hares Dictionary of English Folklore Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0 1917 2664 4 External links nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Easter Bunny Charles J Billson The Easter Hare Folk Lore Vol 3 No 4 December 1892 On the Bunny Trail In Search of the Easter Bunny Stephen Winick Folklife Today March 22 2016 Osterfuchs de Easter Fox in German Bott Adrian 2011 The modern myth of the Easter bunny The Guardian Sat 23 Apr 2011 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Easter Bunny amp oldid 1184481696, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
